A former engineering manager at Lucid has filed a lawsuit claiming the company dismissed his warnings about a defect in the Air EV's half-shafts months before two recalls were issued.
The lawsuit, filed in California, alleges retaliation and wrongful termination against Neil Milne, who says he flagged multiple failure modes of the part in April 2025.
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Two Recalls and a Manager's Warnings
Lucid issued two separate recalls for the Lucid Air in late 2025 and March 2026, covering a total of 3,852 vehicles in the United States.
The most recent recall states that half-shaft bolts on Air Pure models may not be properly secured, which could cause the half-shaft to disconnect from the drive unit and result in a sudden loss of power.
Milne claims he consistently challenged Lucid's testing, validation, and documentation for safety-critical engineering work, citing weak manufacturing controls and missing records.
The first recall, in October, covered 225 vehicles, while the second, by March, added 3,627 more.
The lawsuit does not specify whether the faults Milne reported are the same as those in the recalls, but he argues the timing and similarities suggest they are.
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In an email to Lucid's product-safety officer on January 13, 2026, Milne wrote, "Will say what I said originally 9 months ago.
Bad design, with multiple failure modes."
Lucid initially used a lash detection algorithm to identify vehicles with loose half-shaft bolts but determined that hundreds had slipped through, which the report links to the second recall.
After raising concerns, Milne alleges Lucid stripped him of his senior-manager role and moved him to thermal programs.
In February, he was told his performance rating did not meet expectations and was passed over for a charging leadership role.
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Milne is seeking a jury trial, lost pay, bonuses, equity, benefits, and damages for emotional distress.
