A former chief engineer at luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors is suing the company for wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation, claiming a top Human Resources executive referred to him as a “German Nazi.”
Eric Bach, who spent a decade at Lucid and previously oversaw “all hardware engineering,” “product management and corporate planning,” filed the federal lawsuit on Monday in the Northern District of California.
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The complaint alleges that Bach was targeted because of his German heritage and that he was stripped of his responsibilities overseeing the powertrain division in early 2025 following an HR investigation into the company’s workplace culture.
Bach claims he first learned of the disparaging comment in mid-2025, months after the workplace culture investigation began and after losing some company responsibilities. According to the lawsuit, Bach “encouraged a co-worker to report the incident” after learning of the remark.
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The filing states that Lucid Motors “confirmed” the HR executive made the comment. Bach also claims to have logged a separate internal complaint against another Lucid vice president for what he described as similarly racist behavior.
Bach alleges that Lucid Motors retaliated against him by attempting to force his resignation in October 2025. He was ultimately fired on November 5, 2025, according to the lawsuit. Lucid’s press release on that date only stated that he had “departed.”
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The legal action surfaces as Lucid Motors faces challenges in ramping up production of its Gravity SUV and developing more affordable, mass-market vehicles slated for late 2026. The company has also seen a recent turnover in its executive ranks, including the sudden resignation of former CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson in February.
Bach claims that prior to the internal investigation, which began in late 2024, his career was ascendant. The complaint states that board member Andrew Liveris “signaled that Bach would become Chief Technology Officer (the position ‘is yours to lose’) and that Bach could one day become Chief Executive Officer.”
Source: TechCrunch