WattEV has just opened the first electric truck charging depot in the US to use the new Megawatt Charge System, capable of delivering up to 1.2 megawatts of power, currently the highest-speed charger available in the US, along with solar and battery backup on-site and a unique partially grid-islanded setup.

WattEV says that its charge depot in Bakersfield, CA, includes the first MCS charger in North America, and the fastest as well. Tesla has a number of its own 750kW chargers deployed “behind-the-fence” in Pepsi and Tesla facilities, but this 1.2MW charger beats those in speed and is also publicly available.

MCS is a new charge standard being worked on by charging standards organization CharIN. The standard is close to being finished, though currently there aren’t really available MCS-capable trucks, or even UL-certified charging units.

As a result, WattEV’s installation is somewhat of an experiment. The site has 50 total chargers, split between 32 grid-tied 360kW CCS chargers on one side, and 3 1.2MW MCS and 15 240kW CCS chargers on the other side, attached to backup batteries and solar and fully grid-islanded.

That latter part is particularly interesting – WattEV got grants from the California Energy Commission to create this grid-islanded setup, wherein power for the chargers is fully provided by 5MW of on-site solar (which WattEV wants to expand to 25MW eventually) and 3MWh of battery backup.

WattEV could connect the setup to the grid, but between its grant from CEC, the lack of UL-certified MCS chargers, and delays that would have been caused in the permitting and interconnection process, it decided that grid-islanding half of the site would be the right decision for the time being.

The inclusion of an MCS charger promises the ability to fill a truck in the same time as a traditional truck rest stop. While trucks don’t currently have 1.2MW charging capability, WattEV wanted to be ready for when they do.

Notably, something many operators bring up is that they’re waiting for chargers before they start building or buying trucks. Here, however, we have an infrastructure provider out in the lead – building infrastructure before trucks are being built or purchased. In a world where operators have gotten used to using infrastructure as an excuse, WattEV seems uninterested in allowing them to continue to use that excuse.

Like WattEV’s other chargers, this one will be publicly available either via membership or scanning a credit card/QR code at the site. It’s near an industrial park in Bakersfield with several distribution centers and near the 99 freeway, which services the California central valley. WattEV also offers a “truck-as-a-service” model, wherein the company offers electric trucking at a set price with lower startup costs.

The charger could be of use for those distribution centers, bringing goods in from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and also for traffic in the valley, as there are many local farming facilities and produce delivery services (for example, OK Produce in Fresno, which has committed to full zero emission operations).

Ahead of its call with investors this afternoon, Lucid Motors has posted its Q1 2024 financial results. The numbers aren’t mind-blowing, but the American automaker is making slow improvements in EV deliveries and revenue as it gears up to launch its second model later this year.

Today’s full Q1 2024 financial report follows a peek at delivery numbers Lucid Motors ($LCID) made public in April. The American EV automaker reported record deliveries of its Air sedan to date, sending 1,967 vehicles to customers in the first three months of the year.

That metric bested its previous delivery record of 1,932 units in Q4 2022 and is up 13% compared to Q4 2023 (1,734 deliveries). That being said, Air production is significantly down following a dawdling demand for its lone model, which recently saw some 2024 model year updates and lower pricing.

Lucid produced a mere 1,727 BEVs in Q1 2024, down from 2,391 units in Q4 2023 (-27%). Still, Lucid Motors remains quite liquid following a fresh raise of private funds and has expressed confidence that it can remain on track to hit its production guidance for the entire year.

Lucid reports nearly $173 million in revenue in Q1 2024

You can check out the full Q1 2024 financial breakdown from Lucid Motors ahead of this afternoon’s call with investors, but here are some notable figures. Q1 revenue was $172.7 million year-over-year, up from $149.4 million in Q1 2023.

Operational losses were $729.9 million, down from $772.2 million a year ago, and net losses were $680.9 million, down YOY from $779.5 million. With the $1 billion investment from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), Lucid relayed that at the end of Q1 2024, it remains quite liquid with approximately $5.03 billion. Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson elaborated:

I believe there are two factors that set Lucid apart – our superior, in-house technology and the partnership with the PIF. Our sales momentum is building, our focus upon cost remains relentless, and we believe Gravity is on track to become the best SUV in the world.

Gravity is expected to begin deliveries before the end of the year and could contribute to Lucid’s production numbers. The automaker said it remains on track to produce approximately 9,000 BEVs in 2024. For comparison, Lucid Motors built 8,428 EVs in 2023.

Gravity will be followed by a third model, currently codenamed “Mid-size,” which will be available in at least two variations and has the potential to be a true competitor to companies like Tesla and Rivian.

Gagan Dhingra, Lucid’s interim chief financial officer and principal accounting officer, also spoke about the automaker’s progress

We continue to make significant progress on our cost optimization programs. We’re focused on significant growth as we enter the next transformational phase of Lucid’s end markets while simultaneously driving cost discipline.

You can tune into the live webcast with investors discussing Lucid’s Q1 2024 numbers here.