Eric Bach’s Lucid Lawsuit: Claims, Termination, and Case Status

The Eric Bach Lucid lawsuit is a federal discrimination and retaliation case filed on December 8, 2025, in which Lucid Motors’ former chief engineer alleges he was fired after complaining that a senior HR executive repeatedly called him a “German Nazi” in front of colleagues. The case, Bach v. Lucid Group Inc. (No. 3:25-cv-10499, N.D. Cal.), brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.¹ Lucid has called the claims “absurd.”² In April 2026, a federal judge ordered the dispute into arbitration and stayed the court case.³

What Bach Alleges Happened Inside Lucid

Bach, a German and British citizen who speaks with a German accent, joined Lucid in 2015 and rose over roughly a decade to Senior Vice President of Product and Chief Engineer, overseeing all hardware engineering, product management, and corporate planning.⁴ The complaint says Lucid board member Andrew Liveris had told Bach the chief technology officer role was “yours to lose” and suggested he could eventually become CEO.⁵

According to the complaint, Rachel Rivera, then Lucid’s Senior Director of Human Resources and second-in-command to HR leader Gale Halsey, repeatedly referred to Bach as a “German Nazi” when speaking to his colleagues. Bach’s complaint notes that in Germany the label is considered “extremely serious,” given its association with genocide and racial supremacy.¹

Bach says he learned of the slur in mid-2025 from a colleague and that Lucid confirmed Rivera had made the remark. Rather than firing Rivera, the company moved her to a new role as Senior Director of Talent Development and Culture.⁶ The complaint separately alleges that Gemma Parker, Lucid’s Vice President of Program Management, told colleagues she “hates” Bach “so much” that the animosity “comes out at [his] team members.”¹

A company-wide workplace culture investigation launched by HR in late 2024 sits at the center of Bach’s retaliation theory. He alleges the inquiry was “tainted by HR’s racist beliefs” and used to sideline him: HR told him he had contributed to a “poor culture,” stripped him of oversight of the powertrain division (roughly 40 percent of his organization), and excluded him from board preparations and meetings.⁵

How the Termination Unfolded

After learning of Rivera’s remark, Bach protested directly to Gale Halsey, arguing Rivera should have been terminated for fostering a hostile work environment.⁷ He also filed an internal complaint against another Lucid vice president for what he described as “similarly racist behavior.”⁵

The complaint lays out a compressed timeline:

October 22, 2025: Lucid attempted to force Bach to resign.
October 24, 2025: Bach’s counsel formally protested discrimination and retaliation.
November 5, 2025: Lucid fired Bach. A company press release that day stated only that he had “departed.”⁴
November 12, 2025: According to the lawsuit, Lucid gave negative statements to the blog EV blaming Bach for production delays, which he alleges was an effort to damage his reputation in retaliation for his complaints.¹

Lucid’s Response

Lucid rejected Bach’s account. In a statement to TechCrunch, the company said: “In our opinion, Mr. Bach’s legal claims are absurd. We are confident that the facts revealed through the course of litigation will establish the legitimate issues leading to Mr. Bach’s termination.”²

An unnamed company source described the allegations as “baseless” and framed the firing as part of a leadership restructuring to address product development and performance problems, citing software errors and manufacturing delays. According to that source, Lucid concluded Bach’s management of overall product development was contributing to those challenges.⁶

Where the Case Stands Now

The suit was assigned to Judge Trina L. Thompson in the Northern District of California. Lucid moved to compel arbitration on January 23, 2026; Bach opposed on February 6; Lucid replied on February 13. On April 15, 2026, Judge Thompson granted the motion, ordering the dispute into arbitration and staying the federal case.³

As of May 21, 2026, Bach had filed a status report on the arbitration schedule and its progress. Before the stay, the court had set trial for November 29 through December 14, 2027, and referred the parties to private alternative dispute resolution with a completion deadline of July 2027.³ No public information is available on settlement discussions.

Bach is represented by Valdi Licul of Wigdor LLP. In announcing the suit, Licul said: “It is appalling whenever an employee is abused using racist language that calls up such awful imagery. It is especially heinous when the racist rumors come from a company’s Human Resources department, whose core function is to eliminate discrimination in the workplace.”⁷ Because the matter is now in arbitration, further filings and any eventual outcome will likely stay out of the public court record unless a party returns to federal court to confirm or challenge an award.

1
The Drive. Bach v. Lucid Complaint Filed
2
TechCrunch. Lucid Motors Former Chief Engineer Sues for Wrongful Termination and Discrimination
3
Justia Dockets. Bach v. Lucid Group Inc.
4
Lucid Motors Investor Relations. Lucid Announces Organizational Changes to Accelerate Growth
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Yahoo Finance. Lucid Motors Former Chief Engineer
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The Drive. Lucid Motors Fired Chief Engineer After He Complained About Being Called German Nazi: Lawsuit
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Wigdor LLP. Wigdor Files Discrimination and Retaliation Complaint Against Lucid Group Inc.