General Motors has a pattern now. When the last EV startup executive didn’t work out, the solution is to hire the next one. Claudia Gast, most recently Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Lucid Motors, will join GM on March 1 as deputy chief financial officer and vice president of strategy, corporate development and technology partnerships, Reuters reported Monday.

The Fact: Gast replaces Zach Kirkman, a former Tesla and Apple executive who joined GM in January 2023 and is now leaving for “other opportunities.”
The Delta: Gast is the 13th executive to depart Lucid since October 2023, according to EV. GM is simultaneously building its strategy team while Lucid’s leadership bleeds out.
The Buyer Impact: Gast’s mandate includes scouting tech partnerships, signaling GM knows it can’t build its software and autonomous future alone.

GM’s revolving door of EV startup talent

General Motors hired Claudia Gast to serve as deputy CFO and VP of strategy, corporate development and technology partnerships, an expanded version of the role previously held by Zach Kirkman, who spent over six years at Tesla and six at Apple before joining GM in 2023. Gast will report to CEO Mary Barra on strategy and CFO Paul Jacobson on corporate development and technology partnerships.

“We’re excited to welcome Claudia to GM,” Barra said. “Her extensive background leading strategy and finance, along with her executive leadership across automotive, defense, and other sectors will help us build even stronger partnerships and expand opportunities for growth and innovation.”

The hire continues a pattern of legacy automakers raiding EV startups for strategic talent. GM previously hired Kurt Kelty, a former Tesla battery expert, to lead its push toward affordable EVs. The question is whether these executives can translate startup experience into results inside a company that laid off 3,300 EV workers in October 2025 and invested $888 million in V8 engine production that same year.

Gast’s resume spans startups, defense and finance

Claudia Gast joined Lucid in December 2022 as VP and Head of Strategy and Business Development, earning a promotion to SVP in March 2025. At Lucid, she oversaw enterprise strategy, strategic partnerships, business development, and held expanded responsibilities across AI/ML, IT, financial services, and investor relations. She led Lucid’s IR function from late 2023 to early 2025, a role that GM disclosed but Lucid had not previously made public.

Before Lucid, Gast was Head of Strategy and M&A at defense contractor AM General, where she built the strategy function and led diversification and partnership efforts. She also served as CFO and Board Director of Global Technology Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: GTAC) and was a partner at growth-stage investment firm Greentrail Capital. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Lucid’s executive exodus accelerates

Gast’s departure marks the 13th senior executive to leave Lucid since October 2023. The Saudi-backed EV maker has struggled with production targets, cutting its 2025 forecast to 18,000 vehicles and reporting losses of approximately $161,000 per vehicle produced in adjusted EBITDA. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley downgraded Lucid to Sell in December, warning of an “EV winter” lasting into 2026.

The talent drain raises real questions about Lucid’s ability to execute its mid-size vehicle launch planned for late 2026, a model the company has called critical to reaching volume production.

EVXL’s Take

This hire tells you more about GM than it does about Gast. The company has now burned through a Tesla-Apple strategy executive in roughly two years and gone straight back to the EV startup talent pool. The “expanded role” language is corporate code for: the last person’s scope wasn’t big enough, or the last person couldn’t make it work within GM’s structure.

The tech partnerships mandate is the most telling part. GM is spending $888 million on V8 engines while simultaneously admitting it needs outside help on software, autonomy, and AI. That’s not a contradiction if you view it clearly: GM knows where the money is today (trucks) and where the technology gap is tomorrow (everything else). Gast’s job is to figure out the “everything else” part through deals, not just internal R&D.

For Lucid, losing your 13th senior executive in 28 months is no longer a trend. It’s an organizational crisis. Expect GM to announce at least one major technology partnership by Q3 2026 as Gast’s first visible output.

Editorial Note: AI tools were used to assist with research and archive retrieval for this article. All reporting, analysis, and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.