Investors, get ready for Lucid’s IPO!
Rumor of Lucid’s potential merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) has been around for a while now. In fact, the top contender to broker this merger is Churchill Capital Corp. IV from New York. The company is headed by Michael Klein, a former Citigroup broker, and an experienced Wall Street hotshot. Additionally, since the news broke, Churchill Capital has witnessed an impressive 80% gain in its stock prices in just four days!
When it first launched in 2007, Lucid primarily focused on developing batteries to be used in other automakers’ EVs. Yet, the company’s approach changed in 2016 when it announced plans to produce its own electric vehicle. As of now, the company’s first luxurious electric sedan will be the Air, with the first deliveries set for Spring 2021.
Being an EV manufacturer now, Lucid’s most significant competitor will be Tesla itself. Another company expected to take the same route as Lucid is Faraday Future, which itself was pitted to be Tesla’s primary challenger at the time of its launch. However, the company has since faced a lot of hurdles, including its founder filing for bankruptcy.
Lucid is currently owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, a sovereign wealth fund with assets worth $347 billion. It was developed to invest funds on behalf of the Saudi government, and Lucid Motors is just one of its many investments.
Going public, Lucid will secure additional funds as it prepares for the deliveries of its much-anticipated Air model. The funds generated will also help the company in developmental operations for its future models. If all goes well, the company might just become a substantial homegrown competitor on the EV market.
Moreover, one thing that garnered a lot of attention is that when Tesla went public in 2010, it had its Roadster model ready to deliver. And so when one compares it with Lucid’s situation, the stark difference lies in the fact that Lucid’s first production vehicle is still a bit too far from being delivered.
To be continued…
