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November 17, 2021

Lucid slips after earlier rally driven by Air sedan hype and EV enthusiasm cools

Lucid Air — Lucid Motors’ Air EV.
Lucid Motors

Lucid shares fell as much as 9% Wednesday, reversing gains earlier in the day.
The shares early Wednesday had extended Tuesday’s rally amid continued investor hype around its Air sedan and EVs.
Electric truck maker Rivian also dropped after a blistering post-IPO rally over the last week.

Lucid stock slipped as much as 9% Wednesday, reversing earlier gains driven by hype around its Air sedan and EV stocks as a whole.

Lucid jumped 24% Tuesday to lead the broader rally in EV stocks including Rivian and Tesla. It continued to rally Wednesday and then reversed during the session. At 2:03 pm ET, the shares were lower by 5.6%, trading at $52.42. Rival EV-maker Rivian also reversed its days-long rally, dropping as much as 18% in its first down day since going public last week.

Despite the slump, Lucid has more than doubled in price since it went public via SPAC merger in July. Its rally yesterday through Wednesday morning was spurred, in part, by positive reviews and guidance on its signature Air sedan. The luxury EV won the highly coveted Car of the Year award Monday from MotorTrend, beating out sedans from Porsche, Honda and Hyundai and becoming only the third electric car to nab the title.

Also this week, the company reported its first quarterly results since going public and said it saw growing demand for its EV while maintaining its 2022 production goal.

Among retail investors, Lucid was the second most-traded stock Wednesday, according to Fidelity data. Newly public Rivian was the top, and Tesla was the third. Canoo, Gores Guggenheim, a SPAC set to merge with EV startup Polestar, and Ford were also among the top traded retail stocks, the data show.

As of yesterday, retail traders had purchased $378 million worth of shares of Lucid, Rivian, and Ford, in the past week — surpassing demand for Tesla — according to Bloomberg, which cited data from Vanda Research.

Peter Rawlinson, a former chief engineer of Tesla’s Model S, now runs Lucid and is obsessed with wanting to get ahead of his rival, Insider previously reported. Despite the share slump Wednesday, Lucid’s market value of $84 billion has surpassed that of legacy automaker Ford, but it still has a ways to go to reach Tesla’s approximate $1 trillion value.

Read the original article on Business Insider

November 17, 2021

Lucid extends 2-day rally to 30% as hype builds around Air sedan and investors pour into EV stocks

Lucid stock has risen 30% since Tuesday amid continued investor hype around its Air sedan and EVs.
Lucid was the top-traded retail stock again Wednesday, according to Fidelity data.
The company’s Air sedan won MotorTrend’s Car of the Year award on Monday.

Lucid stock is gaining for a second day as hype around its Air sedan picks up and investors pour into EV stocks.

The stock has risen 30% since Tuesday and has more than doubled in price since it went public with a blank-check company in July. Its rally has been spurred, in part, by positive reviews and guidance on its signature Air sedan.

The EV won the highly coveted Car of the Year award Monday from MotorTrend, beating out sedans from Porsche, Honda and Hyundai and becoming only the third EV to nab the title.

Also this week, the company reported its first quarterly results since going public and said it saw growing demand for its EV while maintaining its 2022 production goal.

Lucid has been at the front of the pack as retail traders have been pining for EV stocks. According to Fidelity data, Lucid was the most traded stock Wednesday, with newly public Rivian, Tesla and Canoo in second, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. Gores Guggenheim, a SPAC set to merge with EV startup Polestar, and Ford were also among the top traded retail stocks, the data show.

Peter Rawlinson, a former chief engineer of Tesla’s Model S, now runs Lucid and is obsessed with wanting to get ahead of his rival, Insider previously reported.

With this week’s rally, Lucid’s market value has hit $89 billion, soaring past that of legacy automaker Ford, but it still has a ways to go to reach Tesla’s approximate $1 trillion value.

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November 1, 2021

Lucid jumps 9% as deliveries of its Air sedan begin and reviews suggest it’s a formidable Tesla competitor

Lucid Group surged as much as 9% on Monday as early reviews of its Air sedan rolled in.
The electric vehicle manufacturer began to deliver its luxury sedans just last week.
Reviews of the more than 1,000 horse-power car called the Lucid Air a worthy Tesla competitor.

Shares of Lucid Group surged as much as 9% on Monday, extending its week-long gain to nearly 60% as the electric vehicle manufacturer begins deliveries of its Air sedan.

The company plans to only deliver a few hundred of its premium Air Dream edition cars into year-end, but early reviews are proving to be positive, with The Wall Street Journal calling it a worthy opponent to Tesla. And Road and Track said last month the Lucid Air “is so good it should make Tesla sweat.”

The $169,000 special edition vehicle has more than 1,000 horse-power, a range of more than 500 miles on a full charge, and can go 0-60 miles per hour in under three seconds. The luxury EV also has lidar, optical, and radar sensing abilities to help assist drivers on the road, along with the ability to download over-the-air software updates in the future to enable new features.

Lucid plans to deliver some 520 Air Dream edition vehicles by year-end, before it transitions to manufacturing and delivering the lower priced Air model early next year. The company, which is led by former Tesla executive Peter Rawlinson, expects to deliver 20,000 vehicles next year and generate more than $2 billion in revenue.

Lucid will face increasing competition into next year from both legacy automakers like Ford and General Motors, as well as new entrants like Rivian.

But for now, investors are betting Lucid will have no trouble competing against both new and old EV companies, with the company’s market valuation just a few billion shy of Ford as of Monday morning.

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October 29, 2021

Lucid climbs as excitement builds around the EV maker’s 1st deliveries of its luxury Air sedan

Lucid stock extended gains Friday as excitement continued to build around its Dream Edition sedans.
The company earlier this week confirmed that customer deliveries will begin on October 30.
Lucid was the most mentioned stock in Reddit’s WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours.
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Shares of Lucid Group extended their gains Friday as excitement continued to build around the electric-vehicle startup’s first Dream Edition Lucid Air sedans.

The company earlier this week confirmed that customer deliveries of its $169,000 cars will begin on October 30.

Lucid was mentioned 683 times in Reddit’s WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours, by far the most talked-about stock, based on data from Quiver Quant. Amazon was the second most-discussed stock with 454 mentions.

Lucid’s stock was up 2.34% at $36.31 as of 11:56 a.m. ET Friday. On Thursday, shares closed up 31% and hit an intraday high of $39.78 – the highest since the SPAC merger with Churchill Capital IV Corp. was completed on July 26.

For the week, the stock is heading for a gain of more than 50%. However, it still hovers way below its 12-month high of nearly $65 a share in February when it was announced that it was going public.

Lucid, founded in 2007 as Atieva, is often viewed as a Tesla competitor with its high-end luxury electric vehicles.

Lucid’s Dream Edition is a special edition of its flagship sedan. Customers who ordered it were invited to pick up their vehicles on Saturday from Lucid’s headquarters in California. In total, Lucid plans to deliver 520 customer-configured Dream Editions.

The EV maker’s so-called “Dream Delivery” bonanza this week came after it announced the start of production at its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Apart from the Dream Edition, the company also has Grand Touring, Touring, and Air Pure models in the pipeline. The company in September said it has received more than 13,000 total reservations.

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September 8, 2021

The Lucid Air is almost here. Here’s how it stacks up to the Tesla Model S.

The Tesla Model S and Lucid Air. — The Tesla Model S (below) and Lucid Air.
Tesla; Lucid Motors

Lucid Motors is on the brink of delivering its first electric vehicle: the Air.
It’s up against the Tesla Model S, the king of luxury electric sedans.
Here’s how the two models compare in terms of their price, range, performance, and interiors.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

All the big guys are coming for Tesla. But don’t forget about the scrappy upstarts also vying for a slice of the soon-to-be-massive electric-vehicle market.

Lucid Motors, founded by former Tesla chief engineer Peter Rawlinson, is one of the startups closest to delivering its first vehicle: the Air. Packing tons of performance and range, a sleek design, and a tech-laden interior, the Air might give the king of luxury EVs something to worry about.

The Air Dream, the most expensive debut model, is set to hit buyers’ driveways later this year, followed by cheaper Airs down the line.

Here’s how Lucid’s first vehicle compares to the top-dog Model S.

Range

Range is the most important consideration for many potential EV buyers, and it’s one area where Lucid has Tesla beat. The Tesla Model S Long Range is currently the longest-range electric car you can buy, promising 405 miles of driving on a full battery, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Lucid Air exterior_6 — The Lucid Air.
Lucid

Lucid says the Air Dream delivers more than 500 miles of range, blowing Tesla and every other manufacturer out of the water. That’s in the Range trim. No word yet on how far the Dream Performance can go.

It appears this isn’t all talk, seeing as the Air Grand Touring has already achieved an EPA range of 517 miles. Lucid says the base Air Pure will get 406 miles of range.

Price

Lucid is taking Tesla’s approach to new vehicles, starting with an expensive, upmarket car and working down toward a more economical model. The Air Dream, which is already pre-sold out, costs $169,000. For comparison, the Model S Plaid, Tesla’s fastest and highest-end Model S, starts at $130,000.

Tesla Model 3 — The Tesla Model S.
Tesla

The base price for an Air will be $77,400, while the Model S currently costs $89,990.

Two other Air trims will be available: a $95,000 Touring version and a $139,000 Grand Touring model.

Performance

The sportiest Air will be the Dream Performance, which promises 1,111 horsepower, well over 700 pound-feet of torque, and a 0-60-mph time of 2.5 seconds. The Dream Range claims to produce only 933 horsepower. Lucid says it’ll sprint to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds.

Both Dream models, by the numbers, are outrageously quick and powerful. But they don’t beat the Model S Plaid, Tesla’s latest and greatest sedan that has nabbed the title of the world’s quickest production car.

Lucid Air exterior_1 — The Lucid Air.
Lucid

The Plaid’s three motors put out a claimed 1,020 horsepower, enabling the sedan to rocket to 60 mph in around two seconds. The base Model S Long Range is no slouch either, promising to hit 60 mph in 3.1 seconds.

Here’s what the rest of the Air lineup promises in terms of power: 480 horsepower for the Pure, 620 horsepower for the Touring, and 800 horsepower for the Grand Touring. All Airs will have all-wheel drive, like all Model S cars.

Interior

Both the Air and Model S have minimalist interiors packed with screens. But each manufacturer has taken a slightly different approach.

The Model S, which pioneered the massive in-car screen, comes with a giant central touchscreen that owners use to control most aspects of the car. It also has a smaller display in front of the driver and a touchscreen for rear passengers.

The Air comes with a 34-inch curved screen for the driver, along with a smaller touchscreen near the center console. The Air has a few physical buttons for the climate controls.

Lucid Air interior_3 — The Lucid Air’s interior.
Lucid

We’ll take a deeper dive into the Air’s interior, features, and on-road performance once we get in one for a test drive.

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August 25, 2021

Lucid says its first electric car drove 445 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco without charging, easily besting Tesla’s range

In a range test with Motortrend, the Lucid Air drove 445 miles on a charge with energy to spare.
Tesla has led the range game for years with the Model S, which has an EPA range of 405 miles.
Lucid claims its $169,000 Air Dream can travel up to 517 miles on a full battery.
See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Electric-vehicle startup Lucid Motors is on the cusp of delivering its first vehicle: the Air sedan. But it still faces the daunting task of convincing shoppers to go with an untested upstart over a proven EV maker like its biggest rival, Tesla.

There’s one key edge that Lucid may have over Elon Musk: range. Lucid proved that the Air gives Tesla’s best cars a run for their money and then some during a recent journey in the car with Motor Trend.

Lucid claims the limited-run Air Dream Edition, its first vehicle, can travel up to 517 miles on a full battery, over 100 miles more than the Tesla Model S, which has dominated the range game for years.

Motor Trend drove an Air 445 miles from Los Angeles to the Bay Area on a single charge and noted 30 miles of range remained, a feat that would have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago. (Tesla crossed the 400-mile-range threshold just last year). The outlet took the trip with Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson, whose identical vehicle showed 72 miles of charge left, adding up to a total range of 517 miles.

Range is a top consideration for EV buyers who want to comfortably take long trips even as charging infrastructure in the US lags. That Lucid can produce a vehicle with a range so far ahead of the competition (albeit at a high price) bodes well for its future in the cutthroat and increasingly packed EV space.

Motor Trend and Rawlinson made the journey in a pair of Dream Edition Range models, which Lucid announced on Wednesday would be an available trim in addition to Dream Edition Performance models. The Performance version promises 1,111 horsepower and a 2.5-second 0-60-mph time, while the Range variant is more geared toward squeezing out mileage. It still claims a bonkers 933 horsepower.

Both vehicles start at $169,000, but Lucid has more affordable cars in the pipeline. Lucid delayed the Air’s launch from the spring and plans to start shipping Airs by late 2021.

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February 24, 2021

Churchill Capital Corp. IV has plunged over 50% since announcing long-awaited Lucid Motors deal

Churchill Capital Corp. IV investors are fleeing the name after the Lucid Motors deal.
The stock is down over 50% in a two-day slide as investors weigh valuation concerns.
CCIV and Lucid merged with a combined pro-forma equity value of $24 billion on Monday.
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Churchill Capital Corp. IV has plunged over 50% in a two-day skid since announcing the long-awaited Lucid Motors deal on Monday.

For months, investors bought the stock on rumors of a deal, sending the share price surging, only to sell off sharply once news broke that the Michael Klein-backed SPAC would merge with the luxury EV maker.

The Newark, California-based Lucid Motors combined with Churchill Capital Corp. IV at a transaction equity value of $11.75 billion and a pro-forma equity value of $24 billion.

The transaction included a cash contribution from CCIV of $2.1 billion, and a PIPE investment of $2.5 billion, as well as a lock-up provision that “binds holders well beyond closing.”

Shares of the SPAC Churchill Capital Corp. IV originally soared roughly 600% after a Jan. 11 report from Bloomberg said the company was in talks to take the EV maker public.

Investors flocked to the blank-check firm amid a run on electric vehicles stocks, which are set to benefit from a “Biden Administration and Blue Senate green tidal wave,” according to analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

Lucid’s efficient battery tech that CEO Peter Rawlinson has said is “more advanced technology than Tesla” also drew in investors, despite valuation concerns for the company that has yet to produce revenues from operations.

The Lucid Air sedan also undoubtedly attracted attention to the EV manufacturer. The company’s first EV is aimed at the Tesla Model S and boasts a 9.9-second quarter-mile time, super fast charging, and a 517-mile range.

With prices starting at $77,400 ($69,900 after the US federal tax credits) Lucid is setting its sights on the luxury end of the elecric car market. The company is starting sales with its luxury models including the Air Dream Edition.

Peter Rawlinson told Yahoo Finance in October of last year that he thinks “it’s really important that we start at a high-end position as a true luxury brand.”

“I’m a great believer that the first product defines the brand in the way the Tesla model S defined Tesla as a brand,” the CEO said.

After the Dream Edition rollout, Lucid expects to release its Gravity performance SUV by 2023. Helping the company do just that is a state-of-the-art Casa Grande, Arizona EV factory that will eventually produce roughly 365,000 vehicles annually.

Shares of CCIV fell nearly 20% on Wednesday, dropping under the $30 per share mark for the first time since February 4.

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February 22, 2021

Churchill Capital Corp. IV spikes 19% as report tells investors to expect Lucid Motors deal as soon as Tuesday

Reports out of Bloomberg indicate the Churchill Capital IV-Lucid merger investors have been waiting for may come as soon as Tuesday.
Churchill Capital Corp. IV has soared more than 425% since rumors of a merger were first reported.
Electric vehicle-maker Lucid Motors expects to sell its first Air Dream Edition in the second quarter of 2021.
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Shares of Churchill Capital Corp. IV spiked 19% on Monday after a Bloomberg report said a merger with the electric vehicle-maker Lucid Motors could come as soon as Tuesday.

Rumors about a potential merger between the so-called blank-check special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital IV and Lucid have been in the works for over a month now.

If the deal goes through, it will use $2 billion in cash raised by Churchill Capital IV’s IPO, as well as an investment of between $1 billion and $1.5 billion from institutional investors to support the transaction.

When the merger is complete the combined entity will be valued at roughly $15 billion, according to unnamed sources at Bloomberg.

Churchill Capital IV’s stock has skyrocketed more than 425% since reports first came out of talks between the Michael Klein-backed SPAC and Lucid Motors last month.

Investors are excited about the prospects of Newark-based Lucid Motors. Lucid is a real competitor to Tesla, and its new all-electric vehicle, the Lucid Air has been praised by critics.

The company’s flagship model, the Air Dream Edition, is set to launch in the second half of 2021 and boasts a Tesla-like performance with a new focus on luxury.

Lucid is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, also known as the Public Investment Fund or PIF, which acquired a 67% stake in the EV maker for about $1.3 billion in 2018.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Lucid was in talks to build an EV manufacturing facility near the Red Sea city of Jeddah as a result of its Saudi Arabian backing.

The company also completed its first factory in Casa Grande, Arizona in December, where it expects to eventually produce 400,000 cars annually.

If the Lucid merger with Churchill Capital Corp IV does go through, it will continue a year of monumental growth for SPACs. SPACs have overshadowed traditional IPOs in 2021, accounting for 63% of the nearly $77 billion raised on U.S. exchanges, according to data from Bloomberg.

Even Churchill Capital Corp IV is just one of seven SPACs backed by former Citigroup man Michael Klein. Just last week Klein raised $1.6 billion for his sixth and seventh SPACs.

Churchill Capital Corp IV traded up 17%, at $62.03, at 9:38 a.m. ET in New York.

Screen Shot 2021 02 22 at 8.53.55 AM — Markets Insider

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February 16, 2021

Churchill Capital IV soars 33% after report says the SPAC is nearing a deal to take EV maker Lucid Motors public

Churchill Capital Corp IV is reportedly in talks with Lucid Motors to take the company public.
The SPAC has seen its share price jump over 300% since rumors of the merger first became public on Jan 11.
If the merger goes through, Lucid will be one of the over 130 companies to go public via SPAC this year.
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Churchill Capital Corp IV soared as much as 33% on Tuesday after a report from Reuters suggested the company is close to a deal to take electrive vehicle maker Lucid Motors public at a valuation of around $12 billion.

The Michael Klein-backed SPAC is reportedly in talks with investors to raise between $1 and $1.5 billion for the transaction by selling shares in a PIPE. These funds would be an additional boost to the $2 billion Churchill Capital IV raised from its IPO in July.

According to Reuters, Lucid and Michael Klein have agreed on key terms of the deal, which could be announced as early as this month.

Churchill Capital IV declined to comment on the deal, and Lucid Motors did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Both companies did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

If the deal goes through, it would be yet another successful SPAC merger for the former Citigroup executive Michael Klein who raised another $1.6 billion for his sixth and seventh SPACs on Monday.

Rumors of a potential deal between the Michael Klein SPAC Churchill Capital IV and Lucid started back on Jan. 11 when Bloomberg first reported the two companies were in talks for a potential merger.

Subsequently, shares of Churchill Capital have jumped more than 300% as investors continue to target any news in the red hot EV market.

Lucid Motors was founded in 2007 as a battery company called Atieva by former Tesla executive Bernard Tse and entrepreneur Sam Weng.

Since then, the company has transitioned to a full-fledged EV manufacturer that focuses on luxury offerings. Lucid’s first EV, the Lucid Air, will take aim at the Tesla Model S with its base price of $77,400, a 517 miles of range, and a 9.9-second quarter-mile time.

Lucid also boasts a Casa Grande, Arizona factory that will eventually produce 400,000 vehicles annually, according to the company.

Churchill’s move to merge with Lucid Motors follows a long line of new EV entrants to the public markets over the past few years.

From Chinese EV manufacturer Nio to the Ohio-based Lordstown Motors, EV makers are booming, and SPACs are often their method of choice for entering public markets. More than 130 companies have now gone public via a SPAC merger or buyout in 2021 in what some are calling a SPAC boom.

While some of these SPAC entries have paid off for investors, others haven’t been as fruitful.

Lucid rivals Nikola and Fisker both went public via mergers with SPACs in 2020, and while Fisker has posted strong gains, much of Nikola’s gains have been erased as EV entrants are facing increasing competition.

Still, shares of CCIV responded positively to the news, trading up 32.44%, at $52.95, as of 3:56PM ET on Tuesday.

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February 12, 2021

Churchill Capital IV rallies 13% amid new signs it’s seeking to acquire Lucid Motors from an investing consortium led by Venrock Associates

VC firm Venrock Associates and a consortium of investors proposed the sale of Lucid Motors to CCIV, according to a Bloomberg terminal update.
Lucid and Churchill Capital IV have been rumored to be in merger talks since January 11.
The news comes as Lucid plans on releasing its first production vehicle this spring.
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Churchill Capital IV’s (CCIV) stock rallied as much as 13% Friday amid new signs the company is seeking to acquire EV maker Lucid Motors from an investing consortium led by VC firm Venrock Associates.

According to a Bloomberg terminal news update, CCIV began talks with Venrock Associates and a group of Lucid investors on Thursday, but the financial terms of the potential deal haven’t yet been disclosed.

Venrock Associates is one of the oldest investors in Lucid. The VC firm first bought into the company back in 2009 in a $7 million Series B financing round when Lucid was still a small battery manufacturer called Atieva.

Now Venrock is looking to turn that relatively small investment into a much larger gain by selling its holdings to Michael Klein’s SPAC Churchill Capital IV.

Rumors of a potential Lucid Motors sale or merger with CCIV have been circulating for some time.

On Jan 11, Bloomberg first reported Lucid Motors was in talks to go public via a merger with the special purpose acquisition company. The news caused a 50% rise in CCIV’s share price in just two days. Since then, the stock has appreciated over 240% as investors continue to value the SPAC as if a deal with Lucid is in the works.

Now investors may be getting what they’re looking for, as the most recent news is yet another sign that CCIV and Lucid will eventually merge.

Lucid Motors first gained attention in the media with the release of its luxury EV, the Lucid Air. Even the base model of the electric vehicle will offer a range of 406 miles and a 0-60 of 2.5 seconds. The company says it will start at $69,900 with the incorporation of federal tax credits as well.

Lucid also earned headlines recently after opening a production facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, where it plans on eventually manufacturing 400,000 vehicles per year.

Although for now, there will be limited production of the company’s flagship model, the Air Dream Edition, which starts at $169,000 and will offer 1,080 horsepower and a range of 517 miles.

Lucid plans on producing its first saleable cars out of the Casa Grande factory this spring.

Churchill Capital IV traded up about 13%, at $35.60 per share, as of 9:56AM E.T. on Friday.

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