Lucid Motors saw its stock price jump by as much as 98% on Friday, closing at $12.87 per share (up 43%), as rumors of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) considering a full takeover of the luxury electric automaker made the rounds — reports the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
The news represents a breath of fresh air after Lucid’s stock price hit an all-time low of $6.09 per share earlier this month. Rumors of the PIF wanting to take Lucid private first originated from a post on the British website Betaville.
While the report remains unconfirmed, it is certainly plausible. The PIF is already a majority stakeholder in Newark, California-based Lucid, owning over 60% of the company. Earlier this month, Lucid confirmed an additional investment of $915 million from the PIF.
If true, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund would fully acquire Lucid during a time when the automaker is struggling to scale production. The company only made 7,180 vehicles last year, barely exceeding its production forecast after lowering it twice during the year.
Even though Lucid’s Friday rally was the stock’s biggest one-day gain ever, the company’s shares are still trading about 47% below where they were when it originally went public back in 2021.
Last year, Lucid struck a massive deal to sell 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) to the Government of Saudi Arabia. Lucid has previously also announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in the gulf country.
The PIF is the same group that Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he was in talks with to take the EV pioneer private back in 2018. Musk is currently on trial for remarks he made on Twitter about the alleged deal at the time.
