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    Luxury EV startup Lucid Motors going public via SPAC, immediately delays production, stock dips 30%

    This morning Lucid Motor confirmed they are going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Details in the investor deck, related to the deal are now public and we find that production for the vehicle has now been delayed until the second half of 2021.

    This update in production timeline comes at a very strange time, given pre-SPAC, Lucid committed to ‘first deliveries expected in early 2021’.

    For a company that is pre-revenue, but talking a big game, a delay in production of their first vehicle, is a big deal and the timing certainly casts doubt on their honesty with investors and buyers.

    Like many EV offerings, the most expensive model, The Air Dream Edition will be the first to market, starting at US$161,500. Their with the more affordable model, the Air Pure (US$69,900) doesn’t have a production date, and after today’s developments, is even more uncertain.

    Lucid made waves when they announced their luxury vehicle offered some impressive figures, like 9.9 second quarter mile times and an EPA range of up to 517 miles (832km).

    Regarding their autonomous ambitions, the company will use a 32 sensors array (including LIDAR) to offer level 2 driver assists. The company expects to introduce Level 3 capability in about 3 years after the first cars are delivered.

    SPACs are a hot avenue for pre-revenue company’s to go public, which enables companies to merge with a holding company, avoiding many of the typical costs and complexities of a traditional IPO. In this merger, Lucid will combine with Churchill Capital Corp IV ($CCIV).

    The deal has a transaction equity value of $11.75 billion, and at $15 a share implies a valuation of $24 billion. The private investment in a public equity deal, known as a PIPE, and cash from Churchill will provide roughly $4.4 billion in total funding to Lucid, the parties reported.

    Trading at a high of US$63.20 today, the $CCIV stock has now dipped more than 30% in after hours trading, currently at US$40 at the time of writing.

    To date, nobody outside Lucid has driven a Lucid Air, however there are plenty of videos online of them driving during testing. The company also has an electric SUV planned for 2023 and in the investment deck, revealled they have other vehicles planned under the heading of 2030.

    Like Tesla, the Lucid Motors does state that they are starting with high end cars, but will progressively manufacture towards more affordable, higher volume vehicles.

    You can watch Simranpal Singh break down the investor relation presentation on YouTube below.

    Jason Cartwright
    Jason Cartwrighthttps://techau.com.au/author/jason/
    Creator of techAU, Jason has spent the dozen+ years covering technology in Australia and around the world. Bringing a background in multimedia and passion for technology to the job, Cartwright delivers detailed product reviews, event coverage and industry news on a daily basis. Disclaimer: Tesla Shareholder from 20/01/2021

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