EVwire brief: Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud has disclosed a new 5% stake in Lucid Motors, adding another prominent Saudi investor to the EV maker's shareholder base alongside the Kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
A Schedule 13G filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows the prince beneficially owns just over 19.5 million Lucid shares, representing roughly 5% of the company's outstanding stock. The filing was published Tuesday, several weeks after the shares were acquired.
In a post on X, Prince Al Waleed said his investment office purchased the shares when Lucid's market capitalization had fallen below $2 billion, referring to the sharp selloff that followed speculation earlier this month that the EV maker could seek bankruptcy protection or be taken private. Lucid strongly denied those reports, and the stock has since recovered.
Lucid stopped short of commenting on the stake directly. Chief communications officer Nick Twork told TechCrunch:
We don't comment on individual investments, but we are aware and appreciate the independent vote of confidence.
The investment also arrives mid-turnaround. Silvio Napoli, who stepped in as CEO this spring, cut 18% of Lucid's staff in June to "simplify the company," following a roughly 12% reduction earlier in the year.
Lucid's range is still just the Air sedan and Gravity SUV, both premium models, as it chases the mass market that has so far eluded it.
Context:
Saudi money is nothing new for Lucid. The kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been the majority owner since first backing the company in 2018, and has held about 60% since a 2021 SPAC merger took Lucid public and raised $4 billion.
The fund has kept the automaker afloat with repeated share purchases and loans as Lucid has struggled to build a mass-market EV business. Prince Alwaleed's stake sits outside the PIF, but it pushes Saudi-linked ownership higher still.
Saudi funding has carried the Air and Gravity through years of losses; a cheaper, higher-volume Lucid is still the goal.
Alwaleed is a familiar name in US tech. Through his Kingdom Holding company, he was one of Twitter's largest shareholders before Elon Musk took it private, first pushing back on Musk's 2022 bid, then switching sides and ending up the platform's second-biggest owner.
He also holds pieces of Snap and Deezer, and has been fondly dubbed the "Arabian Warren Buffett" due to his investment style.
Source: SEC Schedule 13G, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on X, and TechCrunch
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