Saudi Prince Buys 5% Stake in Lucid Motors
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has purchased a 5% stake in electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors, increasing the kingdom's overall ownership. The investment comes during a major restructuring at Lucid, including workforce reductions.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, has acquired a 5% stake in Lucid Motors, boosting the kingdom's existing ownership in the electric vehicle company. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, the billionaire prince purchased just over 19 million shares. In a post on X, he stated that his investment office made the acquisition when Lucid's market capitalization was below $2 billion, which occurred on July 14. That same day, an electric vehicle blog reported that Lucid was considering either filing for bankruptcy protection or being taken private by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Lucid strongly denied those reports, and its stock price has since recovered.
“We don’t comment on individual investments, but we are aware and appreciate the independent vote of confidence,” Lucid Motors’ Chief Communications Officer Nick Twork said in a statement to TechCrunch. The share purchase is taking place amid a major restructuring effort led by Lucid's newly appointed CEO, Silvio Napoli, who cut 18% of the workforce in June to “simplify the company.” This followed an earlier large layoff earlier this year before Napoli took over.
Lucid Motors has been majority-owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia since its initial investment in 2018. That investment came after Saudi Arabia considered but abandoned plans to take Tesla private. The PIF has owned roughly 60% of Lucid Motors since the EV maker merged with a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, a transaction that took it public and raised $4 billion. The Saudis have continued to provide financial support, buying shares and lending billions as Lucid struggles to reach a mass market of EV buyers in the U.S. and abroad.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has a history of investing in U.S. tech companies. Through his holding company, he was a major shareholder of Twitter when it was still public. In 2022, he initially opposed Elon Musk's attempt to buy the social media company, but quickly reversed course and cozied up to Musk, becoming the second-largest shareholder after the acquisition. He also holds stakes in Snap and Deezer and is often referred to as the “Arabian Warren Buffett.”
