Lucid Motors confirmed Thursday that it has completed the sale of a $1 billion stake to Saudi Arabia, specifically the Middle Eastern country's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Saudi Arabia's PIF also owns 5 percent of Tesla, CEO Elon Musk revealed last August.
Details of the deal with Lucid haven't been announced but it is thought to have been for a majority stake in the privately held EV startup.
Since the deal was first announced last September, Lucid has made major steps toward realizing production of its first product, the Air luxury sedan. Prototypes have reached a late stage of development and Lucid has reached a deal with Electrify America to provide future owners with hassle-free charging.
Lucid Air prototype during high-speed test at Transportation Research Center, Ohio
By the end of June, Electrify America will install or have under construction over 2,000 high-speed charge points at nearly 500 sites in metro and highway locations across 40 states and 17 major cities. These will offer charging at up to 350 kilowatts.
Lucid's team also recently moved into a new 305,000 square-foot headquarters in Silicon Valley and is preparing to break ground on a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona. If all goes to plan, Lucid hopes to have the Air in production in 2020.
The Air was unveiled in late 2016 and in base trim is expected to offer 400 horsepower and 240 miles of range. The range-topping version is expected to offer as much as 1,000 hp and 400 miles. An SUV is tipped to follow as the next model from the startup.
You might be wondering why the Saudis, one of the world's biggest oil producers, is investing in electric car companies. It's part of the country's Vision 2030 plan aimed at boosting revenues and ending a dependence on oil, though things haven't gone as smoothly as the country's leaders expected due to the ongoing war on neighboring Yemen and the cancellation of the much-hyped initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, the country's national oil giant.
