A Tesla Rival’s ‘Funding Secured’ Moment Is an Omen
The electric-car field keeps getting more crowded, while Elon Musk’s vehicle struggles to deliver.
The Lucid Air electric sedan is displayed during the New York International Auto Show at the Javits center in New York on April 13, 2017.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Monday’s big news in electric vehicles: Lucid Motors Inc. secured some funding, and from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, no less. That may sound like a cheap joke at rival Tesla Inc.’s expense; and, yes, that can happen when your CEO conducts corporate finance over Twitter. But few seemed to be laughing Monday morning, with Tesla’s stock dropping at first.
Superficially, Monday’s announcement of Saudi money going to a rival raises uncomfortable memories of Tesla’s bizarre take-private episode. But that fiasco is almost a month old, and we already suspected the sovereign wealth fund might invest $1 billion in Lucid.