The Public Investment Fund’s 60% Lucid stake was valued at more than $55 billion in the months after the EV manufacturer completed a US SPAC listing…The Saudis’ holding is now worth just $5.4 billion…
Lucid does have one very loyal customer: the government of Saudi Arabia, which in August reaffirmed a commitment to buy up to 100,000 of its vehicles over the next decade…
Mid year I was enjoying some time off, and was down in SoCal. I was headed to Palm Springs, when this flashy looking mid-size car zipped by me. Further up the road, at some traffic lights, I pulled up alongside the vehicle, and noted it was a Lucid. A person crossing the street noticed the car, and made a comment, “nice car” (or something to that effect).
My first Lucid sighting.
I think I have seen that make a couple more times. Say 3 or 4 times in about 5-to-6 months. Not too frequently. Never been involved with a car lease before. But, with nothing to show at end of the lease, $750 - $1100/month with a 10K annual mileage limit, seems expensive,
@GDavenport - After 2 years & 21,600 of driving, I will still own my Prius outright
BTW - the insurance on the Lucid would also need to be factored in.
While true, I would be hesitant to buy a car so dependent on the whims of the Saudis. If the wrong guy wakes up one day and says “that’s it”, you have a car that no one services or that parts are suddenly difficult to find.
I’d prefer a company that has an actual customer base, and hopefully is somewhat profitable. That’s not a guarantee either, of course, but I’d think it’s better odds that it will be around for the life of the car.
That’s a great point! What if, in 5-10 years, they have to decide to put $50B into Lucid or to put $50B into Neom and they can’t fund both anymore? (I was trying to think of alternate bottomless money pits to compare to)
