Tesla rival Lucid get a staggering $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia

Tesla has been in rough seas since the last couple of months, ever since its CEO Elon Musk announced plans to take the company private. In what could spell further trouble for the once celebrated electric car maker, one of its rivals called Lucid just received a whopping $1 billion in funding from the massive Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, when Musk had announced plans for privatization, Saudi Arabia was said to be backing his move.

This investment comes at a very critical time for Lucid, which was cash-strapped and struggled to begin plans for launching its sedan called the Air. The company was founded about 10 years ago and planned to begin construction of its factory in Arizona in 2017. Furthermore, it even signed a deal with Samsung to supply it with lithium-ion batteries. But amidst all the research, engineering, development and recruitment, it fell short of funds and shelved its plans for production. However, with the latest funding secured, it plans to build its manufacturing plant capable of churning out 20,000 of its cars. Additionally, Lucid would also shift its focus to testing, development, sales and marketing strategies.

The company has claimed that its debut vehicle would have 1,000 horsepower and will be capable of going 400 miles on a single charge. Peter Rawlinson is the Chief Technical Officer of Lucid and used to be the chief engineer of the Tesla Model S. He claims that the Lucid Air will feature several traits commonly found in luxury cars such as Mercedes Benz and BMW.