© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – A Lucid Air electric vehicle is displayed at a shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S., September 27, 2021. REUTERS/Hyunjoo Jin
(Reuters) -Lucid Group’s shares pared gains after doubling on Friday on market speculation that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is working on plans to buy out the rest of the electric vehicle maker.
The speculation came as a result of an “uncooked” alert from deals website Betaville. The website uses the term “uncooked” to refer to market gossip. Lucid was the sixth-most traded stock on U.S. exchanges and third top mover on the Nasdaq, with shares up over 37%.
The PIF, the sovereign wealth fund that owns more than 65% of Lucid, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lucid declined to comment.
Back in 2018, PIF was interested in taking Tesla (NASDAQ:) private, but the deal did not materialize. Tesla chief Elon Musk is under trial for allegedly misleading investors with his tweet “funding secured” for taking the company private.
Lucid has been struggling to deliver its sleek Air luxury EVs. It delivered 4,369 vehicles last year.
With Tesla’s price cuts, money-losing U.S. startups like Rivian Automotive Inc and Lucid will find it much more difficult to grab share in an industry competing for shrinking consumer wallets.
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