Lucid Motors confirmed a merger agreement with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital to bring the electric automaker and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) rival to the public market. Ahead of the IPO launch, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson has a message to investors: we are a tech company.
‘The world’s best technology’
Lucid is bringing “the world’s best technology” to the market and the company’s $60 billion valuation validates and endorses its technology, Rawlinson said on CNBC. Most notably, Lucid’s advanced technology is evident in its battery technology that already powers every vehicle in the world’s leading EV racing series.
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Lucid’s battery can withstand 500 miles on a single charge and this puts it ahead of all other EV competitors. On top of a leading mileage capability, Lucid’s batteries can fully recharge at a faster pace than its rivals. Specifically, a battery could be sufficiently charged to run for 300 miles in around 20 minutes, the CEO said.
“This is next generation technology,” he said.
As an added feature, a Lucid car can double as a vehicle-to-grid provider of power. A car can even power a house if needed.
Lucid joins other private companies joining the public market via the SPAC route. Here is an Invezz report on a January deal involving EVgo.
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Tech and safety
Lucid’s cars include 32 sensors on board and will be able to support multiple advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). According to the CEO, this makes his cars the “most comprehensive and beautifully integrated censor suites for autonomous driving and ADAS,” the CEO said.
On top of the nearly three dozen sensors are 14 cameras, long-range and short-range radars, surround radars, and a 120 degree solid-state LIDAR.
Confidence in profit generation
Lucid expects to generate as much as $2.885 billion in EBITDA by 2026 as part of an “ambitious and realizable” outlook, the CEO said. The company can realize its goal after it completed construction on North America’s first dedicated electric vehicle factory in late December 2020.
“We got the expertise, we got the track record of delivery,” he said. “What’s really important now though, particularly the next few months, is to get our first product into production. That’s our great litmus.”
SPAC route over traditional IPO
Lucid was among the most closely watched private companies among investors heading into 2021 and could have opted for a traditional IPO route instead of a SPAC deal. But according to Rawlinson, the SPAC-route helped him “secure our future” by raising more than $4.5 billion.
“This means we can accelerate our business model in a secure manner,” he said. “And this is really important because the whole world needs to move to sustainable mobility with technology. And this means Lucid can be at the forefront of this new movement.”
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