Lucid Gets A Big $915 Million Boost From The Saudis

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Lucid has that Saudi money, Brits are rocking out to Christmas songs about New York on the road trips, the Feds kick the can down the road, and the Takata death toll rises.

Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.

Lucid Gets Liquidity, Which I Shall Call Luquidity

Lucid Air

It’s a truism of building cars that the first car a company makes costs a $1 billion (or $400 million, or whatever), and the company slowly keeps making and selling until all the money it gets for selling the cars finally surpasses the cost of developing and building them, and then the company reaches profitability. That’s a little oversimplified, but you get the point. For a massive car company it’s not a big deal because massive car companies don’t build one car at a time. For smaller companies it can create a cash crunch.

American electric automaker Lucid has cleared the first few hurdles to be coming a real automaker, and you can see the company’s cars on the road. Still, Lucid is losing hundreds of millions of dollars every quarter, and to turn that around it has to ramp up production of the quite interesting Lucid Gravity.

What Lucid needs is cash, and it just announced a successful $1.5 billion haul. The first $600 million came from selling 56.2 million common shares of the company at market prices (they’re listed on the NASDAQ). What about the rest?

The successful capital raise of approximately $1.515 billion, which includes approximately $915 million that Lucid expects to raise through the private placement of approximately 85.7 million shares to an affiliate of the Public Investment Fund (“PIF”), Ayar Third Investment Company (“Ayar”), pending settlement in December 2022, will be used, as previously disclosed, for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, capital expenditures and working capital. As previously disclosed, the price that Ayar is paying in the private placement equals the volume-weighted average price achieved in the “at-the-market” offering. This private placement is not a part of the “at-the-market” offering and is in addition thereto. Subject to certain exceptions, Ayar has agreed not to, among other things, offer, sell, pledge or otherwise transfer any shares of our common stock for six months after the date of the private placement.

The Public Investment Fund is a great name. You see that and you might think: “It’s money, for the public!” And this is true, assuming you recognize that the public in this case represents the Saudi public, and that the money is actually controlled by the Saudi Royal Family. They already own a huge amount of Lucid, as well as Uber, and Electronic Arts. This deal seems to keep them roughly equal with where they were before the fundraise (about 62% of the company).

This is good news for Lucid and, probably, anyone who invested in Lucid, though the Bank of Japan is out here throwing bombs this morning so who really knows.

So, About That Manchin Story Yesterday

Tmd Janet Yellin

Remember that big story yesterday about West Virginia v. South Korea and Joe Manchin and all that mishegas about whether or not Ubers and rental cars qualify for federal EV tax credits? A key piece in that story is that we’d find out what happens when the Treasury Department announces guidance at the end of the year. What did the government do? What government does best: kick the can down the road.

From the Associated Press:

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday said it will issue proposed guidance for the critical mineral and battery component requirements in March, effectively delaying those eligibility restrictions in the $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles.

[…]

Instead, Treasury said it will release information before the end of the year that will outline the “anticipated direction” of the critical mineral and battery component requirements that new EVs must meet to qualify. The information also will help automakers “prepare to be able to identify vehicles eligible for the tax credit when the new requirements go into effect,” the department said.

Hahahahahaha. Technically, this means that the tax credit continues until March, I guess?

The Brits Love “Fairytale Of New York” by the Pogues ft Kirsty MacColl For Christmas Driving

As has been well-established, I’m a big fan of Skoda. I try to read all of the Skoda news. I don’t share all the Skoda news because I understand that this fascination of mine is perhaps limited only to me. A release from Skoda this morning caught my eye, though not for the reason one might expect.

Most of the release is dedicated to “research” Skoda did that found out 23% of drivers in the UK are going to reduce their mileage because everything is expensive now after they catapulted themselves out of Europe and trashed their economy… because reasons.

What caught my eye was the song chosen as the most popular one for Christmas road trips.

Regardless of where Christmas is spent, and no matter the amount of time spent in the car this festive period, ŠKODA research has also revealed what’s on the top of the Christmas driving song playlist for journeys to visit family and friends.

The results speak for themselves, with a clear winner, the Fairytale of New York with 26% of the vote. In second place was Driving Home for Christmas by Chris Rea with 23% and third place went to Last Christmas by Wham! with 20%.

The ŠKODA UK Christmas driving playlist, ranked according to popularity, is as follows:

  1. Fairytale of New York (The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl)

  2. Driving Home for Christmas (Chris Rea)

  3. Last Christmas (Wham!)

  4. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (Wizzard)

  5. All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey)

  6. Merry Christmas Everybody (Slade)

  7. Do They Know It’s Christmas? (Band Aid)

  8. Merry Christmas Everyone (Shakin’ Stevens)

  9. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Michael Bublé)

  10. Step Into Christmas (Elton John)

Wait, really? It’s a good song! I live in New York and you sometimes hear it on the radio, but it’s not a popular song. More of a novelty.

It turns out the Brits actually love this song. This isn’t some Skoda weirdness. There’s a whole Billboard article on the phenomena. It’s amazing to me that the most popular holiday song in the United Kingdom is about a Christmas in New York (and a pretty rough one at that).

If You Have A Takata Airbag You Gotta Get That Fixed

Dodge Magnum

The Takata airbag recall crisis occurred before this site existed, but the repercussions continue to be felt. The faulty airbags contain a chemical called ammonium nitrate to inflate the devices in the case of an accident. In warm and humid environments the chemicals can become more volatile and, instead of gently [Ed note: I dunno about “gently.” This is an airbag, here. -DT] filling the bag to protect a car’s passenger in an accident, it instead sends metal shrapnel into the cabin.

In spite of all the work done to recall vehicles with these airbags, many cars have not had their airbags replaced under the free recall. According to the Associated Press, another death has been linked to the exploding airbags in a Steallantis vehicle.

Stellantis announced two deaths in November caused by the air bags and said it suspected the inflators caused another. The company formerly known as Fiat Chrysler confirmed the third death early Monday.

Stellantis is urging people to stop driving Dodge Magnum wagons, Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars and Chrysler 300 sedans from the 2005 through 2010 model years.

Since 2009, the exploding air bags have killed at least 33 people worldwide, including 24 in the United States.

All three deaths this year were in warm-weather U.S. states and happened since April, the company said.

A recall is no fun, but I brought in one of my vehicles for the Takata recall a few years ago and it wasn’t a long procedure. It was certainly better than getting in an accident and having my airbag grenade into my face.

The Flush

What are your favorite holiday songs? The off-key Michael Caine “Thankful Heart” from “A Muppet Christmas Carol” gets me every time.

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Photos: Lucid, US Dept. of Treasury, Stellantis

 

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66 thoughts on “Lucid Gets A Big $915 Million Boost From The Saudis”

  3. I can understand why people don’t want to bother with the airbag recall. Mine ended up being 3 repairs because everyone who worked on it are incompetent.

    1st: air bag
    2nd: recall on the 1st air bag because ??
    3rd: fix cracked dash from replacing the air bag

  4. Happy to see Lucid will survive at least a little longer. I have seen these around a bit more lately, look real nice in person and as big as I thought they would. Whenever I see the Rivian trucks, they still look small to me, not necessarily a bad thing. Back on topic, the Lucid looks great and has a presence that seems more planted than the Model S.

      1. You must live somewhere that isn’t infested with F-150’s, Silverados, and Rams. Compared to any of those, the Rivian is much more right-sized.

  6. I like variety in my Christmas music, so it’s a little hard to pick a favorite song (even the best ones get old after repeated playings).

    My heart grows 10 sizes just like the Grinch’s whenever I hear those 13 xylophone tones that start out Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, and it has firmly entrenched itself as a Christmas classic. From the modern era I also like Kelly Clarkson’s “Wrapped in Red” and “Underneath the Tree” along with Britney Spears’ “Santa Can You Hear Me”.

    But my playlist isn’t all pop princesses. Wham’s “Last Christmas” is another good one, and their 4K restored music video for it is still pretty stunning to me. And Michael Crawford’s rendition of “O Holy Night” is absolutely breathtaking. I also like the Ed Sheeran / Elton John duet that Alexa has been playing for me when I request “Christmas Pop” but I can’t remember the name of the tune.

    When I’m not actively listening to the music, it’s great to throw on anything by Bing Crosby and just mellow out with friends.

    But if we’re looking for an absolute favorite, I’ve gotta go with The Drifters’ recording of “White Christmas”. I’ve enjoyed it ever since I saw Kevin MacAlister lip syncing to it in the mirror in Home Alone. The doo-wop-y beat never fails to put a smile on my face.

    Now I have to go and Google some of that British list because I didn’t recognize about half of them, and I’m always looking for new music to listen to.

    1. Totally agree with you on The Drifters’ “White Christmas”.

      And I’ll put Martina McBride’s “O Holy Night” up against pretty much anyone’s.

      However I find Kelly Clarkson almost unlistenable in any genre.

  8. “What are your favorite holiday songs?”
    Alien for Christmas by Fountains of Wayne
    Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses
    Happy Xmas (War is Over) – John Lennon and Yoko Ono
    Also, I agree with the Brits that Fairytale of New York is pretty good.

    1. (Some of this comes from working in retail for a few years. The most popular and traditional songs were played way too much all season each year. And some customers SUCK this time of year, which makes it even worse to hear the most common holiday songs.)

  9. I can’t believe that the Takata fiasco is STILL going on all these years later. What a mess!

    I remember taking my car in for service and being told that yes, it was affected by the recall but no, they don’t have the parts to perform the fix. This dragged on for at least a year… maybe 2, I don’t recall the details. I was infuriated that the answer for so long was nothing more than: “Just don’t crash, lol”

    It got me wondering if having no airbag at all might be safer than having an airbag filled with shrapnel. Could a blanking plate have been installed in its place as a temporary stopgap measure until good parts were available? Also, would the deaths associated with the airbags have been avoided with good airbags or no airbags at all? Car crashes are complicated violent things, so determining one factor as the cause of death is complicated. I’m sure someone with more information than I has already considered that, but it certainly raises my eyebrow.

    3. There are a lot of “Christmas” songs that aren’t Christmas songs. Winter Wonderland, Frosty the Snowman, Let it Snow, Baby, It’s Cold Outside (so let me sexually assault you) and I’m sure there are plenty of others. Last Christmas is more of a Christmas song than any of those.

  12. I had a 2008 Honda Civic with the incendiary claymore option; I had it replaced as soon as parts were available.

    As for Christmas songs, probably anything from the Rankin/Bass Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, and particularly A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives.
    All I want for Christmas is You as performed by Olivia Olson in Love Actually.
    Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
    Do They Know its Christmas by Band Aid.
    Carol of the Bells by Mannheim Steamroller.

  13. Flush:
    Christmas, isn’t Christmas, without a Swiss Colony Beef Log,
    Without those cheeses and meats, I don’t think I can get around,
    -E. Cartman

    Honorable mention:
    Christmas Wrapping – Waitresses

    When the stodgy relatives are around:
    Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth – Bing Crosby/David Bowie

    1. Great call on the Waitresses. If you like that song and are in the mood for an even quirkier, more modern take on it Haim did a Hanukah/Christmas mashup version of their own that’s super funny.

  14. I’m glad to see the Saudi’s diversifying but they can go eff’ themselves. I can’t wait till we move onto something else and they no longer get our money. On another note, glad I got the airbag recall done on my 05′ Magnum. When the recall was going on, all my ads were tailored to take my Mustang in. Has anybody noticed that? Just lots of ads with my car, same color, telling me to go get the recall done. I find that a bit unnerving.

  16. “What Lucid needs is cash, and it just announced a successful $1.5 billion haul. The first $600 million came from selling 56.2 million common shares of the company at market prices (they’re listed on the NASDAQ). What about the rest?”

    This is a strong indicator of health. An extremely strong one. An unhealthy company in a death spiral will struggle to sell additional shares except at an extreme discount. Remember, the stock market is irrational and can stay so longer than you can stay solvent. Rational or irrational, investors believe Lucid has a future, which extends the runway on solvency.

    Now, being owned by a dictatorship that comes up with newly misleading names for their various shell companies when not killing journalists and anyone who disagrees with them? That’s bad. That’s very bad. Let us be perfectly clear: the Saudi government is a dictatorship, run by a murderous despot who has absolutely no redeeming qualities, and should not be permitted to walk this earth. Period.
    Lucid would do well to force them out as quickly as possible.

    “The Takata airbag recall crisis occurred before this site existed, but the repercussions continue to be felt.”

    At this point, literally airbag and nearly every seat belt manufactured by Takata has been recalled at least once – some twice. The fact that they were able to just blithely sell and rebrand (Key Safety Systems, owned by the Chinese government, who rebranded to Joyson Safety Systems) with nobody going to jail for decades of willful fraud that got people killed really tells you all you need to know about the ‘society’ we live in.

    1. The Public Investment Fund is a great name. You see that and you might think: “It’s money, for the public!”

      I think it’s an offshoot of “the Human Fund. Money for People”.

  17. My favorite Christmas songs kind of run the gamut…as far as timeless ones go I’ll always love Last Christmas by Wham. I think it’s great because first and foremost it’s just an amazing song and composition…such awesome 80s synth noises, ambiance and of course George Michael’s voice is fantastic. The fact that it’s a Christmas song is secondary IMHO….at its core it’s still a banger.

    The wife and I also love Spotify’s Christmas Cocktail Jazz playlist. It’s just jazzy, relaxing takes on all the classics and makes great background music. My less traditional favorite is I Won’t Be Home For Christmas by Blink 182. I was at an impressionable age when they were at their peak and they were my first concert in 03 or 04 when they were on tour to support their self titled record…so they’ll always be a favorite band of mine.

    The nostalgia runs deeper too…local rock stations played it all the time around the holidays when I was growing up, and I have vivid memories of my buddy throwing it on when we were at a Christmas party back in 2015. I hadn’t heard it in years and it was fun to feel the memories rush back along with it. That was also just a fun time in my life…we were all fresh out of school, had just moved back home to the DC area, and had our first grown up jobs. None of us were getting rich or anything, but we all at least had our own places and the feeling of freedom and endless possibilities had us all in great spirits.

    What’s that old saying…something like “you’ll wish someone told you you were in the good times when they were happening”? That applies to that era for me for sure…not that I’m unhappy now or anything, but those first few years when my best friends and I were all within probably 20-30 minutes of each other looking to have a good time before the hellish reality of adulthood fully sank in were just amazing.

    Oh boy I’ve rambled and gone off track…such is the power of music! It’s cool that just thinking about a song can bring back a flood of pleasant memories. Anyway to make this car related uhhh…I think it’s almost always worth it to splurge for the upgraded soundsytem options wise on a car. Happy Holidays everyone, I woke up with Covid today so I’ll be extremely online for the next few days *audible groans*.

    1. I have 2 Christmas Cocktail CDs, and they’ll be the musical stars of our Christmas Eve Klatsch at our condo clubhouse! (yeah I’m extremely middle aged.)

  18. The Flush: Pentatonix f. Tori Kelly, Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy

    DWBH is a song my mom would play often in my childhood, and it brings an extra bit of nostalgia to this time of year.

  25. The Saudi Royal Family owns a large part of EA? Damn, that explains so much.

    As for the Takata recall, I work at a GM dealership, and I can tell you we still do probably about a dozen of these a month

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