Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced an investment deal worth $1 billion with Tesla's rival Lucid Motors on Monday. The carmaker said the investment would be used to fund the launch of its first electric vehicle Lucid Air by 2020. Besides the Lucid Air launch, the deal will finance the construction of a new factory in Arizona. The deal comes a month after PIF was in talks with Tesla's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk about taking the company private.
A spokesperson for the Saudi fund said it was "gaining exposure to long-term growth opportunities, supporting innovation and technological development and driving revenue and sectoral diversification for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," with the investment in Lucid Motors.
Under the terms of the agreement, the deal is subject to regulatory approval.
