Tesla’s most credible rival raises $1 billion from Saudi Arabia

Enlarge / The Lucid Air, due out in 2020. (credit: Lucid Motors)

Lucid Motors, the electric car startup we described as Tesla's most credible rival last year, got a shot in the arm on Monday as Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund announced a $1 billion investment. The company aims to bring its first car to market in 2020.

Lucid has been building up to this moment for more than a decade. The company was founded in 2007 under the name Atieva to build technology related to electric cars-but not the entire car itself. In 2015, the Chinese state-owned automaker BAIC became Lucid's biggest investor, and we learned that Atieva was pivoting to face Tesla head-on by building an electric car of its own.

The company rebranded as Lucid two years ago and has a number of Tesla veterans-including chief technology officer Peter Rawlinson-helping design its first car, the Lucid Air.

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