Lucid Motors Set to Debut With Valuation of Around $24 Billion

Lucid Motors spikes 10% on its first day of trading.

Shares of Lucid Motors are set to make their debut in a reverse-merger with Churchill Capital that will value the electric vehicle start-up at more than $24 billion.

Shares of luxury electric vehicle start-up Lucid Motors are set to make their debut on Monday as the race to populate the world’s roads and highways with electric vehicles continues to heat up.

Shares of Lucid Motors will debut on the Nasdaq under symbol "LCID." The listing follows the close Friday of the merger between special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital (CCIV) , a blank check company started by investment banker Michael Klein. Churchill Capital will delist from the New York Stock Exchange.

The startup is expected to receive about $4.4 billion in cash from the transaction, after expenses, according to reports. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has invested more than $1 billion in Lucid. It will own about 60% of the company.

The reverse-merger deal, which faced last-minute challenges being approved due to difficulties communicating to retail investors holding the stock to vote, values Lucid at around $24 billion.

It also comes six months after Lucidannounced it was joining forces with Churchillin a bid to take on Tesla(TSLA) and other EV makers like Fisker(FSR) in the U.S. and NIO(NIO) and XPeng(XPEV) in China, though Lucid has its sights set directly on Tesla.

Special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, had been all the rage at the start of the year as companies looked to take advantage of what appeared to be a more streamlined effort to go public. They remain a popular option for raising capital,with 2021 marking a banner year in SPAC deals.

The Lucid Air has a price tag of around $70,000 after tax credits, while the Air Dream Edition will cost $162,000. The EV features an autonomous driving system with 32 sensors including long-distance Lidar, which Tesla does not use.