Lucid Motors says its latest fundraising round is 'going well' amid rumors of Ford sale

pulse

July 18, 2017 1:01 AM

Lucid Motors is developing a 1,000-horsepower electric car with a glass roof, and is seeking resources to build a factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.

The Silicon Valley-based electric-car startup, Lucid Motors is said to be entertaining a possible sale to Ford Motor Company, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The publication, citing people familiar with the matter, said Lucid approached Ford about a possible sale, and that Ford rebuffed the suggestion.

Lucid is currently raising money in a Series D round.

A Lucid Motors spokesperson declined to comment on any takeover talks or the company's current Series D, but said that the fundraising effort was "going well." The company is backed by Venrock, which is the same venture capital firm that led Apple's Series A round in 1978.

Business Insider reported in February that Lucid Motors' Series D was in the works. A company spokesman said at the time that Lucid had raised several hundred million dollars as it develops its 1,000-horsepower Lucid Air electric luxury sedan.

Like Faraday Future, another investor-backed electric-car startup, Lucid Motors is also seeking funds to build its inaugural factory, which Bloomberg said could cost $700 million. But unlike Faraday Future, Lucid Motors has not started work at its own site in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Faraday Future said last week that it was temporarily abandoning its plans to build an assembly plant in North Las Vegas, Nevada, 15 months after it held a ceremonial ground-breaking at the site in April 2016, citing trouble raising money from outside investors.

Lucid Motors Chief Technology Officer Peter Rawlinson told Automotive News at the New York International Auto Show in April: "It would be irresponsible to start moving earth or start anything until we have a financial runway to execute that professionally and with absolute integrity."

During his February interview with Business Insider, Rawlinson said of building a new electric car from the ground up: "This team realizes the enormity of the task. We're car guys. This is the team that has done it before. We know how to do this."

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