Free Republic

Lucid Motors, a Silicon Valley start-up that is gearing up to launch an advanced electric luxury car, said that it has struck a preliminary deal with Electrify America to provide its future customers with a nationwide recharging plan. This is an important deal. Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) Supercharger network has given it a big advantage in winning buyers away from internal-combustion alternatives. Any company looking to challenge Tesla will be at a disadvantage unless it can also provide its buyers with assurance that they'll be able to access high-speed chargers on road trips. Lucid isn't yet public, but it just won a...

Earlier this month, California-based electric car startup Lucid Motors ($LUCIDMOTORS) locked in a billion-dollar infusion from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Through this deal, the official sovereign wealth fund of the Saudi government is helping to put Lucid on track to produce its first commercially available electric vehicle, the Lucid Air, on the market in 2020, thus putting it in direct competition with Tesla ($NASDAQ:TSLA). Since announcing its deal on September 17, Lucid listed more than double the amount of job openings month-over-month, which is understandable given a billion-dollar influx in capital....

PHOENIX — A California startup will build a $700 million plant in Casa Grande to manufacture luxury electric vehicles. The plan by Lucid Motors, announced Tuesday, eventually will involve hiring 2,000 workers for what would be the state's only car manufacturing operation. The first hires will take place next year, with training for the jobs through the community and technical colleges in Pinal and Maricopa counties. Plans are to have the first vehicles ready for sale by 2018 with the goal of producing 8,000 to 10,000 built the first year. The goal is full-scale production of more than 50,000 a...