Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is reportedly in talks to invest in aspiring Tesla rival Lucid Motors Inc.
Reuters quoted people familiar with the matter as saying the talks between privately-held Lucid Motors and PIF underscore the latter’s appetite to invest in electric car makers.
The talks would come as a blow to Tesla CEO Elon Musk who has said PIF could help him fund a $72 billion deal to take his electric car maker private.
Reuters reported that PIF and Lucid Motors have drawn up a term sheet under which PIF could invest more than $1 billion in Lucid Motors and obtain majority ownership.
PIF’s first investment in Lucid Motors would be for $500 million, and subsequent cash injections would come in two stages, it quoted the sources as saying.
The talks between PIF and Lucid Motors may not result in a deal, the sources added.
Tesla chief Musk said last week he was in talks with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and other investors to take the electric automaker private.
The revelation came days after Musk’s claim in an August 7 Twitter post that financing for a deal to take Tesla private had been “secured”.
Musk said in a blog post he had “no question” that the Saudis would finance such a transaction following a July 31 meeting.
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