Business

Shares of EV Start-Up Lucid Tank on SEC Probe

Andrew Kelly | Reuters
  • Lucid said it received a subpoena on Friday from the SEC "requesting the production of certain documents related to an investigation," according to a filing Monday morning.
  • Shares of Lucid were down by as much as 19.5% during trading Monday morning.
  • Lucid is the latest EV start-up to go public via a SPAC deal to be investigated by the SEC. Others have included Nikola Corp., Canoo and Lordstown Motors.

Shares of Lucid Group were down by as much as 19.5% during trading Monday morning following the electric vehicle start-up disclosing a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission likely into the company's SPAC deal to go public.

The automaker said it received a subpoena on Friday from the SEC "requesting the production of certain documents related to an investigation," according to a filing Monday morning. Lucid said although there is "no assurance as to the scope or outcome of this matter, the investigation appears to concern the business combination" between the automaker and blank-check company Churchill Capital Corp. IV.

"The Company is cooperating fully with the SEC in its review," Lucid said in the filing.

Lucid's stock recovered Monday afternoon to close at $44.73 a share, down by 5.1%. The company's market cap is nearly $73 billion.

Lucid is the latest EV start-up to go public via a SPAC deal that's been investigated by the SEC. Others have included Nikola Corp., Canoo and Lordstown Motors.

Most SPAC deals involving EV start-ups were initially celebrated by investors, sending shares through the roof and making some founders millionaires, if not billionaires, overnight. But the tides have turned against many of the companies after crackdowns this year by the SEC, including investigations, warnings to investors and potential changes to accounting guidelines.

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