Jeffrey Epstein pursued an investment in EV startup Lucid Motors through at least two separate channels in 2017, according to newly released documents by the Department of Justice.
TechCrunch first reported on David Stern’s pitch to Epstein on Friday.
Other documents in the files show Stern pitched Epstein on additional EV investments, including Faraday Future and Canoo, a startup that filed for bankruptcy in 2024.
Epstein was simultaneously working the Lucid deal through Richard Kahn of HBRK Associates, who had direct contact with Morgan Stanley’s capital markets team handling Lucid‘s official Series D fundraise.
The Lucid documents are among more than 3 million pages released by the DOJ on January 30 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed in November 2025. The disclosures have prompted public responses from several high-profile figures whose names appear in the files, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Two Parallel Channels
The documents show Epstein was not merely a passive recipient of investment pitches.
He was actively forwarding the opportunity to other potential investors and tracking the company for more than a year after the initial deal discussions collapsed.
On May 3, 2017, Richard Kahn of HBRK Associates contacted Andrew Atlas, a First Vice President at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, requesting placement documents for Lucid Motors.
“I understand that MS is doing a capital raise for Lucid Motors,” Kahn wrote. “can you please send us a placement document.”
Six days later, Kahn forwarded the deal terms directly to Epstein’s personal email address.
The email contained details from Matt Poirier, the Morgan Stanley banker handling the Lucid capital raise: a $400 million Series D with term sheets due May 23, expected closing at the end of June, and a minimum investment size “north of $10M.”
Atlas asked Kahn whether “Southern Trust” — an entity apparently connected to Epstein — wished to submit a lead term sheet or participate as follower capital in the round.
The same week, Epstein forwarded the Morgan Stanley correspondence to David Stern, a close advisor to Prince Andrew who was simultaneously pitching Epstein on acquiring a 32% stake in Lucid through a secondary share purchase from Faraday Future founder Jia Yueting.
The Monstera Proposal
Stern’s pitch came through a fund he had created called Monstera. A seven-page pitch deck dated May 2017 and titled “Lucid Motors Investment Opportunity” laid out the deal structure.
The proposal called for Monstera to acquire Jia’s 32% stake at a 13% discount to Lucid‘s $1.2 billion pre-money valuation, paying approximately $333 million for the secondary shares.
Monstera would then participate in the $400 million Series D to maintain its stake, bringing the total investment to $460 million.
The deck included Lucid‘s January 2017 capitalization table, showing Jia controlled roughly 32% of the company through two entities: Blitz Technology HK Co Ltd with 18.77% and LeTV, also known as Lesoar Holdings Limited, with 13.12%. Venrock was the second-largest shareholder at 9.5%, followed by China Environment Fund at 7.42% and Mitsui at 6.42%.
On May 12, Stern emailed Epstein directly: “Any ideas on Lucid? We can buy 30% for around $300 million.”
Eleven days later, Stern sent a more urgent pitch. “Ford will likely be lead in $400m Series D in Lucid. Big strategic move,” he wrote. “Chinese guy (YT Jian) whose biggest shareholder has massive cash issues. Needs to sell now to make payroll for his other business.”
Stern described the opportunity as a “fire sale” with two exit options: “Offload again when Ford comes in or hold?”
Shopping the Deal
Epstein did not keep the Lucid opportunity to himself. On May 10, 2017, one day after receiving the Morgan Stanley deal terms from Kahn, Epstein forwarded the information to a contact identified in the documents as “Jabor Y.”
“shabbaz might want to request a ppm from morgan stanley on lucid motors,” Epstein wrote, referring to a private placement memorandum.
The identity of “Shabbaz” is not clear from the documents.
The Deal Collapses
Ford ultimately pulled out of the Lucid investment. The Series D that Morgan Stanley had expected to close by the end of June 2017 did not materialize.
Lucid would not secure major funding until August 2018, when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invested more than $1 billion. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund subsequently acquired Jia’s shares over the following years, according to SEC filings.
Sustained Interest
More than a year after the initial discussions, Kahn circled back to Epstein.
“you once asked about Lucid..” Kahn wrote on August 21, 2018. “appears they may get Saudi money and not Tesla.. car looks nice..and 400 mile range..”
The email included links to Lucid’s website and a PitchBook article about the Saudi investment discussions, suggesting Epstein had expressed interest in Lucid beyond the May 2017 correspondence and was still tracking the company’s fundraising progress.
Lucid’s Path to Public Markets
Based in Newark, California, Lucid Motors was founded in 2007 as Atieva by Sam Weng and Bernard Tse, a former Tesla vice president and board member. The company initially focused on battery technology before pivoting to vehicle development.
In April 2019, Lucid named Peter Rawlinson as chief executive officer, replacing co-founder Weng. Rawlinson had joined Lucid in 2013 as chief technology officer after serving as chief engineer of Tesla’s Model S from 2009 to 2012.
The company went public in July 2021 through a merger with Churchill Capital Corp IV, a special purpose acquisition company led by former Citigroup banker Michael Klein.
The deal valued Lucid at $24 billion and provided the company with approximately $4.4 billion in cash to fund production of its Lucid Air sedan.
Lucid began customer deliveries in late 2021. The company began deliveries of its second model, the Gravity SUV, last year.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund remains Lucid’s largest shareholder with a stake exceeding 60%.
Musk’s Involvement
Musk addressed his appearance in the Epstein files earlier this week after a BBC report titled “Who was in the Epstein files?” used a photograph of the Tesla chief as its thumbnail image.
“They worded this with a lawsuit in mind. Technically true that there is email correspondence, but absurdly false to use my image instead of someone who actually went to Epstein’s island,” Musk wrote on X.
The files contain a November 2012 email exchange in which Epstein invited Musk to his private island.
Musk responded: “Probably just Talulah and me. What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” referring to his then-wife Talulah Riley.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman posted the email exchange on X earlier this week, prompting Musk to respond directly.
“The big difference between you and me, Reid, is that you went and I did not,” Musk wrote. “In fact, you went multiple times. First time was maybe a mistake, but not the second time you went.”
Musk added that the email showed he “obviously didn’t anticipate anything actually shady” because he was planning to bring his wife.
“Nonetheless, UNLIKE YOU, I came to my senses and declined to go. Epstein tried to get me to go to his island so many times that eventually I just blocked him,” Musk wrote.
