Uber’s investment in the electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors has declined in value by $131.5 million during the first six weeks of the fourth quarter, as shares of the struggling US manufacturer reach a new all time low.
Uber disclosed in a new 13F-HR filing that it held 13,715,121 shares of Lucid valued at $326.3 million as of September 30.
The position closed Friday at $194.8 million based on Lucid‘s $14.20 share price, representing a 40% decline in value over the first six weeks of Q4.
The stake makes Uber Lucid‘s second-largest investor behind Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund sovereign wealth fund, which holds about 60% of the Newark, California-based EV maker.
Uber’s position reflects a $300 million investment announced in mid-July and closed in early September, amid the purchase agreement for 20,000 Gravity SUVs over the next six years.
“The funding supports the partnership between the two companies and contributes to development costs associated with the autonomous robotaxi initiative,” Lucid said when announcing the funding closing on September 4.
Robotaxi Partnership Details
Lucid will sell at least 20,000 Gravity SUVs to operators on the Uber platform over six years while receiving the $300 million investment.
Nuro will provide Level 4 autonomous driving technology for the vehicles and the first vehicles are planned to roll out in the Bay Area a year from now.
As part of the July announcement, Uber said it would channel several hundred million dollars into both Lucid and Nuro. While the Lucid investment was disclosed at $300 million, the size of the stake in Nuro was not revealed.
On September 30, the date of Uber’s disclosed holdings, Lucid shares closed at $23.79.
That price is equivalent to $2.379 before adjusting for Lucid‘s 1-for-10 reverse stock split, which became effective in early September.
Revenue Model Under Development
Lucid interim Chief Executive Officer Marc Winterhoff said in an interview with the Financial Times that the EV maker is developing plans to generate steady revenue from sales to fleet managers operating on the Uber platform.
Without providing details, Winterhoff told the publication the plan could include a per-mile charging model.
Winterhoff has also recently mentioned that Lucid aims to sell more than the 20,000 vehicles specified in the July agreement.
“Twenty thousand is a starting point,” Winterhoff told the FT. “The sky’s the limit.”
Uber’s Autonomous Vehicle Strategy
Over recent years, the ride-hailing company has formed alliances with firms including Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and Aurora Innovation Inc.
Uber’s partnership with Lucid followed an April agreement with Volkswagen AG to deploy ID.Buzz fully electric vans in Los Angeles for commercial ride-hailing service beginning next year.
