Sept. 18: Saudi Arabia plans to invest $1 billion in Lucid Motors, an electric car company that may be a potential competitor with Tesla.

Through the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the investment will fund the complete engineering development and testing of the Lucid Air, the company's first electric-powered vehicle, construct a factory in Casa Grande, Ariz., and begin sales in North America by 2020.

Lucid and the PIF said they plan to work together to expedite the process of bringing Lucid's vehicles to market.

"By investing in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market, PIF is gaining exposure to long-term growth opportunities, supporting innovation and technological development,and driving revenue and sectoral diversification for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," a PIF spokesperson said.

This isn't the oil-rich kingdom's first foray into investing in electric car companies.

Saudi Arabia is also a major investor in Tesla, owning about 5 percent of the company.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the Saudis have urged him to take the company private and has offered to invest more if he does so, but he has put that idea on hold for now, CNN reported.

 
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