What happened
Churchill Capital IV (CCIV) stock dropped 12% Wednesday, and still traded almost 11% below Tuesday's closing price as of 2:45 p.m. EST. After surging for weeks on anticipation, shares of the blank-check company have tanked 56% since its planned merger with Lucid Motors was announced on Feb. 22.
So what
The sharp drop in shares hasn't yet let up, and looks to be a reality check for investors after actual valuation came from the deal with the highly anticipated electric vehicle (EV) maker. In the time since details of the merger was announced, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also let investors know that his company would continue to present an estimable competitor, revealing that Tesla's full self-driving (FSD) offering will be available by midyear.
Lucid Motors' planned Gravity electric SUV offering. Image source: Lucid Motors.
Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson was formerly Tesla's chief engineer for Model S development.
Now what
Investors had valued Churchill Capital IV at approximately $15 billion before the deal was announced. That was without knowing the exact structure of the deal, but investors in the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) only get a minority percentage of public company.
Additionally, speculation was that the deal would value Lucid at up to $15 billion, but the actual equity value of the transaction was only $11.75 billion. The spike, and subsequent drop, in the share price should be a lesson for investors not to participate in pure speculation.
But Lucid says it's on track to begin production of its luxury Air sedan this year, and its planned Gravity performance SUV in 2023, making today's share price more reasonable for believers in the up-and-coming EV maker.
