If you’re an electric vehicle aficionado, then you may know special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital IV {NYSE:CCIV} as the shell company helping luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors to go public. You might have even bought shares of CCIV stock in anticipation of Lucid’s eventual vehicle rollout.

The company’s flagship vehicle will be a sedan known as the Lucid Air. According to Lucid Motors, this vehicle model is “on track for expected production and deliveries” during the second half of the year.

So CCIV stockholders will have to be patient. But patience can be in short supply when a stock is down more than 50% from recent peaks.

Interestingly, Lucid Motors did offer its stakeholders something bold and buzz-worthy not long ago. Specifically, it was a television advertisement that takes direct aim at a chief rival – but also reveals a lofty price point for the Lucid Air.

A Closer Look at CCIV Stock

Pardon the pun (I’m notorious for them), but CCIV stock has been on a wild joyride in 2021. And, you probably know that joyrides tend to end badly.

At the beginning of the year, the share price was hovering around $10. That’s typical for a SPAC stock in the early stages.

Once the public was informed that Churchill Capital IV would reverse-merge with an electric vehicle manufacturer, the hype phase commenced.

After all, early 2021 was characterized by peak excitement over SPAC stocks and electric vehicle start-ups.

And so, the buyers furiously bid the CCIV stock price up from $10 in January to a 52-week high of $64.86 in February.

After that initial burst of enthusiasm, however, the sentiment cooled down and the share price declined sharply. Indeed, it was only a couple of months before the stock was back down to the $20 level.

As of May 7, CCIV stock was trading at $19.28. That’s not particularly encouraging, but at least there was a recent TV ad that might reveal something interesting about Lucid Motors. So, let’s delve into that.

Taking on Elon

When someone gets to host the TV program Saturday Night Live (commonly known as SNL), it’s fair to say that he or she has made an imprint on the culture.

Thus, we can conclude that Tesla {NASDAQ:TSLA} CEO Elon Musk has truly reached the pinnacle of fame. As you may have heard, Musk hosted SNL on May 8.

He was his typical outgoing and charming self, and nothing particularly noteworthy happened during the episode (though I did notice a “disappointment drop” in some major cryptocurrencies, but that’s a different story entirely).

However, Motor Trend reported that Lucid Motors “trolled” Tesla with an advertisement following Musk’s SNL monologue.

It was a perfectly normal ad – no “trolling” as far as I could tell. Yet, I’ll admit that it was bold of Lucid Motors to pay to run an ad after Musk’s monologue.

Luxury, at a Price

Clearly, Lucid Motors wants to send a message that it’s ready and willing to take on Musk and Tesla.

I respect the fearlessness, but this doesn’t mean that investors should abandon all caution.

One thing about the ad, which was titled “Introducing Future,” caught my attention. The ad proudly displays the new Lucid Air sedan – along with its $69,900 price tag.

Perhaps this shouldn’t be too shocking. Lucid Motors hasn’t made any attempt to hide its focus on luxury over affordability.

If you’ve ever bought a new car, you’ll probably know that the price you see in an advertisement isn’t the price you’ll actually pay.

In other words, the new Lucid Air sedan is really only meant for folks who can afford to pay more than $70,000 for a new car.

Lucid Motors is taking a gamble on a very specific electric vehicle niche – and on a narrow swathe of the car-buying population. Only time will tell whether this gutsy wager pays off.

The Bottom Line

No, Lucid Motors didn’t “troll” Elon Musk. It was a perfectly normal car ad, though the price point will exclude many shoppers.

This is a bold car company and CCIV stock is only for adventurous investors. It will be interesting to see what Lucid Motors does next – and whether folks are willing to pay upwards of $70,000 for the Lucid Air.

On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

CCIV shares fell $0.12 (-0.64%) in after-hours trading Monday. Year-to-date, CCIV has gained 86.21%, versus a 12.15% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: David Moadel

David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finom Group, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets. More...

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