Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has disclosed a 5% stake in Lucid, the electric vehicle maker, in a regulatory filing that sent the company's shares surging more than 20% on Tuesday.

The filing shows the prince owns 19,513,000 Class A shares — exactly 5.00% of Lucid's shares outstanding — a position valued at roughly $150 million and accumulated during a slump that had pushed the company's market capitalization below $2 billion. The purchases were triggered for disclosure by an event date of July 23.

Market reaction

Lucid shares jumped as much as 24% intraday before settling around $7.80, as investors read the move as a strong vote of confidence in the struggling EV maker.

A significant signal

The investment is personal to Prince Alwaleed and separate from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Lucid's majority shareholder. A prominent investor of his standing taking a disclosed position alongside the sovereign fund was widely interpreted as a signal of continued long-term backing for the company — an echo of the prince's history of contrarian bets on out-of-favor names, from Citigroup in the 1990s to Apple and Twitter.