Print Lucid Motors Inc. is merging with a blank-check company run by financier Michael Klein that values the combined entity at a pro-forma equity value of $24 billion, the biggest in a series of deals involving electric-vehicle start-ups cashing in on investor appetite for battery-powered cars. The electric car maker has shied away from comparisons to market leader Tesla Inc., but the public listing positions it to compete for a slice of what’s expected to become a rapidly growing market for EVs. The deal will generate about $4.4 billion in cash for the 14-year-old company, which plans to use the newly acquired funds to bring vehicles to market and expand its factory in Arizona.