Automotive

Lucid Motors undercuts Tesla with pricing for new Air

Lucid Motors undercuts Tesla with pricing for new Air
The new Lucid Air
The new Lucid Air
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The Air should have almost 1,000 liters of luggage space between its two boots
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The Air should have almost 1,000 liters of luggage space between its two boots
The Air will start at $60,000
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The Air will start at $60,000
The cabin of the Air has four screens inside
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The cabin of the Air has four screens inside
The new Lucid Air
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The new Lucid Air
The Lucid Air can be worth more than $100,000 with the right options fitted
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The Lucid Air can be worth more than $100,000 with the right options fitted
The Lucid Air will be available in three different battery configurations
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The Lucid Air will be available in three different battery configurations
The Lucid Air is a pretty car, although we've yet to see one in the metal
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The Lucid Air is a pretty car, although we've yet to see one in the metal
Behind the wheel of the Lucid Air
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Behind the wheel of the Lucid Air
The Air will be available with a 1,000 hp powertrain
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The Air will be available with a 1,000 hp powertrain
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As other potential Tesla-challengers are messing around with (failed) self-parking stunts and fighting each other on Twitter, Lucid Motors has been quietly finishing up the product it plans to sell next year. Although the company showed off a completed car in December last year, we weren't given any info about pricing or finalized performance specs. Finally, three months later, we have the full picture.

Initial speculation suggested the Air EV would sell for well over $100,000, but it turns out that speculation was wildly inaccurate. Pricing for a base Air will start at $60,000 but that figure doesn't include the $7,500 Federal tax credit applied to electric cars sold in the US.

Even in the most basic trim, the car isn't exactly what you'd call stripped-back. It'll be rear-drive and have 400 horsepower (298 kW) on tap, with a 240-mile (386-km) range from the battery. All the hardware necessary for autonomous driving will also be fitted, but there is no word on whether it'll actually be active as standard, or whether you'll need to pay more to use it.

By way of comparison, the base Tesla Model S retails for $68,000 before any rebates, and offers a 210-mi (338-km) range from its 60 kWh battery. Owners can, however, pay to unlock greater battery capacity later in life.

Without motors on the front wheels, the rear trunk is accompanied by a capacious front-trunk (or to quote Tesla, frunk). The two storage areas add up to create 32 cu. ft (906 liters) of luggage space, which Lucid compares (weirdly) to the volume of a four-person hot tub. Who said electricity and water don't mix?

The Air will start at $60,000
The Air will start at $60,000

The driver and passenger both sit in 12-way adjustable thrones, faced with four screens for driver information, climate control and entertainment, plus a 10-speaker audio system is standard. Over-the-air software updates are also included in the package.

Diving into the options list can turn your reasonably-priced Air into something much more expensive, very quickly. Bigger batteries can turn the 240-mile range into 315 mi or 400 mi (507 km or 644 km) and, if you're determined to scare your passengers silly, a twin-motor powertrain with 1,000 hp (746 kW) will also be on offer. No, that isn't a typo. Lucid will sell you an Air with more power than a LaFerrari or McLaren P1. What a time to be alive.

Fully active suspension will be available, and probably necessary if you've specced the 21-inch wheels. Inside, the options list will allow for richer materials, 22-way adjustable front seats and an active noise-cancelling 29-speaker audio system. Expect to pay upwards of $100,000 if too many of these options are added.

Lucid has yet to announce how much upper-spec cars will cost, nor has it finalized the spec of the 225 Launch Edition cars which will kick off production. If we're being brutally honest, there isn't any guarantee the car will be built at all, but Lucid certainly looks more solid than the likes of Faraday Future and LeEco at the moment.

Source: Lucid

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9 comments
9 comments
ChairmanLMAO
Tesla looks better by virtue of time trialed second iterations. It's obvious which one I would buy if I had 70k USD laying around. But as musk would say any competition helps kill the ICE machines.
ClarenceEdiricle
It's not a real car.
Roger
Beautiful looking car although the Tesla is building and selling cars right now. Will be good competition for Tesla. Hope they don't get a rock crack in the windshield.
Tanstar
They only undercut Tesla if the Model S was Tesla's only car. What about the $35k Model 3?
Daishi
The MKBHD review of the car was pretty good but I can promise you that you will not be able to buy that car for $60k. If they ever do see production the $60k version would likely have much lower specs and far fewer options and the loaded version reviewed will be $100k+ There is also the issue of finding a charging network for it that isn't terrible.
Jeff Goldstein
More competition is always good. Now that the electric car marketplace seems established it is time for the government to stop using our money to subsidize second cars for rich people and end all the electric car tax credits and subsidies.
Nicolas Zart
Once you know who sits behind Lucid Motors and the ground work they did for Tesla on the battery packs and Model S design, you know this is a serious company.
I took a test ride in the Air mule and it was nothing short of spectacular. For a chassis designed in two years and barely tested, that EV took the up ramp at the Peterson Museum at about 25 MPH on off the shelf Pirelli tires. And the interior is well thought out as well.
I would consider it over a Model S, but both in my garage would be better :)
Gizmowiz
too bad it doesn't have AWD. Lucid isn't thinking of anyone in cold weather states are they? Dumb.
JimFox
14 months later and.... NOTHING. Lucid is vaporware, plain & simple.