Tech Times reported in December 2016 that Lucid Motors, formerly Atieva, announced its 400- to 1,000-horespower luxury electric vehicle called Lucid Air, which boasts having up to a 400-mile range. The Lucid Air will not be in production for at least another two years but people already feel that it will be Tesla's fiercest competition for the Model S.
Of course, we've all heard that before, especially with Faraday Future's FF91. But no new company has even come close to making Elon Musk worried, especially since Tesla is already confident enough that it is looking into eliminating insurance and maintenance bills. Car experts, however, believe the Lucid Air is the real deal.
Basic Lucid Air
Much of the guesswork about Lucid Motors' electric vehicle pegs the price at $100,000. The company finally ended speculation by announcing on March 15 that the base model of the Lucid Air will actually sell for $52,500 after federal tax credits.
"It will provide superior comfort, a better user interface, and better performance than comparably priced BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes," Lucid Motors states.
The base model will be a 400-horsepower rear-wheel drive with a 240-mile range, LED multi-lens array headlights, an aluminum roof, two trunks and a huge interior space for a comfortable and luxurious drive, power front seats, a five-seat configuration, 10 advanced airbags, four screens, a 10-speaker audio system, and all the hardware needed for autonomous driving, not to mention over-the-air software updates - just like Tesla!
The company promises excellent performance for its first electric vehicle. To ensure that the Lucid Air is not just another prototype, the company plans to break ground for the construction of its production facility in Arizona within the first half of 2017 and produce the first model by 2018.
Lucid Air vs Model S
Unfortunately for the base model of the Lucid Air, it will not have a direct competition for long because Tesla announced the end of production for the Model S 60 and 60D. However, the juiced-up version of the Lucid Air may have a good chance against higher versions of the Model S.
Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica
Jonathan Gitlin noted that Lucid Motors definitely delivers on its promise of luxury, as evidenced in the prototype they were shown.
"The first thing that strikes you is the car's relative compactness [...] similar size to the Mercedes-Benz E Class on the outside but with S Class-beating space on the inside," Gitlin wrote.
Gitlin was also impressed about how remarkably functional the Lucid Air is despite being in the early stages of the development process, unlike prototypes from other companies they have seen in the past.
Steve Hanley, Teslarati
Steve Hanley compared the base Lucid Air with the Model S 60 and found that the two electric vehicles are nearly evenly matched, if not for the fact that Tesla discontinued the Model S 60. With the Model S 60 and 60D out of the way, the Lucid Air will be competing against the S 75, which puts Tesla at a disadvantage since it is at least $14,000 more expensive.
"Tesla Model S and Lucid Air match up quite closely in terms of power, performance, and technology. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is always encouraging other manufacturers to build 'compelling electric cars' and Lucid Motors is poised to be that manufacturer that has truly stepped up to the challenge," Hanley writes.
Here is a video of Teslarati's comparison.
Lucid Motors Can Compete With Tesla
From the technical specifications released by Lucid Motors, one can already feel that the company could possibly challenge Tesla's reign in the electric vehicle market. However, its success is still dependent on turning its Lucid Air into a reality.
We think that Lucid Motors may actually stand a better chance at challenging Tesla, since - as far as we know - it is not facing similar financial challenges that's currently crippling the production of Tesla's supposed top model. We'll all find out for sure in 2018.
