Lucid seems set to dominate the EV world.
$Lucid Group Inc(LCID)$
Before we get into the details of this fantastic new car, we first need to discuss a little bit of gossip. You see, Lucid’s CEO, Peter Rawlinson, actually held the position of chief engineer of the Tesla Model S during the early 2010s. So, in a way, he has been the brains behind the EV revolution from day one. Once he left Tesla and founded Lucid, he took his in-depth knowledge with him. Therefore, even though Lucid is a new company, its roots go much further back.Strangely, Musk claims that Peter was never the chief engineer of the Model S. But it seems that this might be a bit of a lie, as Peter hasSEC filings, business cards, and old LinkedIn posts that confirm he was the chief engineer. Maybe this is the kind of behaviour that made him quit Tesla?
Either way, Lucid recently unleashed their new car, the Air, on the world, and it has gone down a storm! Reviewers can’t get enough of it, and it even set thefastest production car record at the Goodwood Hill Climb. This meant that it was faster than Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens, and Porsches!
In fact, this record means that the Air shot up Goodwood Hill faster than a Porsche 911 GT2 Manthey Racing, which currently holds the Nürburgring production car lap record at 6 minutes 43.3 seconds. Meanwhile, the Tesla Model S Plaid, Tesla’s fastest design, only managed a 7 minute 30.9 seconds. So even though the Air and the Plaid have never raced, we can infer here that the Air is likely faster!
But this wasn’t even the fastest version of the Air. The vehicle is available in five different specs: the Pure, Touring, Grand Touring, Grand Touring Performance, and Dream. Right now, the Dream isn’t available, which is why the Grand Touring Performance participated in the hill climb, despite it having lesser power and range in comparison to the Dream.
But as you have probably guessed, the Grand Touring Sport is still no slouch. With1,050 horsepower, a 2.6 second 0–60 mph time, and cutting-edge vehicle dynamics, it can tear up any track. Like the Model S, it is also damn good on the road, with a massive range of 446 miles and super fast 300 kW 900-volt charging that can add 300 miles of range in only 20 minutes. All for a mere $179,000.
This incredible range, power and charge speeds is a direct result of Lucid’s vastly different approach to EV optimisation than Tesla, such as their higher voltage architecture and revolutionary new motor cooling technology (see video below). So it isn’t like Tesla could just copy Lucid and update the Model S to use similar technology, as it would require changing the entire drivetrain.
But does Tesla really need to worry? After all, their Model S Plaidis faster in a straight line, with a 0–60 time of 1.99 seconds (though more like 2.1 in the real world), a 390-mile range, and a “bargain basement” cost of$140,000. So it seems like Tesla has nothing to worry about, right?
Well, not quite. Firstly, the Air Grand Touring Performance not only goes further but also charges faster at 300 kW rather than Tesla’s 250 kW. There is also the fact that straight line speed isn’t everything, and it appears the Air physically handles far better. So, in reality, the Air is the quicker car. There is also the fact that the interior of the Air is more on par with super luxury brands like Mercedes and Bentley, whereas Tesla has been routinely scolded for its cheap and poorly built cockpits.
So if you want a fast, luxurious, and usable EV to gobble up the miles, you wouldn’t even consider the Model S Plaid. You would go straight for the Air. If you are desperate to win the drag strip race, then yeah, sure, the Plaid is the one to go for.But the real kick in the teeth isn’t the high-performance versions of the Air. It is the base-level car, the Pure.
This$77,400 car has pretty much the same beautiful interior as the top-of-the-line models,480 hp, 0–60 in 4.2 seconds, and a range of 406 miles! Plus, it too can charge at 300 kW and go from 10% to 80% charge in as little as 16 minutes. As a result, it charges faster, travels farther, and is of higher quality than the $109,000 Tesla Model S Long Range while being closer in price to a fully spaced Tesla Model Y Performance. The only aspect it falls short on is acceleration, as the Pure takes 4.2 seconds to 60 mph, whereas the Teslas are closer to 3 seconds.
So just to recap, the second-to-top spec Air goes further, charges quicker, and is faster around a track than any Tesla, whilst the basic Air goes further and charges faster than Tesla’s best long-range car while being significantly cheaper. To make matters worse for Tesla, these are the prices for the first cars to come out of the factory. Once production is up and running correctly, the cost could drop significantly as production becomes more efficient and development costs are paid off.
So, should Musk be worried? From a technological standpoint, yes. Lucid has the capacity to make Teslas look inefficient, slow-charging, and short on range. But in the real world, this isn’t enough. The power of Tesla has now switched from a technological advantage to a production advantage. Unlike every other EV manufacturer, Tesla has mature factories running at scale and at peak efficiency. They don’t need to worry about scaling up production to meet demand, given they are already there. Meanwhile, companies like Lucid have to risk financial ruin to scale up quickly enough to meet demand, which could easily sink the company (just as it nearly did Tesla with the Model 3 early production). So, for now, Tesla is safe. But in a few years, don’t be surprised if Lucid is crowned the new king of EV technology.
Source: Predict
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