Photo: Lucid / Tesla
Lucid Motors recently announced new prices for (most) of the Air range (Pure, Touring, Grand Touring), making its base option cheaper than a Tesla Model S, but there's a catch, as always.
The electric vehicle company from Newark, California, introduced their entry-level Air Pure RWD – a "sporty and stylish EV offering an unsurpassed combination of range, driver-oriented performance, and design" back in October 2023 with a starting MSRP of $77,400. At the time, it was their cheapest model to date and still offered 410 miles (660 km) of range, complete with recharging capabilities of 150 miles in 12 minutes at DC charging stations.
However, not long ago, the company joined the Tesla pricing wars and decided to make it "easier than ever for people to buy and own the Lucid Air, America's most awarded new luxury car." From now on, the brand's online configurator shows an updated base MSRP of $69,900, making it way cheaper than the base Tesla Model S, which starts from $74,990 (none of them has the potential incentive savings applied). Lucid also throws in a $1,000 Charging Allowance (for accessories) plus two years of complimentary Lucid Care scheduled maintenance with any purchase or lease (which starts from $699 per month for a 36-month plan).
Of course, there's a catch. Lucid offers the Air Pure in a rear-wheel drive configuration with up to 410 miles of range at that price point, but the base Tesla Model S is the more powerful Dual-Motor AWD, which zips to 60 mph (96 kph) in 3.1 seconds and has a 130-mph (209 kph) top speed. To make it fair, we also need to note that Lucid also reordered the prices for the Air Touring with two motors, AWD and 620 hp, to $77,900, making it slightly more expensive than the Model S.
If you want more performance, the 819-hp Air Grand Touring now starts from $109,900 – which is a lot more than a 1,020-hp Tesla Model S Plaid that kicks off at 'just' $89,990. On the other hand, the latter drops the EPA range figure to 359 miles (578 km), while Lucid boasts an estimated range of up to 516 miles (830 km)! As always, you win something but also lose something – and the Air Sapphire price also doesn't budge from "fully equipped" at $249k. So, you can now have a Lucid Air that's cheaper than the base Tesla Model S, but it's only RWD and comes with a slightly better range rating.
The performance situation is even more tangled – an Air Touring is comparable to the Model S AWD but costlier, and the Air Grand Touring is potentially the king of range but at no less than $110k, which is hard to stomach in the age of the EV price wars. Last but not least, the Sapphire is more powerful than a Plaid, but you can also buy almost three 1,020-hp Model S EVs with the same amount of money!
However, not long ago, the company joined the Tesla pricing wars and decided to make it "easier than ever for people to buy and own the Lucid Air, America's most awarded new luxury car." From now on, the brand's online configurator shows an updated base MSRP of $69,900, making it way cheaper than the base Tesla Model S, which starts from $74,990 (none of them has the potential incentive savings applied). Lucid also throws in a $1,000 Charging Allowance (for accessories) plus two years of complimentary Lucid Care scheduled maintenance with any purchase or lease (which starts from $699 per month for a 36-month plan).
Of course, there's a catch. Lucid offers the Air Pure in a rear-wheel drive configuration with up to 410 miles of range at that price point, but the base Tesla Model S is the more powerful Dual-Motor AWD, which zips to 60 mph (96 kph) in 3.1 seconds and has a 130-mph (209 kph) top speed. To make it fair, we also need to note that Lucid also reordered the prices for the Air Touring with two motors, AWD and 620 hp, to $77,900, making it slightly more expensive than the Model S.
If you want more performance, the 819-hp Air Grand Touring now starts from $109,900 – which is a lot more than a 1,020-hp Tesla Model S Plaid that kicks off at 'just' $89,990. On the other hand, the latter drops the EPA range figure to 359 miles (578 km), while Lucid boasts an estimated range of up to 516 miles (830 km)! As always, you win something but also lose something – and the Air Sapphire price also doesn't budge from "fully equipped" at $249k. So, you can now have a Lucid Air that's cheaper than the base Tesla Model S, but it's only RWD and comes with a slightly better range rating.
The performance situation is even more tangled – an Air Touring is comparable to the Model S AWD but costlier, and the Air Grand Touring is potentially the king of range but at no less than $110k, which is hard to stomach in the age of the EV price wars. Last but not least, the Sapphire is more powerful than a Plaid, but you can also buy almost three 1,020-hp Model S EVs with the same amount of money!
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