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Lucid Air's 520-Mile EPA Range Signals We're Entering the Post-Tesla EV Era

Not that long ago, it looked like Tesla was going to have to deal with quite a few startups threatening to bring out competitive electric models. There was the Chinese-backed LeEco, Faraday Future (FF), and Lucid Motors (formerly Atieva), to name only the ones that made most of the headlines.
Lucid Air 29 photos
Photo: Lucid Motors
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Time passed and, out of the many, if we're to ignore FF who is stubbornly refusing to throw the towel, only one survived: Lucid Motors with its extremely promising sedan called Air. Well, "promising" shouldn't really mean that much since - in theory, at least - all the other prototypes seemed to have a lot going for them as well. It's not so much what was promised that made the difference between becoming a flop or not, but rather the way the company was run.

At the time, Lucid was probably the quieter of the bunch, and it looks like the strategy paid off. Helped by what was and still is a great design, the Air managed to remain relevant throughout all these years, and it looks as though it is now very close to entering production.

All this didn't happen by accident. The people behind the Air know what they're doing, starting with CEO&CTO Peter Rawlinson, the man responsible for the underpinnings of the original Tesla Model S, and ending with Derek Jenkins, former Mazda designer, which is basically one of the best CV entries a designer can have. If you ask Rawlinson, he'll probably describe the Lucid Air as what the Model S should have been, had he been in charge of everything.

Lucid Air
Photo: Lucid Motors
To be fair, it sounds like the electric sedan doesn't know what holding back means. It's stunning to look at both inside and out, has a roomy and comfortable cabin, a powertrain that delivers up to 1,111 hp, and a 113 kWh battery pack that promised unparalleled range.

That promise was initially confirmed by "independent tests" that suggested the Air could travel for up to 517 miles (832 km) before needing a recharge. The number put it comfortably ahead of the 405 miles (652 km) the new Tesla Model S is rated for, but it wasn't official. Well, now it is.

The official EPA ratings for the Lucid Air are in, and they vary from 451 miles (726 km) for the 1,111 hp Performance version on 21-inch wheels to an even more impressive 520 miles (837 km) for the Range version on 19-inch wheels. Bear in mind, the Range still gets over 900 hp, so the "compromise" on performance isn't going to be that great.

We are witnessing an important moment in the modern history of electric vehicles. This kind of range, coupled with the Air's 900-volt system capable of receiving charges of up to 350 kW, renders the concept of "range anxiety" obsolete. Who drives more than 300 miles (~480 km) without making at least a 20-minute stop? As it happens, that's precisely the time needed to recharge the battery for 300 miles worth of range.

Lucid Air
Photo: Lucid Motors
We've got excited before and were ultimately disappointed, but Lucid seems to be the real deal: the team is more than capable, they have a strong product, there are rumors of production being imminent, and most importantly, everyone who tried the Air raved about it. All that sounds like Tesla's worst nightmare, especially since the company's CEO doesn't seem the kind to be losing nights on Twitter or call himself "Technoking".

The moment Tesla feared the most might be just around the corner. Like a poker player who ran out of aces in his sleeve, Musk appears to have run out of things to promise. The Cybertruck, Roadster, and Semi have all been pushed back, the Full Self-Driving Beta V10 proved to be a bit of a flop (it definitely didn't "blow everyone's mind"), and the marginal Nürburgring record can only do so much.

Range and performance were the two things Tesla used to maintain its upper hand over the rest of the industry, and Lucid Air looks to remove them both in one swift move. You feel like Elon Musk's company knew this day was coming, hence its focus on autonomous driving over the past few years. The difficulty of the task, however, proved greater than anticipated, putting Tesla in a delicate situation. Granted, it still has a consistent head start over Lucid, but this game is played on a perception level. If Tesla is stuttering and the market can smell blood, it might all soon be over.

Could that mean we might soon be saying, "the Technoking is dead, all hail the Technoking?"
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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