Photo: Lucid Motors
At first, all we had was one of the most beautiful sedans ever created and the promise of a production version sometime in the future. That was during a time when Tesla's success was making EV startups pop up left, right, and center.
It was nearly impossible to tell which were vaporware and which actually stood a chance of entering production. Placing faith in one or another was literally like gambling, but it turned out there was one way to tell them apart: the ones who shouted the loudest were among the first to go. Unlike other emerging companies - yes, Faraday Future would be a perfect example - Lucid relied on the perceived quality of its product as well as a few high-profile promises to keep people interested while doing most of the work backstage.
In the meantime, we've seen its first product, the Air sedan, beat Tesla's range by quite a margin (517 miles for the newcomer compared to the 402 miles of the Model S Long Range) as well as Tesla's quarter-mile time (again, quite comfortably with a time of 9.912 seconds, whereas the Model S Performance can't drop into the nines).
Now, with only hours separating us from the model's official launch, we learn a little about its pricing (via Bloomberg), and you'll be glad to know the Air remains just as competitive in this area as in all others. The Air is said to start at under $80,000, which just happens to be the lowest price you can pay for a Model S. At the other end of the scale, however, the Dream version of the Air will set you back $169,000, which is a lot more than what a Model S Performance goes for (~$100,000).
In between, Lucid will offer two more versions: a Grand Touring variant that'll be priced around $130,000 and one called simply Touring going for roughly $100,000. It's not clear at this point how these four versions will differ from each other, but expect to see fluctuations in range, performance, as well as interior amenities and features.
If it wasn't already clear Tesla needed to release a new, updated Model S, then the launch of the Lucid Air should leave no doubt. With sales already dwindling due to the Model 3, the S is also starting to see its first real competitors. The only question now is whether Lucid will be able to meet the demand should people like the Air as much as its specs and design suggest they should.
In the meantime, we've seen its first product, the Air sedan, beat Tesla's range by quite a margin (517 miles for the newcomer compared to the 402 miles of the Model S Long Range) as well as Tesla's quarter-mile time (again, quite comfortably with a time of 9.912 seconds, whereas the Model S Performance can't drop into the nines).
Now, with only hours separating us from the model's official launch, we learn a little about its pricing (via Bloomberg), and you'll be glad to know the Air remains just as competitive in this area as in all others. The Air is said to start at under $80,000, which just happens to be the lowest price you can pay for a Model S. At the other end of the scale, however, the Dream version of the Air will set you back $169,000, which is a lot more than what a Model S Performance goes for (~$100,000).
In between, Lucid will offer two more versions: a Grand Touring variant that'll be priced around $130,000 and one called simply Touring going for roughly $100,000. It's not clear at this point how these four versions will differ from each other, but expect to see fluctuations in range, performance, as well as interior amenities and features.
If it wasn't already clear Tesla needed to release a new, updated Model S, then the launch of the Lucid Air should leave no doubt. With sales already dwindling due to the Model 3, the S is also starting to see its first real competitors. The only question now is whether Lucid will be able to meet the demand should people like the Air as much as its specs and design suggest they should.
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