The Tesla Model S has a new competitor named Lucid Air

[Puffnstuff]

I have to admit that I'm a big fan of the Model S P100DL and its ludicrous mode along with zero emissions. I was just poking around the other day and accidentally came across the Lucid Air. This ZEV looks super nice and has more sporting and luxurious side to it than the Tesla plus its software limited to a top speed of 217mph. What do you guys think of it?

 

[Puffnstuff]

More goodness.

 

[Insomniator]

Didn't watch the 45 minutes, but did see them say there has been stagnation in the industry. Are they ignoring the fact that Tesla exists? Seems like they are a few years late to the party to say they are revolutionary because of an electric car.

 

[Puffnstuff]

The devil is in the details and they are revolutionary when you see the underlying technology. I would take one over a model s any day of the week.

 

[Crono]

The devil is in being able to deliver. I think it's not a real product until mass manufacturing starts and we see real reviews of it. It definitely looks interesting, though, especially if they do deliver on time. Even then, it's no guarantee they or Faraday Future end up being another Tesla, or another Fisker.

 

[Puffnstuff]

If you watched the unveiling they had several production alpha's taking people on rides to prove its real.

 

[darkswordsman17]

The devil is in the details and they are revolutionary when you see the underlying technology. I would take one over a model s any day of the week.

No they're not. There's nothing revolutionary about what they're doing.

I'm not saying anything bad about them, but stop buying their marketing BS speak. They have an interesting prototype for what could be a very nice luxury electric car. I like it more than Tesla, but there's nothing terribly special about what they're doing. And until they actually produce something I'm not holding my breath, let alone comparing it to an established company like Tesla.

The devil is in being able to deliver. I think it's not a real product until mass manufacturing starts and we see real reviews of it. It definitely looks interesting, though, especially if they do deliver on time. Even then, it's no guarantee they or Faraday Future end up being another Tesla, or another Fisker.

Exactly.

If you watched the unveiling they had several production alpha's taking people on rides to prove its real.

All they've proven is they have a few handbuilt vehicles that can move some and at least one that, when tuned specifically for it, can go quite fast on a track. I guess you could maybe say two, since I think they've shown one doing drag races as well.

They haven't proven they can build a reliable vehicle. They haven't proven they can mass produce this vehicle. They haven't proven they can produce this vehicle at even Tesla Roadster level numbers. I don't think they've proven that it has the range they claim (not that I'd doubt that too much, point being they haven't proven they can deliver the car that lives up to their claims).

If you're interested in the high end version, you better start saving ASAP, as I believe expectations are that the 1000hp one will top $200,000 (unless you get in on the Launch Edition, which case it'll still be over $150,000, and we'll see if prices don't go up).

Oh, and lastly, they need to raise $700 million to build their factory. Plus they're partly funded by the main guy behind Farady Future and look at how that company is doing. And with the political climate, I don't see them getting a big government loan that is basically the only reason Tesla actually got going. Meaning, I don't expect them to be producing this by the time they claim, and so if they do get production going, they'll probably be competing with a 2nd gen Model S, as well as probably several other companies.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Hey don't worry, you guys will be able to Flintstone it for a few more years.

 

[Crono]

Electric automobiles have been around nearly as long as internal combustion ones. The real Flintstone tech would be steam engines (which would probably be part of the process if we had nuclear powered cars).

 

[sontakke]

To be fair, almost every criticism thrown at them had been fielded by Tesla in its infancy. Obviously, Lucid has to beat Tesla at its game and that will NOT be easy.

 

[Puffnstuff]

To be fair, almost every criticism thrown at them had been fielded by Tesla in its infancy. Obviously, Lucid has to beat Tesla at its game and that will NOT be easy.

Lucid's chief engineer designed the Model S and then got poached so he could operate unhindered. What you see in the Air is what happened when the restraints were removed.

 

[bigi]

Yep, competitor... LOL. Yearly production 11 units or so.

I remember those Fishyker Karmya threads years ago. That was their competitor too.

A true competitor will have to produce and sell MORE fully electric cars to matter.

My garage build EV is also Tesla's competitor then.

 

[Puffnstuff]

The Saudi's have now invested $1 billion in this company so we'll have our car.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/17/news/companies/saudi-arabia-tesla-competitor/index.html

 

[KeithP]

The Saudi's have now invested $1 billion in this company so we'll have our car…

In 2020, at the earliest. I imagine the Tesla death pool is going to fill up spots in 2021-2023 rather quickly.

-KeithP

 

[aigomorla]

This car will never come out... by the time it does, it will be too late, as the big boys will have there EV's.
Like Porsche, BMW and MBenz.

But have fun waiting, its like waiting for the Faraday..
https://www.ff.com/

Remember them? always saying they will come out, and what not.

Also another advantage Tesla had was the federal rebate you got from getting an EV.
7,500 dollars worth.... which will soon be gone if Trump has anything to say about it.

Even then, without the extensive supercharging network that Tesla has, EV's are very limited.
The only EV you can really take across the US, is a Tesla, because of the 1 hour supercharging for roughly 240 miles, which allows you to jump SC to SC to SC.

Otherwise you will be at the mercy of Level 2 Charging which can take up to 10 hours to get that 240 miles back, unless u can find a fast charge ChaDemo at each stop.

If i had to get an EV again at 2020, it will most likely be from Porsche / BWM / MBenz, because i do not want to be limited to Tesla's lacking service departments, and apple car like service centers.
(meaning u can only get your car repaired at tesla authorized, or by tesla only because they do not sell parts to 3rd party period.)


But anyhow its hard enough getting service done on my Model S, and i hear its a lot better then it used to be, when tesla was first out.

Imagine getting service on a Lucid... Good Luck!

 

[darkswordsman17]

The Saudi's have now invested $1 billion in this company so we'll have our car.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/17/news/companies/saudi-arabia-tesla-competitor/index.html

Nice that they got that, but you'll have your car if you have $150k (have a hunch it'll be closer to $200-250k for those that don't get a special promotion). Oh and I have a hunch that a whole bunch of the early production are going to end up in Saudi Arabia.

Its gonna be a long time before we get $40k Lucid Airs (wasn't that the price they claimed they'd have the lower end ones for?).

This car will never come out... by the time it does, it will be too late, as the big boys will have there EV's.
Like Porsche, BMW and MBenz.

But have fun waiting, its like waiting for the Faraday..
https://www.ff.com/

Remember them? always saying they will come out, and what not.

Also another advantage Tesla had was the federal rebate you got from getting an EV.
7,500 dollars worth.... which will soon be gone if Trump has anything to say about it.

Even then, without the extensive supercharging network that Tesla has, EV's are very limited.
The only EV you can really take across the US, is a Tesla, because of the 1 hour supercharging for roughly 240 miles, which allows you to jump SC to SC to SC.

Otherwise you will be at the mercy of Level 2 Charging which can take up to 10 hours to get that 240 miles back, unless u can find a fast charge ChaDemo at each stop.

If i had to get an EV again at 2020, it will most likely be from Porsche / BWM / MBenz, because i do not want to be limited to Tesla's lacking service departments, and apple car like service centers.
(meaning u can only get your car repaired at tesla authorized, or by tesla only because they do not sell parts to 3rd party period.)


But anyhow its hard enough getting service done on my Model S, and i hear its a lot better then it used to be, when tesla was first out.

Imagine getting service on a Lucid... Good Luck!

I don't see why you think that, they were just waiting for funding to get their factory built and start production. I believe they estimated they'd need like $250million to get started and $700 to fully operate the factory with them planning on going for the lower amount and then expanding as they could; which no doubt those costs might be higher, especially if they want to get it up and running ASAP, but $1billion should be enough). I might even see what jobs they have and apply there (the factory is gonna be about 30min away from where I live).

Faraday has other problems that I don't believe Lucid does. That doesn't guarantee success but they shouldn't be hamstrung by the same issues that are hitting FF.

Teslas no longer get that discount (think once they sell like 250,000 they lose it). Plus, the early Lucid cars are going to be $150k+ so I don't think the tax credit will make a huge difference on their sales, but it could hurt them some. We'll see how things go in that regard anyway. They might be less necessary going forward too.

For any company (even Tesla) charging is still an issue, and absolutely its more of an issue for some than others.

That's true, but its also a luxury brand. Good luck getting serviced for most of those outside of a large city (and expect to get screwed any which way, have a strong hunch that you're not exactly going to be able to go to an independent mechanic for EVs from those brands anytime soon if ever and many of them don't exactly have a great reputation on their service experiences - well unless you just plain don't care about cost at all).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Lucid is going to be outselling Tesla anytime soon (if they match Model S production numbers by 2025 I'll be impressed), but this should get them running and hopefully their cars will live up to expectations. All those other brands have a long way to go too and I doubt they're gonna be selling tons of EVs right away. I won't be surprised if any or maybe even all of them actually fall flat on their faces too and just lose money on their EVs for years. Considering that Tesla hasn't exactly entirely made money

 

[Puffnstuff]

Its gonna be a long time before we get $40k Lucid Airs (wasn't that the price they claimed they'd have the lower end ones for?).

If I remember right their starting price is $56k and competition makes things better for all consumers.