The car company, which was founded by the ex-chief engineer of the Tesla Model S project, introduced its Air sedan/saloon as far back as 2016 and will be launching sales in late 2021.
To this end, Lucid had planned to build a new car factory in Arizona in 2017 with production launch penciled in for 2018. However, the actual construction start only succeeded a month ago, which means the first cars will start shipping towards late 2021. In the meantime, the company HQ builds development prototypes – 80 in total.
Lucid Motors claims the car is 95% ready for mass production. The pre-orders are in full swing, and since recently, the minimum deposit amount has been reduced from 2,500 USD to just 1,000. On an interesting note, customers who paid $2,500 before the discount was introduced can ask for their $1,500 back and still keep their position in the waiting queue.
Most media compare the forthcoming Lucid Air to the Tesla Model S, but Lucid does not approve of the comparison. The carmaker claims that spacious and luxury-laden interior makes its creation the main rival of the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, no less.
Estimations say the entry-level Lucid Air (RWD, 400 hp / 300 kW) will cost $60,000, whereas the top trim (AWD, 1000 hp / 750 kW) will go well over $100,000. The largest available battery will amount to 130 kWh and translate into 400 miles (640 kilometers) of range.
Lucid Motors traces its history to 12 years ago, when it was called Atieva. It was managed by Tesla ex-VPs Bernard Tse and Peter Rawlinson, as well as ex-CTO of Mazda North America Derek Jenkins. Rawlinson, the current CEO of Lucid, was the chief engineer in charge of the Tesla Model S project.