Many argue that Tesla didn't invent anything and that its electric vehicles have nothing special, but they all fail to acknowledge an impressive feat. Tesla didn't jump-start the EV revolution because it finally created an electric vehicle that everyone wanted (well, it kind of did, actually). It did it because it proved to everyone that launching a successful carmaker was indeed possible at a time when everyone thought the auto industry was hermetically sealed.
Encouraged by Tesla's success, the 2010s saw a flurry of startups created to revolutionize transportation. Unfortunately, possible and likely are two very different concepts, and some of those startups found it out the hard way. Two of the most famous bankruptcies were Lordstown Motors and Fisker, both having already launched their EV models. However, both failed to produce a compelling car, and multiple problems and failures finally caught up with them, driving customers away.
However, other startups managed to launch impressive cars, which were praised for their performance, build quality, and features. A good product alone is not enough for success, though, as Lucid Motors was about to find out. It takes a great deal of luck to time the market right, powerful and wealthy backers to keep the money flowing when sales are stagnant, and a management team focused on the mission.
Even with all these checkboxes ticked Lucid is struggling to sell enough Air sedans and stop the cash hemorrhage. On paper, the Air has all the qualities of a successful EV: luxury-grade build quality, the longest EV range on the market, and impressive performance to match many supercars. On the other hand, it is still too expensive to be anything else than a niche model and to add insult to injury, its market niche is essentially evaporating.
Lucid Motors: How it all started
The beginnings were a little fuzzy, considering that Lucid Motors was built upon the structure of another startup called Atieva. Atieva was founded by the former Tesla Motors vice president Bernard Tse in 2007, together with Sam Weng and Sheaupyng Lin. The company aimed to develop Li-ion batteries and powertrains for electric vehicles. Its first project was supplying battery packs for electric buses in China, which explains a hefty investment from the state-owned Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC).
However, what we call Lucid Motors today started life in October 2016, three years after Peter Rawlinson joined Atieva as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Rawlinson was VP of vehicle engineering at Tesla and chief engineer of the Tesla Model S, having a lot of experience in EV engineering. This explains why the newly rebranded Lucid Motors announced plans to develop an all-electric, long-range, high-performance car.
However, things didn't catch speed until Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund invested in the company, starting with $1 billion in 2019. The money was used to fund the final engineering, testing, and production of the Air sedan, Lucid Motors' first EV model. The EV startup also began the construction of its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, in the same year. It was a very busy year, with Peter Rawlinson assuming the CEO role.
Lucid Air: The beginnings
The Lucid Air was Peter Rawlinson's dream, undoubtedly because of the times spent working on the Tesla Model S. It's easy to imagine how Elon Musk favored his own ideas over Rawlinson's. The engineer wanted to prove he could build a better Model S. Although the Lucid Air plans were officially announced in 2016, the startup had already been working on the project since 2014.
Lucid had battery technology in-house from the Atieva times, and it used it to build a powertrain prototype. In 2016, the powertrain was installed in a Mercedes-Benz Metris van as a mule, and the testing phase began. The van baptized "Edna" featured two gearboxes, two electric motors producing over 900 horsepower, and an 87-kWh battery pack. Lucid used the prototype to test motor control logic and various components.
The same year, Lucid unveiled an Air sedan prototype with jaw-dropping specifications that made people skeptical. The startup claimed the Air could drive up to 400 miles on a charge of its battery pack, which could hold up to 130 kWh of energy in its highest specification. Lucid also promised 1,000 horsepower and a 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) time of 2.5 seconds, equivalent to the fastest Tesla Model S at the time, the P100D.
The most efficient EV in the world
In 2019, Peter Rawlinson announced that it wants the Air to achieve an energy efficiency of 5 miles per kWh. Considering that the industry average at the time was 3 mi/kWh, this was indeed a bold statement. One of the key components of this remarkable efficiency was the Air's sleek aerodynamics. Lucid Motors also boasted about having the most efficient drive units, another important factor in achieving the title of most efficient EV in the world.
In 2020, a Lucid Air prototype achieved a drag coefficient of 0.21, with the production variant reportedly dropping it further to 0.20. This is identical to the one of the Mercedes-Benz EQS. However, as Peter Rawlinson pointed out during an investor call in 2021, the Lucid Air wins because it has a smaller frontal area, leading to less drag. This makes the Lucid Air the most aerodynamic series production vehicle.
The claims were confirmed when the Lucid Air got its official EPA rating in 2021. The Dream Edition trim achieved 520 miles of range, the longest of any EV rated by the EPA. The record prompted Elon Musk to famously say that Tesla could've made the Model S with 600 miles of range, but it would've made the car worse because the battery would've been heavier.
...and one of the fastest
To be fair, the Lucid Air was already projected to become one of the fastest EVs out there. The Air Dream Edition Performance boasted 1,111 horsepower. This was enough to accelerate from zero to 60 mph (97 kph) in 2.5 seconds, as Lucid promised. It could also reach 235 mph (378 kph) during testing, although the production models were limited to a more manageable 168 mph (270 kph).
However, Lucid wanted to one-up Tesla and beat the Model S Plaid with the track-oriented Air Sapphire variant. With a tri-motor configuration and 1,234 horsepower on tap, the Air Sapphire was able to reach the 60-mph mark in 1.89 seconds and a top speed of 205 mph (330 kph). It beats the Tesla Model S Plaid in both metrics, but it's almost three times more expensive, at $249,000.
For the price, the Lucid Air Sapphire also owns the drag strip, with a quarter-mile run in 8.95 seconds. For comparison, the Tesla Model S Plaid needs 9.23 seconds for the same performance. The car even has a dedicated Dragstrip driving mode to maximize performance in this scenario. This pays off, with the Air Sapphire consistently surpassing the Tesla Model S Plaid on the drag strip.
The Lucid Air sales never really took off
As I said before, having a great product is only one of the ingredients and is far from guaranteeing success. Despite receiving high praise from reviewers and customers alike, the Lucid Air could not overcome the challenges the auto industry would face in the coming years.
The pandemic broke in 2020, bringing lockdowns and grinding the auto industry to a halt. The years that followed were marked by one crisis after another, from the chip crunch in 2021 to supply chain bottlenecks in 2022. This crippled EV startups, with Lucid Motors among the most affected. When all these ended, Lucid Motors found itself in a market hostile to $100K sedans.
Despite having the capacity to build over 100,000 cars per year, Lucid Motors never managed to reach such levels. It sold 6,000 in 2023 and is on track to report about 10,000 in 2024, its best result ever. Although the trends are encouraging, such abysmal delivery numbers mean Lucid is burning money like there's no tomorrow. The EV startup has burned about $13 billion since its inception and is unlikely to break even soon.
The only thing keeping it alive now is that Saudi Arabia is too invested in the company and unwilling to write off its investment. Saudi Arabia PIF currently owns 64% of the company, according to an SEC filing from October 2024. It hopes the recently launched Lucid Gravity will finally sell in meaningful numbers. If it fails, it won't matter that the Lucid Air was one of the best EVs on the market.
