Lucid Motors Finds Out Building An Electric Car Takes Lots Of Money

Lucid Motors is finding out the hard way that building a new electric car cost a lot of money. Short of funds, it has approached Ford about buying the company, but Ford has rebuffed Lucid’s advances, saying it has bigger fish to fry than owning the rights to the only electric car on the horizon that appears able to compete head to head with the Tesla Model S. Is this just another example of the “Not Invented Here” syndrome that has afflicted American car makers since the Coolidge administration?

Some may remember that Tesla — the mighty empire that threatens to topple old school companies left and right — once had a similar moment of angst. That’s when Elon thought of approaching Apple with an offer to buy the company. Things have improved a bit for Tesla since then.

Lucid is turning heads this week with a new video that shows its sedan, the Lucid Air, touching 235 miles per hour on a test track. That makes it one of the fastest production cars on the face of the planet. It has signed a deal for a $700,000,000 factory south of Phoenix, Arizona but has yet to begin construction.

Lucid’s chief technology, officer Peter Rawlinson, who guided the Tesla Model S to production, says, “We don’t have the money in place. That’s why we need to secure Series D. It would be irresponsible to start moving earth or start anything until we have a financial runway to execute that professionally and with absolute integrity.”

Bloomberg reports, “Electric carmaker Lucid Motors Inc. is raising a new round of financing and is also considering an outright sale after holding early-stage takeover talks with Ford Motor Co., according to people familiar with the situation. The Menlo Park, California, based firm has hired Morgan Stanley to help raise more money to pay for further development of its vehicle and a new manufacturing plant in Arizona.”

Industry sources say Lucid reached out to Ford to explore a takeover deal. Lucid reportedly talked to some high-level execs at Ford, but the deal was turned down. Maybe another time, Ford management allegedly said.

Of course, why would Ford, which has nothing resembling a compelling electric car in its portfolio and won’t for a decade or two, be interested in a car that has been fully developed and is ready for production now? Don’t be ridiculous! Not invented here, you know.

Losing Lucid would be a shame for several reasons. For one thing, Elon Musk has been begging other manufacturers to build compelling electric cars for several years now. The Lucid Air appears to be just such a “compelling” competitor.

For a second thing, if Lucid fails, that will give traditional automakers cover for their dastardly plot to appear to be building compelling electric cars while pointing out to anyone who will listen, “See? We told you. Nobody wants electric cars.”

Save a prayer for Lucid.

Source: Inside EVs

Launch Edition Of All-Electric Lucid Air Will Cost ~$165,000

The launch edition of the all-electric Lucid Air luxury sedan will cost around $165,000, according to recent reports — quite a premium over the expected ~$100,000 cost of a standard edition of the model.

As a reminder, there will apparently be only 255 of these Launch Edition Lucid Airs manufactured, so probably a good part of what you’re paying for is simply exclusivity.

Other than exclusivity, what will Launch Edition buyers be getting for the ~$65,000 difference? “Distinguishing features” and a well optioned template, apparently. It’s not too clear what that means, but I would guess more luxury and high-tech elements and features.

Launch Edition buyers will of course also be the first to get their cars, sometime in 2019 reportedly, whereas buyers of the regular edition will have to wait a bit longer. In addition to the overall price difference, though, this also comes at the expense of a much higher deposit ($25,500 as compared to $2,500). Somehow, I doubt that those numbers mean much to the sorts of people who spend $150,000 on a car, though.

As a couple of quick endnotes here (for those who missed our earlier coverage): Lucid Motors is now working to build a $700 million manufacturing plant in Arizona, one that is expected to begin production in 2018, and the company has established a supply partnership with Samsung SDIrelating to battery components.

Lucid Air On Display At Private Parties In LA This Weekend

What’s the party everyone wants go to? The one that not everyone is invited to! We all want what we can’t have. Lucid Motors is using that principle to build excitement for two private parties in the Los Angeles area this weekend. The first will be on Saturday at a well known museum in the city where guests will be able to test drive a Lucid Air sedan themselves and chat up muckety mucks from the factory, including members of the design team. The second will take place on Sunday up the coast at a private estate in trendy Newport Beach.

Compared to Faraday Future, another putative Tesla electric car rival, Lucid — formerly known as Atieva — has been keeping a low profile since it was founded in 2007. It has no factory, although one is supposedly going to be built outside of Phoenix, Arizona in the near future. One of its cars was spotted recently driving in San Francisco and the company said last week it is now accepting refundable deposits for the car. The deposits come in two flavors. The plain vanilla option costs $2,500. The Tutti Frutti choice is $25,500 dollars to reserve a “Launch Edition.” Lucid says only 255 of those cars will be built. There goes that “not everyone can have one” vibe again.

The car itself has a certain Wow! factor about it. It features three electric motors — one for the front wheels and two in the rear — with advanced computer controls that allow “torque vectoring.” (See video below.) That’s a fancy way of saying that torque can be fed instantaneously to whichever wheels need it most, something even the mighty Teslas cannot claim to do. All told, the three motors have 1,000 horsepower on tap and a 130 kWh battery has enough capacity to propel the car down the road 400 miles before it needs recharging.

Lucid claims its luxury sedan can scoot to 60 mph in 2. 4 seconds. That may be what prompted Tesla to develop its new Easter egg for the Model S P100D with Ludicrous Mode. That car does the 60 mile per hour dash in 2.34 seconds. Motor Trend just tested one that did it in 2.275 seconds using a NHRA style one foot rollout format. There used to be a time when 0 – 60 times were given in whole numbers. Not today. When you are laying out 150 large or more for a car, hundredths of a second give the owner bragging rights. If bragging is important to you, be prepared to open up your wallet — wide.

The Lucid Air is small on the outside, big on the inside. Chief technology officer Peter Rawlinson, who played a large role in getting the Tesla Model S into production, says that new battery packaging techniques allow the car to have the same interior room as its larger rivals. He promises that riding in the car will be like being in “an executive jet,” Having never ridden in one of those, I will have to take his word for it. Pricing for the car has not been announced but it won’t be the electric car for mainstream drivers we have all been hoping for.

Will the Lucid Air ever see production? That’s the question everyone would like an answer to.

Source: Teslarati

Lucid Air With 400 Mile Range Revealed In California

Months after Lucid Motors began teasing its first production car, the Lucid Air was revealed for all the world to see at an event in San Francisco on December 14. Like the Tesla Model S it hopes to compete with, the Lucid Air is a fully featured sedan built from the ground up to be an electric car. It reportedly has a 100 kWh battery and a range of more than 300 miles. An optional 135 kWh battery will be good for 400 miles of driving, according to the company.

Lucid chief engineer Peter Rawlinson, who was personally involved in designing the Model S when he worked at Tesla, says the car has 1,000 horsepower from two electric motors and will accelerate to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. He also claims that the interior will have generous room for passengers, particularly in the rear, and will feel like “an executive jet.” Prices have not been released, but expect the Lucid Air to be priced similarly to the Model S.

The Lucid Air is said to be ready for autonomous driving thanks to a suite of sensors consisting of long and short range radar units, cameras, and Lidar. Many of its features can be operated via smartphone apps and the company says it will well suited to ride hailing or ride sharing use, although why the owner of a $100,000+ automobile would be anxious to immediately fill it with strangers and operate it like a private taxi remains unclear.

Lucid says it will begin producing cars in 2018 at a new factory it intends to build in Casa Grande, Arizona. Since the factory deal was just announced earlier this month, it seems foolishly optimistic to think a brand new factory is going to be constructed and start churning out cars in under 2 years time, but time will tell.

Lucid Motors claims the Air will be a sports car, a commuter car, a connected car, and a ride hailing car. In other words, it will be all things to all people. Perhaps, but as we reported recently, it is significantly smaller on the outside than the cars it expects to compete against, particularly the Tesla Model S, Mercedes S Class, Audi A8, and BMW 7 Series. People buy on emotion. Are people willing to plunk down $100,000 or more going to get emotional about a car that looks small compared to all the other cars in the lot at the country club? “We’ll see,” said the Zen master.

Source: CNET, Endgadget   Photo credit: Lucid Motors