These days, Tesla owners seem to be experiencing a very particular kind of road rage. While the company’s founder and C.E.O., Elon Musk, continues to indulge in capricious dictates over at Twitter HQ, the neglected electric-vehicle brand has been arguably self-driving itself off the road.
The latest misstep came at the beginning of 2023 when Tesla slashed the prices of its four models by as much as 20 percent, infuriating owners who not only paid top dollar for theirs but also lost hefty tax-credit opportunities.
Lucid, a new luxury brand that quietly entered the E.V. market with its first model in late 2021, makes an attractive (if not necessarily modest) proposal for anyone seeking a high-performance ride. The name, somewhat unfortunately, might be better suited to a non-alcoholic spirit brand or, perhaps, a drug targeting memory loss. But for Tesla haters, Lucid comfortably sits as a clearheaded alternative without the reek of Musk.
Though the company only put its first car on the road less than two years ago, it’s been around since 2007, initially developing batteries and electric-power trains for other vehicle manufacturers under the name Atieva.
In 2013, Peter Rawlinson, who enjoys a Jony Ive–esque reverence among those in the automobile industry, thanks to his tenure as the V.P. of vehicle engineering at Tesla, joined the company as chief technology officer. Under his guidance, the company pivoted to making entire vehicles of its own, and in 2016 rebranded itself as Lucid Motors. Rawlinson, who has remained with the company ever since, added on the role of C.E.O. in 2019.
Today, Lucid’s fleet includes five sedan models ranging in price from approximately $90,000 to $250,000 dollars, with a super-sports upgrade model and its first S.U.V., which the company says could arrive next year. The prices hover significantly higher than Tesla’s $44,000 base Model 3, but the advantages are road-tested and clear. In 2022, Lucid produced 7,180 vehicles—short of its original estimate—and in March, announced cost-cutting measures, including layoffs of 1,300 employees.
When it comes to range, the Air Grand Touring outperforms every other vehicle on the market. When fully charged, it can drive up to 516 miles, and depending on the capacities of the station, it can charge 200 miles in roughly 12 minutes. Unfortunately, the name suggests a Winnebago rather than a $138,000 luxury sedan with the ability to hit 60 m.p.h. in about three seconds, but that’s a minor gripe. (The Air Grand Touring Performance model, meanwhile, claims to hit 60 in 2.6 seconds, faster than one can say its full name).
For Tesla haters, Lucid comfortably sits as a clearheaded alternative without the reek of Musk.
But as with most electric vehicles that heavily lean on their software—to essentially do nearly everything—glitches are par for the course. In the last year, Lucid consumers have reported a number of software-related issues, ranging from displays going dark to more risky matters, such as driving forward while in reverse, and instances in which the cars lose speed or randomly stop altogether.
Last year the company released more than 30 software updates, and initiated three voluntary recall campaigns, each for unrelated issues that were estimated to have been present in 3 percent (or less) of the vehicles included; and there had been no reported injuries.
Most of the Lucid models on the road are found in California, where the company is headquartered, and near its Arizona factory in Casa Grande, where the cars are manufactured from battery to body. There’s some novelty in the newness of these autos, especially considering their good looks, both inside and out. Compared to Tesla’s Model Y, which in the color white can resemble a beluga whale, a recently road-tested Air Grand Touring features an attractive, streamlined exterior.
The lines curve rather than bubble. The roomy interior (thanks to fewer moving parts) is even more luxurious, with leather-covered seats sourced from the world’s only carbon-neutral producer, a stylish black-and-cognac color scheme, and a sprawling glass-canopied roof that fills the cabin with light. In comparison, Tesla’s bland, minimalist interiors and pleather seats come across as relatively generic and soul-less.
In motion, the Air Grand Touring is smooth, graceful, and fast. The acceleration is so powerful that it’s challenging to stay within the speed limits. The car features three driving modes—smooth, swift, and sprint—based mostly on horsepower output, accelerator responsiveness, and suspension behavior, which will also affect the mileage range. The one caveat to an otherwise smooth drive is the regenerative-braking feature, which converts kinetic energy back into the battery when the car stops accelerating. For new drivers, this can result in a jerkiness that feels like the brake is actually being depressed. (And it’s especially irksome for passengers unaware of what’s happening.)
The Air Grand Touring’s other features include plenty of trunk space in both the front (known as the “frunk”) and back, self-locking technology (door handles and mirrors automatically fold inward), and 20-way massage functions in both front seats. The latter might seem a little over the top, but if you’re spending this much money on a car, shouldn’t it feel like it?
Laura Neilson is a New York–based writer and a regular contributor to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal