Move over Tesla, there's a new EV manufacturer making headlines just ten miles down the road. Lucid Motors, another American Electric Vehicle company has made some bold claims recently, particularly aimed at Tesla's Model S as it looks to debut its Air model sedan to the public soon. This week, Lucid Motors claims to have beaten the Tesla Model S in a quarter-mile drag race, clocking in at a sizzling 9.9 seconds.
Founded in 2007 in Newark California under the name Atieva, Lucid Motors began by building EV batteries and powertrains for other vehicle manufacturers. The company officially rebranded itself as Lucid Motors in 2016, and subsequently announced its intentions to develop and manufacture its own all-electric luxury vehicle. In December of the same year, it unveiled the Lucid Air, and the company is finally ready to begin production on it in 2020. Many of Lucid's growing crew of 1,000 were former employees of Tesla, including its CEO Peter Rawlinson, who was Tesla's VP of Engineering at one point.
According to the_byte on Futurism, Lucid's recent drag race stunt smoked the eight year old Model S' speed record, donning itself as the 'worlds quickest production sedan.' A Tesla Model S Performance model took .6 seconds longer for the same distance. Lucid also claims the Air can go from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Impressive indeed, but still short of the Model S Performance which has been officially clocked at 0-60 in 2.3 seconds and unofficially clocked at 2.28 seconds. While Tesla still holds an edge in that realm, Lucid appears to be nipping at its rear tires. That's not all either, Lucid has already eclipsed the Model S in mile range too, giving Tesla engineers no other choice but to take notice.
Tesla May Not Be Worried, But It's Paying Attention
While the quarter-mile race was captured on video, there is still no official confirmation to Lucid's claims. However, when it comes to the Air's 517 mile range on a single charge, that's a whole other story. While it seemed outlandish at first, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified Lucid Motors' 517 mile range for the Air sedan. The Model S' original range of 265 miles would have fizzled out long before the Lucid Air, and Elon Musk must have been watching. In June, Tesla announced the Model S Long Range Plus variant which pushed the EV's range limit to an EPA certified 402 miles. A huge feat for a single charge but still over 100 miles less than Lucid. Musk and his Tesla engineers seem less focused on the 2012 Model S, however, and more dialed in on their new Roadster and Semi-Truck models which claim to have ranges above 500 miles.
Lucid has made some bold claims, but they appear to be backing them up so far. While remaining mostly silent since announcing the Lucid Air, the manufacturer has methodically and ingeniously toiled away to ensure its first EV comes out swinging. Fans will be able to see for themselves next week when Lucid Motors live-streams the debut of the Lucid Air with plans to roll first models off the assembly line in 2021. While many people have already pegged this narrative as Lucid vs. Tesla (see above), Lucid doesn't see it that way. Its CEO sees the company as working alongside Tesla, both pushing EV innovation forward. Elon Musk might see things a bit differently up the road in Palo Alto, but healthy competition fuels progress. Let's hope that his company doesn't follow the same trajectory of Nikola Tesla's work. Luckily, Lucid hasn't changed its name to Edison... yet.
Source: Futurism