Lucid Motors' upcoming midsized vehicle will cost about the same as a Tesla Model Y Long Range, the EV startup's CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson reaffirmed on a call Monday evening. And his remarks indicated it may even be slightly more affordable than initially expected.
On Lucid's first-quarter earnings call, Rawlinson said that the future model will be priced at around $48,000. In the past, Lucid has said the vehicle would cost somewhere around $50,000.
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Lucid Motors' path forward
Lucid Motors hit the market in 2021 with the Air, an impressive albeit expensive sedan. The upcoming Gravity SUV and a farther-off midsized vehicle are what Lucid hopes will launch it to profitability and wider recognition.
The vehicle, aka Project Midsize, is still years away, so that price could very well change. In recent years, numerous companies have either jacked up or slashed prices for their EVs due to changing materials costs and consumer demand. On Monday's conference call, Rawlinson said the model is still on track to start production in late 2026.
Lucid has only shown the midsize model under a sheet, so we don't know exactly what it looks like. It appears to be a crossover SUV-type vehicle.
The midsized platform is key to Lucid's growth and path to profitability. The startup produces an amazingly impressive sedan called the Air, but it's on the pricy side and hasn't sold in the kind of numbers Lucid expected. The company says it's on track to produce 9,000 Airs this year, roughly matching 2023's figures. That isn't because Lucid can't build them faster, Rawlinson explained on Monday. It's about drumming up demand.
"We are not manufacturing constrained. This isn't a ramp-up situation," he said. "It's about growing awareness of just how awesome the product is and the sales will follow. And that's the trajectory we're on."
A $48,000 vehicle would dramatically expand Lucid's addressable market. That's not cheap, but it's in the same ballpark as Tesla's Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan, some of the most popular electric cars on the planet. Fellow EV startup Rivian's R2 SUV is set to launch around the same time at a starting price of $45,000.
First, Lucid needs to execute on the Gravity SUV, its hotly anticipated next act after the Air. The three-row family hauler is slated to enter production later this year. It, too, promises to attract a whole new set of customers—and a boatload of revenue—to the fledgling automaker. It and the midsized platform are what's standing between Lucid being a niche maker of luxury cars that loses money and a significant player moving real volume.
What do you think? Would you buy a Lucid midsized car at $48,000? Let us know in the comments.
Got a tip? Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com
