The Lucid Air traveled 445 miles on a single charge in a range test with Motortrend.
For years, Tesla has dominated the range game with the Model S, which has an EPA range of 405 miles.
According to Lucid, its $169,000 Air Dream can fly up to 517 miles on a single charge.
Lucid Motors, an electric-car company, is about to release its first vehicle, the Air Lucid sedan. However, it still confronts the difficult job of persuading customers to choose an unproven upstart over an experienced EV manufacturer like its main rival, Tesla.
Lucid may have one significant advantage against Elon Musk: range. During a recent trip in the automobile with Motor Trend, Lucid demonstrated that the Lucid Air gives Tesla’s finest vehicles a run for their money and then some.
The limited-run Lucid Air Dream Version, Lucid’s first car, can drive up to 517 miles on a single charge, which is more than 100 miles further than the Tesla Model S, which has dominated the range game for years.
Motor Trend took an Air 445 miles from Los Angeles to the Bay Area on a single charge and found 30 miles of range remaining, an accomplishment that would have been impossible just a few years ago. (Tesla just passed the 400-mile range mark last year.) The outlet traveled with Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson, whose similar vehicle had 72 miles of charge remaining, for a total range of 517 miles.
The range is a major factor for EV customers who wish to comfortably travel long distances even while charging infrastructure in the United States lags. The fact that Lucid can create a car with a range that is so far ahead of the competitors (although at a premium price) speaks well for the company’s future in the competitive and more crowded EV industry.
Motor Trend and Rawlinson traveled in a pair of Dream Edition Range vehicles, which Lucid said on Wednesday will be available alongside Dream Edition Performance variants. The Performance model boasts 1,111 horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of 2.5 seconds, whilst the Range model is primarily concerned with the mileage. It still has a mind-boggling 933 horsepower.
Both vehicles cost $169,000, but Lucid is working on more economical models. Lucid postponed Lucid Air’s debut from the spring to late 2021, with plans to begin selling Airs in late 2021.