Lucid Motors, an EV startup headed by former Tesla engineer Peter Rawlinson, has reduced the reservation price of its upcoming Lucid Air to $1,000. Lucid had previously started taking $2,500 deposits for the Air in 2017. Lucid also reiterated that production of the Air is on track for “late 2020.”
Pre-orders are currently available in the US and Canada, and the reservation fee is fully refundable. Customers from elsewhere in the world can join Lucid’s “international interest” list.
The update came in an email to Lucid’s interested customers. The email pointed out Lucid’s progress on their factory and beta prototypes. It also mentioned that the reservation process has been “streamlined” with new payment options, along with the lowered reservation cost.
Reservation holders will have priority to order the vehicle when it is released. Those at the current $2,500 level will retain their earlier place in line, and invitations to order a vehicle will go out in roughly chronological order. New $1,000 reservation holders will get in line after customers with established deposits.
$2,500 reservation holders can request a $1,500 refund if they so choose, but all deposits will apply to the final cost of the vehicle anyway so it doesn’t matter too much. Reservation holders will retain their place in line even if they request this partial refund.
Reservation holders will also receive invitations to special events and “exclusive opportunities to experience the car.” Lucid did not specify whether or not this means test drives or just gallery showings with test rides, like one we went to in 2017.
We had a chance to check out the Lucid Air prototype in Los Angeles in 2017 and came away impressed by the company at the time.
Since then, things went quiet for a while for Lucid. At the time, it claimed its Arizona factory was about ready to break ground on construction.
That eventually did happen…a couple years later. We reported that Lucid finally started construction on their factory this November.
In 2017, we also heard about specs and an expected $60,000 price target. This price is before incentives, so $52.5k after. At the time, this price target seemed quite aggressive when compared to the Tesla Model S. And it still does, especially for an EV startup that has had some problems getting off the ground (though their problems are more minor than some other companies).
Those problems seem to have been sorted out now that they’re building their factory. But when we talked to them in 2017, they said they would be able to bring the car to market within 24 months of starting production on their factory. They only started production last month, so that would put them on a timeline for late 2021 for delivery.
Maybe after recent cash infusions they’ll be able to bump up their factory construction timeline, but we wouldn’t expect a ton of cars in late 2020. Maybe just a few final production prototypes, perhaps a couple “founder’s series” cars, and then a gap before true volume production starts several months later.
Update: a Lucid spokesperson got back to us about production timelines, and they stated that the 24 month number was always intended to refer to their last funding round, not the start of factory construction. Since they got that funding near the end of 2018, that puts them at a 2020 timeline for production. “Phase 1” will be completed at the end of 2020 and there will be “some production cars completed by the close of 2020.” Production will ramp through 2021.
So we’re not sure where this ride is going or how fast we’ll get there, but if you want to jump in, toss your $1,000 reservation fee into the pot here.
See the full email below:
As we near production of the Lucid Air in late 2020, we continue to make great progress here at Lucid Motors. We will be sharing regular updates in the coming months. Hopefully, you have had a chance to read recent articles about our factory, now under construction, and our beta prototypes, now undergoing testing.
We have also streamlined our reservation process: Simplifying the reservation form, adding new payment options, and updating the reservation price to $1,000.
As a reservation holder, you will have the opportunity to be among the first to own a Lucid Air. You can also expect invitations to special events with exclusive opportunities to experience the car.
Your $1,000 reservation payment will be applied to the purchase price of your Lucid Air and is fully refundable.
Reserve my
Lucid Air for $1,000If you have any questions, please call 844 367 7787 or contact reservations@lucidmotors.com.
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