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Cadillac Lyriq vs Ford Mach-E vs Tesla Model Y: Features, price, and tech comparison
GM has entered the premium all-electric crossover SUV market, and its flagship vehicle is the rather eye-catching Cadillac Lyriq. Poised to hit the roads in the first half of 2022, the Lyriq will be entering an market already saturated by formidable opponents like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the best-selling Tesla Model Y.
With the competiton in the EV SUV market in mind, it’s important to know how the Cadillac Lyriq stacks up against two of the strongest entries in the premium all-electric crossover segment today. Below is a comparison of the Cadillac Lyriq, the Ford Mustang Mach-E (both in SR and ER variants), and the Tesla Model Y Long Range Dual Motor AWD.
Size and Weight
The Cadillac Lyriq is quite a hefty vehicle, dwarfing the Mach-E and the Model Y with its 196.7-inch length, 77.8-inch width, and a 121.8-inch wheelbase. In comparison, the Mach-E has a length of 186.0 inches, and width of 74.0 inches, and a wheelbase of 117.0 inches. The Model Y has a length of 187.0 inches, a width of 75.6 inches, and a wheelbase of 113.8 inches. The Lyriq is precisely the same height as the Model Y at 63.9 inches, making it taller than the Mach-E, which has a height of 63.0 inches.
All this size translates to the Cadillac Lyriq’s curb weight, which also stands far above the Mach-E and the Model Y. The Lyriq has some serious heft at 5,610 pounds, while the Mach-E and Model Y are far lighter at 4,394-4,890 pounds for the Ford and 4,416 pounds for the Tesla.
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Interior Dimensions and Cargo Space
While the Cadillac Lyriq is significantly larger than the Mustang Mach-E and the Model Y outside, it is comparable to its two rivals when it comes to the interior. While it edges out its rivals in legroom, shoulder room, and hip room, in terms of headroom, the Lyriq is actually behind its competitors, with 38.6 inches in the front and 37.7 inches at the rear. Despite being smaller physically, the Mach-E features a front headroom of 40.4 inches and rear headroom of 39.3 inches. The Model Y has significantly more headroom than the Lyriq as well, with 41.0 inches at the front and 39.4 inches at the rear.
This trend continues all the way to the Lyriq’s cargo space when its second-row seats are folded down. With this setup, the Lyriq boasts 60.8 cubic feet of cargo space, which is slightly higher than the Mach-E’s 59.7 cubic feet, but significantly behind the Model Y, which offers a whopping 68 cubic feet of cargo space with the second-row seats folded down.
Battery and Estimated Range
The Cadillac Lyriq features a large 100 kWh battery, which GM notes should provide the all-electric SUV with about 300 miles of range. The Mustang Mach-E offers two battery sizes: a 75.7 kWh standard range unit that gives drivers about 211 miles of range and a 98.8 kWh extended range battery that provides 300 miles of range. The Model Y taps into Tesla’s vast experience as an all-electric car maker by drawing out 326 miles of EPA-rated range with a 75 kWh battery pack.
Performance and 0-60 Times
GM noted that the Lyriq’s electric motor produces 340 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. GM’s estimates might seem conservative when compared to the Mach E, which produces 346 hp and 428 lb-ft of torque in its ER AWD version, and the Model Y Long Range, which has 384 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque. GM is also yet to release the 0-60 mph figures for the Lyriq, though Roadshow estimates that the vehicle, thanks to its large size and lower power, would likely be significantly slower than both the Mach-E Extended Range AWD and the Model Y Long Range, which boast a 5.5-second and 4.8-second 0-60 mph time, respectively.
Driver-Assist Technologies
GM’s brochure for the Lyriq notes that the all-electric SUV is equipped with the company’s award-winning Super Cruise, “the first truly hands-free driver assistance feature for compatible roads.” Super Cruise is impressive, though it only works on pre-mapped roads, and it requires users to have an active Cadillac Connected Services plan. Super Cruise-equipped vehicles like the Lyriq include 3 years of connectivity to support functionality, after which a Connected Services Plan must be purchased.
Ford, for its part, has recently announced its BlueCruise, a Level 2 driver-assist technology that also, in the carmaker’s words, offers a “true hands-free driving experience while in Hands-Free Mode that does not require a driver’s hands to stay in contact with the steering wheel, unless prompted by vehicle alerts.” Mach-E customers would be able to purchase BlueCruise software, including a three-year service period, for $600 in the second half of 2021, when the service is expected to launch.
Last but not least, the Tesla Model Y is equipped with basic Autopilot for free, though customers could opt-in for the carmaker’s Full Self-Driving suite for a $10,000 charge. Basic Autopilot includes key functions like Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer, while FSD includes advanced features like Navigate on Autopilot with Auto Lane Change, Autopark, Summon, and Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control. Unlike Ford and GM, however, Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD suite are, in their current iteration, not hands-free.
Price
The Cadillac Lyriq stays true to its brand, starting at $59,990. That’s far more expensive than the Mustang Mach-E, which starts at a more modest $43,995. The Tesla Model Y Long Range slots right in the middle of the Lyriq and Mach-E, with its current starting price of $51,690 including destination charges.
Check out the Cadillac Lyriq’s brochure below.
My23 Lyriq PDF Brochure v14 Final by Maria Merano on Scribd
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Tesla welcomed JPMorgan analysts to one of its factories earlier this month, with the Wall Street firm highlighting its findings in a new note to investors. One of the more pertinent pieces of information is that Tesla admitted to slowly integrating Model Y vehicles into its Robotaxi fleet, but it has a good reason.
JPMorgan analysts recently toured Tesla’s Fremont Factory and met with the company’s investor relations team, emerging with a clearer picture of the automaker’s Robotaxi strategy. According to the bank’s note, Tesla is intentionally limiting the addition of Model Y vehicles to its existing Robotaxi fleet.
The firm’s analysts said:
“Tesla indicated it is intentionally holding back on adding Model Y units to the robotaxi fleet, expressing confidence in its ability to scale Cybercab in the near-term. On FSD V15, Tesla views this release as a step-change in performance, comparable to the leap from V13 to V14. The V15 upgrade encompasses seven core technologies, with ~40% of those currently being tested in the robotaxi fleet, where initial feedback has been encouraging.”
JPMorgan after meeting with Tesla recently in Fremont:
“Tesla indicated it is intentionally holding back on adding Model Y units to the robotaxi fleet, expressing confidence in its ability to scale Cybercab in the near-term. On FSD V15, Tesla views this release as a step-change… pic.twitter.com/W9yGCWRT3C
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 20, 2026
Far from signaling delays or doubts about autonomy, the move reflects strong management confidence in the near-term scalability of the purpose-built Cybercab.
Tesla has operated its Robotaxi service primarily with modified Model Ys since launching in Austin and expanding to other markets. Yet the company is now deliberately holding back further Model Y conversions. The rationale is straightforward: leadership believes the Cybercab, a two-seat, steering-wheel- and pedal-free vehicle optimized for high utilization, can ramp production and deployment more efficiently in the coming months.
This dedicated form factor promises better unit economics for the majority of rides, which typically involve one or two passengers, while freeing consumer Model Y inventory for retail sales.
Supporting this pivot is Full Self-Driving (FSD) software version 15, which Tesla describes as a genuine step-change in performance, comparable to the leap from V13 to V14. The update incorporates seven core technologies; roughly 40 percent are already undergoing real-world testing in the current Robotaxi fleet, with early feedback described as encouraging.
Tesla is carefully managing software development to minimize regressions in core driving functions as new capabilities are added. Management positions V15 as the primary gateway to scaling unsupervised FSD. Importantly, the existing AI and Hardware 4 stack is already capable of running V15 and supporting unsupervised operation.
Cybercab itself is only the first vehicle on the platform. Tesla reiterated that additional form factors will follow, pointing to concepts such as the earlier “Robovan” demonstration as examples of how the architecture can evolve.
Tesla’s mysterious Robovan makes a sneak peek with Optimus in Terafab video
Parallel progress continues on the Optimus humanoid robot, which remains on track for start of production in the coming months, with commercial sales possible as early as the second half of 2027. Generation 3 details will be revealed closer to production to preserve competitive advantages, while Generation 4 scope will draw on real-world Gen 3 experience.
JPMorgan left the meeting with a deeper appreciation for Tesla’s manufacturing automation and maintained its $475 price target. The decision to slow Model Y Robotaxi integration is therefore not a setback but a calculated prioritization of a more efficient, purpose-built solution that management believes is ready to scale.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced today that the company will likely attempt to catch the Starship upper stage with its launch tower arms “in a few months.”
In a post on X, Musk wrote, “Looks like we will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months. If there had been a tower out to sea where we practiced landing the ship, it would have been caught.” He added that the first reflight of a Starship vehicle is expected by the end of 2026 or early 2027, describing it as “a fork in the road of history for consciousness reaching the stars.”
Looks like we will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months. If there had been a tower out to sea where we practiced landing the ship, it would have been caught.
First reflight of the ship will be either end of this year or early next. That will be a fork in the… https://t.co/O5g9pqrzyo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2026
Musk’s prediction comes amid ongoing progress toward full reusability of the Starship system, a two-stage rocket designed for rapid turnaround and dramatically lower launch costs. Catching the upper stage, known simply as “ship,” with the Mechazilla tower’s mechanical arms would mark a major milestone. It would allow both stages to return directly to the launch site for quick refurbishment and reuse, eliminating the need for ocean recovery.
Musk has previously signaled plans for a ship catch. In July, shortly after SpaceX’s wildly successful Starship 13 mission, he stated that the company would attempt to catch the ship with the tower on the next flight unless problems emerged in the mission data review. Earlier comments also outline conditions such as successful soft ocean landings before attempting a land recovery to minimize risk.
SpaceX has solved Starship’s biggest challenge, Elon Musk says
The latest update from Musk adjusts this timeline to a few months, reflecting the iterative nature of the test campaign.
SpaceX has already demonstrated the tower catch technique successfully with the Super Heavy booster on a couple of occasions. The first successful booster catch occurred during Flight 5 in October 2024, when the massive first stage returned to the Starbase pad in Texas and was plucked from the air by the tower arms.
Additional catches followed on later flights, including Flight 7, proving the concept for the booster and building confidence in the system as a whole.
Achieving a similar catch for the upper stage would represent a significant step forward. The ship returns from much higher speeds and greater heat loads after orbital or near-orbital flight. Success would advance SpaceX’s goal of full and rapid reusability, potentially reducing the cost of access to orbit by a factor of 100 or more and supporting ambitions for frequent satellite deployments, lunar missions, and eventual Mars flights.
Musk has long emphasized that true reusability, refueling rather than discarding hardware, is essential for making humanity a multi-planetary species.
As SpaceX continues refining Starship through successive test flights, the coming months will test whether the ambitious catch timeline can be met. The combination of prior booster successes and improving ship landing precision suggests the company is steadily closing in on this historic capability.
SpaceX has achieved an incredible milestone by launching its 11,000th Starlink satellite into orbit.
This accomplishment occurred during the Starlink Group 17-50 mission, which lifted off on August 19 at 04:01 UTC from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Falcon 9 launches 24 @Starlink satellites from California pic.twitter.com/UscpmAxDls
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 19, 2026
A Falcon 9 rocket carried 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on this flight, successfully deploying them into low Earth orbit approximately one hour after liftoff. The first stage booster, identified as B1097 on its twelfth flight, landed successfully on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
According to tracking data compiled around that date, this deployment brought the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to just over 11,000.
The Starlink program began with test satellites known as Tintin A and B, launched on February 22, 2018. The first operational batch of 60 Starlink satellites followed on May 24, 2019, when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Those initial satellites marked the start of a rapid expansion that has continued for more than seven years.
SpaceX has conducted hundreds of dedicated Starlink missions since then, routinely launching batches of 20 to 30 satellites at a time using reusable Falcon 9 rockets. By mid-2026, the company had already surpassed 12,000 total satellites launched across all versions, with continuous replacements for units that deorbit as designed to manage space debris.
Looking ahead, SpaceX continues to expand the Starlink constellation to enhance global broadband coverage, capacity, and speed. The network already serves millions of users across more than 160 countries and supports applications ranging from residential internet to maritime, aviation, and emergency services.
Future plans center on next-generation hardware, including larger V3 satellites capable of delivering substantially higher throughput, which require the increased payload capacity of the Starship vehicle currently under development and testing.
In July, SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking authority for a Gen3 constellation of up to 100,000 satellites. These spacecraft would operate in very low Earth orbit shells at altitudes near 325 kilometers and 475 kilometers. The filing requests use of existing Ku, Ka, V, and E band spectrum along with new greenfield W and D band frequencies between 92 and 275 GHz.
SpaceX states that the expanded system aims to deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical broadband to consumers, enterprises, governments, and billions of AI-powered devices worldwide while handling a majority of global internet traffic. Approval and subsequent deployment would depend on regulatory review and the operational readiness of Starship for high-volume launches.
This ambitious scale reflects SpaceX’s ongoing commitment to providing ubiquitous high-speed connectivity from space.
Tesla admits to slow Model Y Robotaxi integration, but for a good reason
Elon Musk gives a timeline for SpaceX’s first Starship catch attempt
