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Exclusive: A talk with Derek Jenkins, VP of Design at Lucid Motors
The following post comes courtesy of NextMobility.co
I recently had a chance to talk with Lucid Motors VP of Design, Derek Jenkins, about the design philosophy behind the company’s ultra-luxurious Lucid Air. The Silicon Valley-based electric car startup founded in 2007 as Atieva has raised over $130M to date and on the precipice of achieving something no other electric car company within this space, outside of Tesla, has been able to do at scale – float a beautifully executed vision of the not-so-distant future that the greater electric vehicle community actually believes will come to fruition. And, they absolutely can’t wait for it.
Development of Lucid’s electric car platform has been well underway since the beginning of the company, but it wasn’t until 2015 that the first vehicle: the Air, began to take shape. Jenkins, an industry veteran who joined the startup in 2015, is leading the design team at Lucid Motors.
Lucid is aiming directly at the German automakers that historically have dominated the luxury car market. “From the beginning, we were very much focused on a luxury product; we felt like there is still a big opportunity at that end of the market,” says Jenkins. Lucid believes that there will still be a significant amount of time before German luxury auto manufacturers introduce electric vehicles in a meaningful way. “There was a lot of open opportunity to do something that is more forward-facing and less based on tradition, that is kind of the foundation,” said Jenkins.
Lucid says they are taking full advantage of the electric powertrain and the “miniaturization” of the electric motors in their design process, customizing the platform to meet the needs of their design. Lucid’s electric motors, transmission, and differential are all “very compact” compared to the vehicle’s relative power output.
Jenkins tells me that their team rearranged the lithium ion cells in the battery pack to utilize two separate modules, as a way to put more emphasis on opening up interior space. Some areas of Lucid Air’s 130 kWh battery pack is double-stacked, which allowed their designers to maximize interior space by removing certain sections of the vehicle’s floor. The design of the battery pack is a far departure from the single “skateboard” style pack used by Tesla.
Jenkins tells me that they wanted the interior experience of the car to feel very open, airy, and light. They made the dashboard less bulky, decreased the weight of the doors and focused on letting more air into the car, hence arriving at the name ‘Air’.
Designing for an Autonomous Future
“It’s hard to say whether we will reach full level 5 autonomy in the life cycle of this vehicle.” Jenkins and the Lucid design team made the driver’s area focused on ergonomics. All touch screens are easily within reach and the vehicle is clearly designed with an incredible focus on passenger comfort.
“We’re designing the interior for a dual purpose. I look at that center screen to be used way more in autonomous mode so I can dive into my email or watch TV. You need to create something that someone can be more relaxed in autonomous mode.” – Derek Jenkins, VP of Design at Lucid Motors
Lucid decided not to integrate a fold-away steering wheel, something that other electric car makers are looking to integrate. “We still want the Air to be an amazing driving vehicle, something thoroughly enjoyable to drive and feel physically connected to the car,” says Jenkins.
One design feature that Jenkins highlighted was the Air’s use of brushed aluminum trim that is said to come with a big wow-factor. Designing a vehicle for the future while making it appealing to current customers was a constant balancing act for the Lucid design team.
Still, Lucid reemphasizes Air’s target market will be the typical German luxury sedan buyer. Jenkins says that the Air is designed to have an overall vehicle size of a mid-size luxury sedan (E-Class), but with the luxurious interior of a large luxury sedan (S-Class), and the driving performance and design of a coupe class (CLS-Class). “This is the redefinition of luxury in a real modern sense”.
Making the leap to Lucid Motors
Derek Jenkins, VP of Design at Lucid Motors
Jenkins joined Lucid Motors in July of 2015 and was previously Director of Design at Mazda North America. Jenkins has nearly 25 years of design experience from Audi, VW, and Mazda, and lead the design of many vehicles, including the new 2016 Mazda Miata, VW Scirocco Concept, and Mazda 6. Jenkins, an industry design leader, took a huge risk jumping from a leadership position at Mazda to a Silicon Valley startup, but has no regrets.
“I had been in the industry designing cars for over 20 years… I was sensing a lot of change in the horizon towards electrification; I witnessed the success at Tesla… It was just too attractive to pass up,” said Jenkins.
Lucid expects to attract customers that expect to have an ultra-luxurious interior in the form of a “private jet on wheels“, and new focus on technology and an advanced powertrain. While many are quick to jump to the conclusion that Lucid will have an uphill battle in a market dominated by Tesla, Jenkins says that they didn’t design the Air to be a “Tesla killer”. Rather, the company aims to produce a vehicle that is fundamentally different than Tesla’s offerings.
Jenkins notes that Lucid has been able to keep their headcount low during the development of the vehicle, so they can easily collaborate with other areas within the company and form quick divisions. “It’s a huge advantage, it’s really much more of a form and function exercise, for me as a designer. At the big companies, you are really styling over a given architecture. Here we are actually working together to create a great piece of design and engineering. That’s a big difference.”
First production of Lucid Air is expected in 2019. The company has been raising capital to fund development on a planned $700 million electric vehicle factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Tesla has made two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles in its lineup, and the changes come just as the new model year begins production.
Last year, Tesla launched the Model Y Standard, which separated the previous models into the “Premium” category. The Standard vehicles lack several features, including more premium interior materials, acoustic-lined glass, and storage.
@teslarati There are some BIG differences between the Tesla Model Y Standard and Tesla Model Y Premium #tesla #teslamodely ♬ Sia – Xeptemper
The Model Y “Premium” trims are now getting several new upgrades, which come after the company launched a seven-seat configuration of the vehicle last night in the North American market for an upcharge of $2,500.
The new Model Y seven-seat configuration did not come with just an additional row of seating; it also came with a slew of other goodies that now come standard and were previously only available on the Model Y Performance, which was launched late last year.
All Black Headliner
The new Tesla Model Y Premium trims will now come standard with a black headliner, something that many owners have been requesting for some time.
The previous grey headliner and trim within the vehicle is now gone; it will be all black on all of the Premium trims from here on out, a welcome change:
Credit: Tesla
Larger and Higher Resolution Center Touchscreen
The center touchscreen in the new Model Y Premium configuration is now larger and has a higher resolution than the previous version.
In last year’s Model Y configurations (apart from the Performance), the center touchscreen was 15.4″. Now, Tesla has decided to go with the 16″ version across all Premium trims, which is a nice step up. It was nice to see this in the Performance, but it is really great to see Tesla include this in the Model Y’s more Premium trim levels.
Tesla Model Y Seven Seater
Tesla launched the latest iteration of the seven-seater for the Model Y on Monday night. Traditionally, the Model Y seats five passengers in total, but there were calls for a more spacious version several years ago.
Tesla released it, but it was extremely tight in the back, basically reserving those back seats for only small people or children.
Credit: Tesla
The new configuration looks to be slightly more spacious in the third row, but not as much space as most would require or want. Instead,
Elon Musk
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Lufthansa Group has announced a partnership with Starlink that will bring high-speed internet connectivity to every aircraft across all its carriers.
This means that aircraft across the group’s brands, from Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines to Brussels Airlines, would be able to enjoy high-speed internet access using the industry-leading satellite internet solution.
Starlink in-flight internet
Under the collaboration, Lufthansa Group will install Starlink technology on both its existing fleet and all newly delivered aircraft, as noted by the group in a press release.
Starlink’s low-Earth orbit satellites are expected to provide significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency than traditional in-flight Wi-Fi, which should enable streaming, online work, and other data-intensive applications for passengers during flights.
Starlink-powered internet is expected to be available on the first commercial flights as early as the second half of 2026. The rollout will continue through the decade, with the entire Lufthansa Group fleet scheduled to be fully equipped with Starlink by 2029. Once complete, no other European airline group will operate more Starlink-connected aircraft.
Free high-speed access
As part of the initiative, Lufthansa Group will offer the new high-speed internet free of charge to all status customers and Travel ID users, regardless of cabin class. Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx shared his expectations for the program.
“In our anniversary year, in which we are celebrating Lufthansa’s 100th birthday, we have decided to introduce a new high-speed internet solution from Starlink for all our airlines. The Lufthansa Group is taking the next step and setting an essential milestone for the premium travel experience of our customers.
“Connectivity on board plays an important role today, and with Starlink, we are not only investing in the best product on the market, but also in the satisfaction of our passengers,” Vranckx said.
Elon Musk
Tesla locks in Elon Musk’s top problem solver as it enters its most ambitious era
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla has granted Senior Vice President of Automotive Tom Zhu more than 520,000 stock options, tying a significant portion of his compensation to the company’s long-term performance.
The generous equity award was disclosed by the electric vehicle maker in a recent regulatory filing.
Tesla secures top talent
According to a Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tom Zhu received 520,021 stock options with an exercise price of $435.80 per share. Since the award will not fully vest until March 5, 2031, Zhu must remain at Tesla for more than five years to realize the award’s full benefit.
Considering that Tesla shares are currently trading at around the $445 to $450 per share level, Zhu will really only see gains in his equity award if Tesla’s stock price sees a notable rise over the years, as noted in a Sina Finance report.
Still, even at today’s prices, Zhu’s stock award is already worth over $230 million. If Tesla reaches the market cap targets set forth in Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, Zhu would become a billionaire from this equity award alone.
Tesla’s problem solver
Zhu joined Tesla in April 2014 and initially led the company’s Supercharger rollout in China. Later that year, he assumed the leadership of Tesla’s China business, where he played a central role in Tesla’s localization efforts, including expanding retail and service networks, and later, overseeing the development of Gigafactory Shanghai.
Zhu’s efforts helped transform China into one of Tesla’s most important markets and production hubs. In 2023, Tesla promoted Zhu to Senior Vice President of Automotive, placing him among the company’s core global executives and expanding his influence beyond China. He has since garnered a reputation as the company’s problem solver, being tapped by Elon Musk to help ramp Giga Texas’s vehicle production.
With this in mind, Tesla’s recent filing seems to suggest that the company is locking in its top talent as it enters its newest, most ambitious era to date. As could be seen in the targets of Elon Musk’s 2025 pay package, Tesla is now aiming to be the world’s largest company by market cap, and it is aiming to achieve production levels that are unheard of. Zhu’s talents would definitely be of use in this stage of the company’s growth.
Tesla makes two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles
Lufthansa Group to equip Starlink on its 850-aircraft fleet
