News
Lucid begins production of Air sedan, expects October for first deliveries
Lucid Group has announced that it will begin delivering its first sedan, the Air Dream Edition sedan, in October. Production of the Air has begun, according to the automaker, who is holding a Production Preview Event this week at its Casa Grande, Arizona, manufacturing facility.
The first units of the Air Dream Edition sedan rolled off of the Lucid assembly lines earlier today, and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey was in attendance for the event. Lucid has been a catalyst for job creation and economic development, increasing the area’s high-tech footprint for manufacturing. The site is expected to generate around $9 billion in economic output in 2024, along with 15,000 new jobs every year by the same date.
The production preview event also gave attendees, which
included media members, customers, investors, and others the opportunity to drive the Air sedan, which is expected to be delivered for the first time in late October.
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- The first customer-quality Lucid Air luxury electric sedans rolled off the assembly line today at Lucid’s Advanced Manufacturing Plant (AMP-1) in Casa Grande, AZ, which included a factory commissioning ceremony with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.
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- Lucid expects reservation holders of Lucid Air Dream Edition models will begin receiving their vehicles in late October, with customer deliveries ramping up thereafter. Grand Touring, Touring, and Air Pure model deliveries are expected to follow. Lucid has thus far received more than 13,000 reservations for Lucid Air and increased the planned total production quantity of the Dream Edition to 520 vehicles.
Lucid said in a press release that it expected reservation holders to start seeing deliveries in the later portions of October, but only for the Dream Edition sedan, the vehicle’s premier trim. After initial deliveries of the Dream Edition trim begin, they will be followed with the Grand Touring, Touring, and Air Pure deliveries. Lucid has received over 13,000 reservations for the Air across its various trim levels and packages, which has increased the company’s projected output of Dream Edition sedans from around 500 to 520. Interestingly, this number also coincides with the vehicle’s EPA-estimated range ratings, which were released last week.
Lucid Air Dream gets massive 520-mile range rating in preliminary EPA tests
The EPA gave the Air Dream Edition an industry-leading 520 miles per charge in testing, holding a considerable lead over the Tesla Model S Long Range. Lucid holds an over 100-mile lead in range ratings, giving the company a significant advantage over its closest competitors. This statistic alone could drive Lucid to become a disruptor in the evergrowing United States electric vehicle sector. “With customer-quality cars now coming off the line, Lucid has confirmed that the Air meets all the applicable regulatory requirements from the EPA and U.S. Department of Transportation,” Lucid Group wrote in a statement.
“The proprietary EV technology that Lucid has developed will make it possible to travel more miles using less battery energy,” company CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said. “For example, our Lucid Air Grand Touring has an official EPA rating of 516 miles of range with a 112-kWh battery pack, giving it an industry-leading efficiency of 4.6 miles per kWh. Our technology will allow for increasingly lighter, more efficient, and less expensive EVs, and today represents a major step in our journey to expand the accessibility of more sustainable transportation. I’m delighted that production cars endowed with this level of efficiency are currently driving off our factory line.”
Lucid’s next few years align with a plan for expansion of not only its production lines, but its facility in general. The company plans to expand its 590-acre site in Arizona by 2.85 million square feet, giving additional manufacturing room for Air sedans. Additionally, Lucid will expand its product line with the Gravity SUV.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
Tesla made a dramatic change to the Online Design Studio to show its plans for Full Self-Driving, a major part of the company’s plans moving forward, as CEO Elon Musk has been extremely clear on the direction moving forward.
With Tesla taking a stand and removing the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright next month, it is already taking steps to initiate that with owners and potential buyers.
On Thursday night, the company updated its Online Design Studio to reflect that in a new move that now lists the three purchase options that are currently available: Monthly Subscription, One-Time Purchase, or Add Later:
🚨 Check out the change Tesla made to its Online Design Studio:
It now lists the Monthly Subscription as an option for Full Self-Driving
It also shows the outright purchase option as expiring on February 14 pic.twitter.com/pM6Svmyy8d
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
This change replaces the former option for purchasing Full Self-Driving at the time of purchase, which was a simple and single box to purchase the suite outright. Subscriptions were activated through the vehicle exclusively.
However, with Musk announcing that Tesla would soon remove the outright purchase option, it is clearer than ever that the Subscription plan is where the company is headed.
The removal of the outright purchase option has been a polarizing topic among the Tesla community, especially considering that there are many people who are concerned about potential price increases or have been saving to purchase it for $8,000.
This would bring an end to the ability to pay for it once and never have to pay for it again. With the Subscription strategy, things are definitely going to change, and if people are paying for their cars monthly, it will essentially add $100 per month to their payment, pricing some people out. The price will increase as well, as Musk said on Thursday, as it improves in functionality.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Those skeptics have grown concerned that this will actually lower the take rate of Full Self-Driving. While it is understandable that FSD would increase in price as the capabilities improve, there are arguments for a tiered system that would allow owners to pay for features that they appreciate and can afford, which would help with data accumulation for the company.
Musk’s new compensation package also would require Tesla to have 10 million active FSD subscriptions, but people are not sure if this will move the needle in the correct direction. If Tesla can potentially offer a cheaper alternative that is not quite unsupervised, things could improve in terms of the number of owners who pay for it.
News
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end with no interventions.
A Tesla Model S has completed the first-ever full Cannonball Run using Full Self-Driving (FSD), traveling from Los Angeles to New York with zero interventions. The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end, fulfilling a long-discussed benchmark for autonomy.
A full FSD Cannonball Run
As per a report from The Drive, a 2024 Tesla Model S with AI4 and FSD v14.2.2.3 completed the 3,081-mile trip from Redondo Beach in Los Angeles to midtown Manhattan in New York City. The drive was completed by Alex Roy, a former automotive journalist and investor, along with a small team of autonomy experts.
Roy said FSD handled all driving tasks for the entirety of the route, including highway cruising, lane changes, navigation, and adverse weather conditions. The trip took a total of 58 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 64 mph, and about 10 hours were spent charging the vehicle. In later comments, Roy noted that he and his team cleaned out the Model S’ cameras during their stops to keep FSD’s performance optimal.
History made
The historic trip was quite impressive, considering that the journey was in the middle of winter. This meant that FSD didn’t just deal with other cars on the road. The vehicle also had to handle extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain.
As per Roy in a post on X, FSD performed so well during the trip that the journey would have been completed faster if the Model S did not have people onboard. “Elon Musk was right. Once an autonomous vehicle is mature, most human input is error. A comedy of human errors added hours and hundreds of miles, but FSD stunned us with its consistent and comfortable behavior,” Roy wrote in a post on X.
Roy’s comments are quite notable as he has previously attempted Cannonball Runs using FSD on December 2024 and February 2025. Neither were zero intervention drives.
Elon Musk
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders.
Tesla removed its basic Autopilot package as a standard feature in the United States. The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders, and shifts the company’s strategy towards paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
Tesla removes Autopilot
As per observations from the electric vehicle community on social media, Tesla no longer lists Autopilot as standard in its vehicles in the U.S. This suggests that features such as lane-centering and Autosteer have been removed as standard equipment. Previously, most Tesla vehicles came with Autopilot by default, which offers Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer.
The change resulted in backlash from some Tesla owners and EV observers, particularly as competing automakers, including mainstream players like Toyota, offer features like lane-centering as standard on many models, including budget vehicles.
That being said, the removal of Autopilot suggests that Tesla is concentrating its autonomy roadmap around FSD subscriptions rather than bundled driver-assistance features. It would be interesting to see how Tesla manages its vehicles’ standard safety features, as it seems out of character for Tesla to make its cars less safe over time.
Musk announces FSD price increases
Following the Autopilot changes, Elon Musk stated on X that Tesla is planning to raise subscription prices for FSD as its capabilities improve. In a post on X, Musk stated that the current $99-per-month price for supervised FSD would increase over time, especially as the system itself becomes more robust.
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (Unsupervised FSD),” Musk wrote.
At the time of his recent post, Tesla still offers FSD as a one-time purchase for $8,000, but Elon Musk has confirmed that this option will be discontinued on February 14, leaving subscriptions as the only way to access the system.
Tesla makes dramatic change to Online Design Studio to show FSD plans
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
