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Lucid Air Dream Edition shows impressive initial build quality thanks to human craftsmanship

Credit: Vivianna Van Deerlin | YouTube

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With the Lucid Air Dream Edition finally beginning initial deliveries more than a year after its unveiling, the automaker’s first builds are showing an impressive build quality thanks to Lucid’s focus on fine craftsmanship. A spacious, luxury interior also fills the inside of the Air Dream Edition, giving the impression that first owners are more than happy with what they have been given after a lengthy wait.

Vivianna Van Deerlin was one of the first owners of the Lucid Air Dream Edition and attended the October 30th, 2021 unveiling event in California. While Van Deerling attended the West Coast-located ceremony, which included breakfast, numerous speeches from Lucid executives, and a trunk full of Lucid-inspired goodies, she is a resident of New Jersey, and putting 3,000 miles on the car in the first few days was not what she planned for. The vehicle was then shipped to New Jersey, where she plans to take delivery soon.

However, a video Van Deerlin took at the Lucid Delivery Event in California showed the impressive build quality the Air sports in its early builds, and it may be the reason the car was awarded MotorTrend’s “Car of the Year” award. Lucid has already detailed that the first few units of the Air would be built by hand. In March, Lucid detailed the tedious-but-necessary process of taking out automation and bringing humans in to build the cars. It eliminates the uncertainty of mass production, and while fewer units can be built, quality is unmatched. “At this stage in the process, it’s less about the robots and more about the hands-on human element. It’s all carefully choreographed,” Lucid wrote in its blog. “We do have some robots and we do have automation, but this vehicle is put together by humans. And it takes real craftsmanship,” Art Schlaud, Director of Manufacturing for General Assembly said.

Lucid shows the tedious process of building the Air Dream Edition

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If the Air Dream Edition delivery event told us anything, it’s that Lucid is bringing its finest vehicles to the forefront during its shiny-and-pretty delivery event. The cars are nearly flawless, and the exterior is almost as pretty as the interior.

Van Deerlin may be one of the most qualified people on Earth to give a first impression of an EV. In 2009, Van Deerlin was a Model S reservation holder, and took delivery of an S85 in December 2012, she said. There was no infrastructure, Superchargers were not a thing, and electrification was far away from the mainstream. “It was a gamble at the time, but we believed firmly in the mission to transition the world to sustainable energy, so were excited to be early adopters of Tesla and help spread the word,” Van Deerlin said.

Lucid’s competitive nature, which has included plenty of mention of rival Tesla, does not make anything different for Van Deerlin. “This purchase of a Lucid Air in no way diminishes my passion for my Tesla vehicles, energy products and the Tesla community. I love our Model 3, Model S, and Roadster. For anyone who truly believes in the Tesla mission, and not just making money from Tesla stock, the success of more than one EV company is imperative. I see a future of transition to electric vehicles — but I do not see a future where everyone drives a Tesla,” she said on YouTube.

Build quality is a term that many Tesla enthusiasts are familiar with because it was a strong point of conversation for media for some time. Tesla was struggling with build quality when ramping up the Model 3 several years ago, after having the reputation of well-built cars with early adaptations of the Model S being handbuilt. CEO Elon Musk has always said that “production is hard,” and Lucid may get to experience that lesson in a few years when it begins to mass-produce the Air sedan or the “Project Gravity” SUV it will unveil. The real question is whether Lucid will be able to keep this impressive build quality up while it begins to scale its manufacturing processes. Past experiences have taught us that automakers tend to struggle with perfect build quality while balancing thousands of units per day.

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Nevertheless, Lucid brought its A-game for its first impressions. Check out Van Deerlin’s video on the delivery experience below.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Elon Musk

Tesla Full Self-Driving is getting a major parking upgrade, Elon Musk says

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving is going to be getting a major parking upgrade. That’s according to CEO Elon Musk, who detailed a crafty new feature that will improve parking preferences, removing a layer of human input.

Musk said that upcoming releases of Full Self-Driving will “remember your parking preferences.” It will go to the location you prefer, based on where you’ve parked in the past, instead of taking the first spot available, which is where the suite is currently.

The CEO went on to explain that destination parking is “by far” the biggest reason for intervention during FSD operation. We’d have to believe this is true; many takeovers in my Model Y, which runs the latest version of FSD as it is in the Early Access Program, are due to parking because it chooses a spot I do not want to be in.

Many times, as soon as I enter a parking lot, I take over and park manually. I prefer to park away from the entrance of wherever I am, away from cars. Too many lessons learned over the years from people with free-swinging doors.

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We’d imagine these new updates will also solve things like parking orientation. Let’s say when you arrive at work, you always park in the third spot in the third row, and you prefer to back in. It seems as if Musk is implying that your car will now do this, learning from takeovers and aiming to eliminate the need to manually park whenever possible.

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This is a major upgrade because parking is a major shortcoming of FSD currently. We’ve requested things like manual input of parking preferences, choosing to park far away, first available, or away from cars, for example.

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However, some have used the option of dropping a pin at the location you’d like to park at your destination. This has worked some of the time, but FSD will still choose to park in whatever it sees first.

Musk did not give a timetable for when the improvements would be released, but it is likely to come soon. Tesla has been releasing a new FSD version every few weeks, so we may not have to wait long to test it.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving and App Connectivity save life in medical emergency

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Credit: Tesla

In a remarkable demonstration of how advanced vehicle technology can intersect with family care and rapid response, a Tesla Model Y equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised helped save a driver’s life during a severe heart attack. The incident, which occurred on November 15, 2025, highlights the life-saving potential of Tesla’s connected ecosystem.

John Brandt, 55, was driving his new 2026 Model Y Launch Edition on Interstate 20 from Atlanta toward Birmingham early that morning. He had recently received the FSD v14.1.3 update. Around 3:50 a.m., he began experiencing severe chest pain. Barely conscious and unable to safely control the vehicle, John managed to call his son, Jack Brandt.

FSD Supervised remained engaged, keeping the car steadily on course while John reached out for help.

As an authorized driver on his father’s Tesla account, Jack quickly sprang into action from his own phone. He located Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Georgia—a facility equipped for cardiac emergencies—via Google Maps and shared the destination directly through the Tesla app.

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The Model Y responded immediately, rerouting: it took the next exit, turned around on I-20, navigated local roads, and pulled directly up to the emergency room entrance. Jack also alerted hospital staff that a heart attack patient was en route in a Tesla.

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Doctors diagnosed John with a massive STEMI heart attack, requiring immediate intervention on three blocked arteries. They later confirmed that without the swift reroute, John likely would not have survived—whether he had pulled over to wait for an ambulance or attempted to continue driving. He received life-saving treatment and is now recovering fully.

Tesla shared the story on X, including an interview video featuring John and Jack reflecting on the event. John described the terrifying onset of symptoms, while Jack detailed the ease of remote intervention thanks to the app’s features. Only authorized users with vehicle access can change navigation destinations, adding a layer of security and family coordination.

This case underscores Tesla’s emphasis on connectivity and supervised autonomy. Features like remote navigation allow loved ones to assist in real-time emergencies, while FSD handles complex driving tasks reliably. Tesla notes that FSD Supervised requires active driver supervision and is not fully autonomous; this was a specific incident, not a general emergency protocol.

The story has resonated widely, with many praising Tesla’s technology for bridging gaps in critical moments. Jack previously shared details on social media in February 2026, and Tesla’s recent post has amplified its reach. As vehicles become smarter and more connected, such integrations could redefine personal safety on the road—turning cars into proactive partners in health crises.

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For Tesla owners, the incident serves as a powerful reminder to add trusted family members as authorized drivers and explore FSD capabilities. While no technology replaces professional medical care, this blend of AI-assisted driving and seamless app control proved invaluable. John’s survival stands as a testament to innovation that prioritizes human life.

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Elon Musk predicts Grok will start to challenge Hollywood by the end of 2026

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Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In a bold declaration on X, xAI CEO Elon Musk announced that its model will be capable of creating full movies by the end of the year. Quoting an xAI post showcasing a stunning AI-generated trailer for Homer’s The Odyssey, Musk simply stated: “Full movies by the end of the year.”

The quoted video, created entirely with the newly released Grok Imagine Video 1.5, demonstrates the rapid strides in AI video generation. Crafted by creator David Thompson, the 2-minute-plus trailer reimagines the ancient epic in the style of a 1970s classical Hollywood blockbuster. It features 36 meticulously consistent shots that form a cohesive narrative world.

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Its realistic nature is truly mind-blowing, and it’s pretty amazing to think that it cool to think it could create an entire movie soon.

The trailer reimagines The Odyssey as a whole, and opens with a concept board outlining the vision: a retelling of the story using 35mm film aesthetics, classical framing, and other elements.

There are a handful of things that truly outline Grok’s capabilities:

  • Scale and Physics: A bloodied Spartan helmet rests on a sandy battlefield amid smoke, marching armies, and flocks of birds. Horses gallop, chariots charge, and warriors clash with believable weight and motion.
  • Emotional Depth and Dialogue: Close-ups capture intense expressions, as characters deliver lines like a warrior’s grief-stricken speech on a rocking ship.
  • Cinematic Workflow: It’s hard to believe AI created this trailer, as editing and suspense are clearly detailed in this trailer

Now, why is this a big deal? AI has been a real threat to the way movies have been made over the past several decades. It’s no secret that the various AI platforms out there are becoming more capable, but Musk has said that he believes things would be “watchable” by the end of this year, and by the end of 2027, Grok would be able to create “really good” movies.

There are several issues that remain, most notably the ability to remain cohesive throughout the length of a film, energy requirements, copyright questions for training data, and artistic intent. Hollywood has created some of the greatest cinematic masterpieces over the past 100 years, but 2026 could be the year AI not only assists but also independently authors cinema.

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