Lucid Motors’ introductory all-electric vehicle, the Air, is primed for imminent release that is set to occur later this year. Until then, Lucid is refining the details that set the Air apart from its competitors, and its CEO Peter Rawlinson is also getting his hands dirty. Recently, he took the Air to Manhattan in New York City to test the vehicle’s performance in sleek, slender, and challenging urban settings. One thing is for sure, this luxury sedan from Lucid is set to be a disruptive force in the electric sector as it packs performance with comfortability in all the right ways. Rawlinson was sure to complement his company’s first production EV, but he also was vocal about some minor changes he’d like to see ahead of its initial deliveries.
Rawlinson started his trip through Manhattan on a stroll that took him down the Hudson River to the Financial District. After getting perfect views of One World Trade Center and lower Manhattan, Rawlinson continued his trek through the City that Never Sleeps, highlighting several changes that the Lucid team made to the Air’s design. Everything from pillars that created blind spots to the quality of the instrument panel buttons was broken down by Rawlinson, who has held a high standard for his company’s vehicles ever since they have been introduced prior to their production.
An all-too-common narrative that has been projected among the EV community is that of what company will change the game once again. While Tesla technically introduced the electric vehicle sector to the average car buyer, other companies are coming in to create competition and innovation. Lucid is just one of many, but their approach to the electric car is completely different from its competitors. While many are looking years into the future and how the “big picture” of the automotive industry is inevitably set for a massive change in the coming years, Lucid is focused on the short-term.
Rawlinson’s goal is to begin putting cars on the road as soon as possible, and it begins with ending the narrative that Lucid has accomplished something when it hasn’t yet delivered a car. “We are nothing until we’ve got anything into production,” Rawlinson once said, highlighting his inkling for a vehicle delivery by the end of 2021.
The hands-on approach that Rawlinson has taken is eerily similar to that of his former boss Elon Musk. The two worked together in the early 2010s while the development of the Model S was underway. Small, contested, and stressful car startups are becoming more frequent, and Rawlinson has already done this once before. It takes attention to detail from a crafty automotive veteran to ensure that things go smoothly, and Rawlinson may be the perfect man for the job. While he could be sitting in his ritzy office in California, he is instead taking his company’s first car and navigating it through some of the world’s busiest streets, working on perfecting the Lucid Air months before it begins arriving to customers.
-->Lucid’s premier Air Dream Edition will begin deliveries later this year. While the company will build 500 Air Dream Edition variants, it has three other configurations that will be available in the coming months. Ultimately, Lucid’s big plan is relatable to Tesla’s Master Plan: build an expensive luxury vehicle, and use the funds from that to develop new, affordable, all-electric powertrains in the coming years.
Watch Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson take the Lucid Air through the streets of Manhattan below.
News
Tesla Giga Berlin is still ramping production to meet Model Y demand: plant manager
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin has expanded to two full shifts, as per the facility’s plant manager, and a lot of it is due to Model Y demand.
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin has expanded to two full shifts, as per the facility’s plant manager, and a lot of it is due to Model Y demand. While registrations in some countries such as Sweden have fallen sharply this year, the company’s sales in other key territories have been rising.
Giga Berlin shifts to two shifts
Giga Berlin factory manager André Thierig told the DPA that the facility has been running two shifts since September to manage a surge in global orders. And due to the tariff dispute with the United States, vehicles that are produced at Giga Berlin are now being exported to Canada.
“We deliver to well over 30 markets and definitely see a positive trend there,” Thierig said.
Despite Giga Berlin now having two shifts, the facility’s production still needs to ramp up more. This is partly due to the addition of the Tesla Model Y Performance and Standard, which are also being produced in the Grunheide-based factory. Interestingly enough, Giga Berlin still only produces the Model Y, unlike other factories like Gigafactory Texas, the Fremont Factory, and Gigafactory Shanghai, which produce more than one type of vehicle.
Norway’s momentum
Norway, facing an imminent tax increase on cars, has seen a historic spike in Tesla purchases as buyers rush to secure deliveries before the change takes effect, as noted in a CarUp report. As per recent reports, Tesla has broken Norway’s all-time annual sales record this month, beating Volkswagen’s record that has stood since 2016.
-->What is rather remarkable is the fact that Tesla was able to achieve so much in Norway with one hand practically tied behind its back. This is because the company’s biggest sales draw, FSD, remains unavailable in the country. Fortunately, Tesla is currently hard at work attempting to get FSD approved for Europe, a notable milestone that should spur even more vehicle sales in the region.
Tesla is launching a crazy Full Self-Driving free trial, which will enable owners who have not purchased the suite outright to try it for 30 days.
There are a handful of stipulations that will be needed in order for you to qualify for the free trial, which was announced on Thursday night.
Tesla said the trial is for v14, the company’s latest version of the Full Self-Driving suite, and will be available to new and existing Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck owners, who will have the opportunity to try the latest features, including Speed Profiles, Arrival Options, and other new upgrades.
🚨 Tesla is launching a free 30-day trial of Full Self-Driving in North America for owners.
It includes every model, but you need v14.2 or later, and you cannot have already purchased the suite outright. https://t.co/8CNmxxOkVl
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 27, 2025
You must own one of the five Tesla models, have Full Self-Driving v14.2 or later, and have an eligible vehicle in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, or Canada.
The company said it is a non-transferable trial, which is not redeemable for cash. Tesla is reaching out to owners via email to give them the opportunity to enable the Full Self-Driving trial.
Those who are subscribed to the monthly Full Self-Driving program are eligible, so they will essentially get a free month of the suite.
Once it is installed, the trial will begin, and the 30-day countdown will begin.
Tesla is making a major push to increase its Full Self-Driving take rate, as it revealed that about 12 percent of owners are users of the program during its recent earnings call.
Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said during the call:
“We feel that as people experience the supervised FSD at scale, demand for our vehicles, like Elon said, would increase significantly. On the FSD adoption front, we’ve continued to see decent progress. However, note that the total paid FSD customer base is still small, around 12% of our current fleet.”
Earlier today, we reported on Tesla also launching a small-scale advertising campaign on X for the Full Self-Driving suite, hoping to increase adoption.
Tesla Full Self-Driving warrants huge switch-up on essential company strategy
It appears most people are pretty content with the subscription program. It costs just $99 a month, in comparison to the $8,000 fee it is for the outright purchase.
Tesla Full Self-Driving has warranted a huge switch-up on an essential company strategy as the automaker is hoping to increase the take rate of the ADAS suite.
Unlike other automotive companies, Tesla has long been an outlier, as it has famously ditched a traditional advertising strategy in favor of organic buzz, natural word-of-mouth through its production innovation, and utilizing CEO Elon Musk’s huge social media presence to push its products.
Tesla has taken the money that it would normally spend on advertising and utilized it for R&D purposes. For a long time, it yielded great results, and ironically, Tesla saw benefits from other EV makers running ads.
Tesla counters jab at lack of advertising with perfect response
However, in recent years, Tesla has decided to adjust this strategy, showing a need to expand beyond its core enthusiast base, which is large, but does not span over millions and millions as it would need to fend off global EV competitors, which have become more well-rounded and a better threat to the company.
In 2024 and 2025, Tesla started utilizing ads to spread knowledge about its products. This is continuing, as Full Self-Driving ads are now being spotted on social media platforms, most notably, X, which is owned by Musk:
NEWS: Tesla is running paid advertisements on X about FSD (Supervised). Here’s an ad they started running yesterday: pic.twitter.com/IHVywLMyTd
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 25, 2025
Interestingly, Tesla’s strategy on FSD advertising is present in Musk’s new compensation package, as the eleventh tranche describes a goal of achieving 10 million active paid FSD subscriptions.
Full Self-Driving is truly Tesla’s primary focus moving forward, although it could be argued that it also has a special type of dedication toward its Optimus robot project. However, FSD will ultimately become the basis for the Robotaxi, which will enable autonomous ride-sharing across the globe as it is permitted in more locations.
Tesla has been adjusting its advertising strategy over the past couple of years, and it seems it is focused on more ways to spread awareness about its products. It will be interesting to see if the company will expand its spending even further, as it has yet to put on a commercial during live television.
We wouldn’t put it out of the question, at least not yet.
Tesla Giga Berlin is still ramping production to meet Model Y demand: plant manager
Tesla launches crazy Full Self-Driving free trial: here’s how you can get it
