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Lucid unveils Air’s Dual-Motor, 1,080 HP powertrain and 9.9-second quarter mile
Lucid Motors has released details on the powertrain it will use for its first electric vehicle, the Air. Lucid will equip the vehicle’s top configuration with a Dual-Motor, All-Wheel-Drive powertrain that is capable of 1,080 horsepower. Additionally, the Air was able to complete consecutive quarter-mile runs at under 10 seconds.
Lucid has developed the Air since 2016, and it has been fine-tuning the vehicle’s powertrain and all-electric, 113 kWh battery pack in preparation for entry into an increasingly competitive market. Over the past few weeks, the automaker has slowly released numerous details about the Air and its capabilities, starting with its 517-mile range and interior features. Now, Lucid is getting to the good stuff and is detailing its all-electric powertrain, which is the fastest to ever complete a quarter-mile.
The quarter-mile record was set by the Air’s Dream Edition variant at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California. Not only did the Air manage to set the record for the fastest quarter-mile time for an EV, but it beat the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan in the process.
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid, said that the company’s watchword has been “focus” since day one. But the focus goes much further than creating a fast performance vehicle.
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- Credit: Lucid Motors
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- Credit: Lucid Motors
“Our watchword has been ‘focus’ since day one at Lucid – a focus on sound engineering principles, a focus on creating efficiencies, and a focus on maximizing power to create a world-class EV,” Rawlinson said.
Lucid’s focus has been to create a vehicle that highlights the optimization that the company’s engineering teams have worked on for the last three-and-a-half years. At the heart of the Air, a 900V+ electric drive unit that is small enough to fit in a regular suitcase packs over 650 horsepower. It is 45% lighter and 59% lighter than the closest competitor, the company said. At speeds capable of up to 20,000 RPM, the Lucid powertrain holds significant advantages over any car in the electric vehicle market.
“When the Lucid Air comes to market next spring, the world will see that we have developed the best electric vehicle technology possible by a wide margin and effectively created a new benchmark for EVs. The result is nothing short of a technological tour de force in every facet upon which a luxury performance car is measured,” Rawlinson said.
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- Credit: Lucid Motors
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- Credit: Lucid Motors
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- Credit: Lucid Motors
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- Credit: Lucid Motors
Creating efficiency with every part of an electric vehicle was crucial to Lucid’s mission to develop a world-class powertrain. The Air’s internal parts can achieve high-performance through a series of new inventions that are part of lucid’s intellectual property.
“Most notably, an elegant and revolutionary new motor winding technology has been introduced to maximize power output and reduce electrical losses. The motor also features an innovative cooling system that more effectively removes heat from
the stator winding, minimizing losses and boosting efficiency,” the company said in a release.
The compact design, which Teslarati detailed in late-August, paves the way for the electric drive unit to take up as little room as possible while powering the Air to new heights.
“This is achieved in part by the transmission and differential, which have been fully integrated for the first time in an electric motor – together, they comprise a single rotational system that is both lightweight and extremely efficient. Meanwhile, Lucid
leverages a high voltage, silicon-carbide MOSFET system in its inverters to maximize efficiency, especially in real-world driving conditions,” Lucid said.
Lucid will debut the Air during an online reveal event on September 9, 2020. In addition to the Air’s finalized interior and exterior designs, Lucid will also release new details about pricing, production specifications, and available configurations during the event.
Elon Musk
Delaware Supreme Court reinstates Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla CEO pay package
The unanimous decision criticized the prior total rescission as “improper and inequitable,” arguing that it left Musk uncompensated for six years of transformative leadership at Tesla.
The Delaware Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling, reinstating Elon Musk’s 2018 compensation package originally valued at $56 billion but now worth approximately $139 billion due to Tesla’s soaring stock price.
The unanimous decision criticized the prior total rescission as “improper and inequitable,” arguing that it left Musk uncompensated for six years of transformative leadership at Tesla. Musk quickly celebrated the outcome on X, stating that he felt “vindicated.” He also shared his gratitude to TSLA shareholders.
Delaware Supreme Court makes a decision
In a 49-page ruling Friday, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick’s 2024 decision that voided the 2018 package over alleged board conflicts and inadequate shareholder disclosures. The high court acknowledged varying views on liability but agreed rescission was excessive, stating it “leaves Musk uncompensated for his time and efforts over a period of six years.”
The 2018 plan granted Musk options on about 304 million shares upon hitting aggressive milestones, all of which were achieved ahead of time. Shareholders overwhelmingly approved it initially in 2018 and ratified it once again in 2024 after the Delaware lower court struck it down. The case against Musk’s 2018 pay package was filed by plaintiff Richard Tornetta, who held just nine shares when the compensation plan was approved.
A hard-fought victory
As noted in a Reuters report, Tesla’s win avoids a potential $26 billion earnings hit from replacing the award at current prices. Tesla, now Texas-incorporated, had hedged with interim plans, including a November 2025 shareholder-approved package potentially worth $878 billion tied to Robotaxi and Optimus goals and other extremely aggressive operational milestones.
The saga surrounding Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package ultimately damaged Delaware’s corporate appeal, prompting a number of high-profile firms, such as Dropbox, Roblox, Trade Desk, and Coinbase, to follow Tesla’s exodus out of the state. What added more fuel to the issue was the fact that Tornetta’s legal team, following the lower court’s 2024 decision, demanded a fee request of more than $5.1 billion worth of TSLA stock, which was equal to an hourly rate of over $200,000.
Delaware Supreme Court Elon Musk 2018 Pay Package by Simon Alvarez
News
Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the vehicle being reported across social media this week.
Tesla is ramping its real-world tests of the Cybercab, with multiple sightings of the autonomous two-seater being reported across social media this week. Based on videos of the vehicle that have been shared online, it appears that Cybercab tests are underway across multiple states.
Recent Cybercab sightings
Reports of Cybercab tests have ramped this week, with a vehicle that looked like a production-ready prototype being spotted at Apple’s Visitor Center in California. The vehicle in this sighting was interesting as it was equipped with a steering wheel. The vehicle also featured some changes to the design of its brake lights.
The Cybercab was also filmed testing at the Fremont factory’s test track, which also seemed to involve a vehicle that looked production-ready. This also seemed to be the case for a Cybercab that was spotted in Austin, Texas, which happened to be undergoing real-world tests. Overall, these sightings suggest that Cybercab testing is fully underway, and the vehicle is really moving towards production.
Production design all but finalized?
Recently, a near-production-ready Cybercab was showcased at Tesla’s Santana Row showroom in San Jose. The vehicle was equipped with frameless windows, dual windshield wipers, powered butterfly door struts, an extended front splitter, an updated lightbar, new wheel covers, and a license plate bracket. Interior updates include redesigned dash/door panels, refined seats with center cupholders, updated carpet, and what appeared to be improved legroom.
There seems to be a pretty good chance that the Cybercab’s design has been all but finalized, at least considering Elon Musk’s comments at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting. During the event, Musk confirmed that the vehicle will enter production around April 2026, and its production targets will be quite ambitious.
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Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Swedish union Vision has withdrawn its sympathy blockade against Tesla’s planned service center and showroom in Kalmar. As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Vision’s decision to pull the blockade
Vision announced the blockade in early December, stating that it was targeting the administrative handling of Tesla’s facility permits in Kalmar municipality. The sympathy measure was expected to start Monday, but was formally withdrawn via documents sent to the Mediation Institute and Kalmar Municipality last week.
As noted in a Daggers Arbete report, plans for the strike were ultimately pulled after employer group SKR highlighted potential illegality under the Public Employment Act. Vision stressed its continued backing for the Swedish labor model, though Deputy negotiation manager Oskar Pettersson explained that the Vision union and IF Metall made the decision to cancel the planned strike together.
“We will not continue to challenge the regulations,” Petterson said. “The objection was of a technical nature. We made the assessment together with IF Metall that we were not in a position to challenge the legal assessment of whether we could take this particular action against Tesla. Therefore, we chose to revoke the notice itself.”
The SKR’s warning
Petterson also stated that SKR’s technical objection to the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla strike framed the protest as an unauthorized act. “It was a legal assessment of the situation. Both for us and for IF Metall, it is important to be clear that we stand for the Swedish model. But we should not continue to challenge the regulations and risk getting judgments that lead nowhere in the application of the regulations,” he said.
Vision ultimately canceled its planned blockade against Tesla on December 9. With Vision’s withdrawal, few obstacles remain for Tesla’s long-planned Kalmar site. A foreign electrical firm completed work this fall, and Tesla’s Careers page currently lists a full-time service manager position based there, signaling an imminent opening.
Delaware Supreme Court reinstates Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla CEO pay package
Tesla Cybercab tests are going on overdrive with production-ready units
