In a recent video, one notable tech and electric vehicle (EV) reviewer has called the pricey Lucid Air “the best sedan in the world” and “one of the best sedans ever made,” alongside several other major compliments.
Tech and EV reviewer Marques Brownlee, better known as MKBHD, shared a new video to his YouTube channel Auto Focus on Friday reviewing the luxury-level Lucid Air Sapphire. In the review, Brownlee notes that the EV is “incredible,” as he goes through various elements of the car’s exterior, interior, and performance.
“This is one of the best sedans ever made—I’m not saying electric—it’s one of the best sedans ever made,” Brownlee says in the video. “And honestly, yeah, it’s peak EV right now. This is as good as it gets.”
MKBHD says the Fisker Ocean is the ‘worst car’ he’s ever reviewed
He reiterates a point he has made in previous videos, saying that while the Tesla Model S Plaid is a solid daily driver, it’s just a better version of the Model S. This, he adds, is not the case when comparing the Sapphire to the regular Lucid Air line.
With a price tag of around $250,000, the Sapphire sells in the ultra-luxury segment, and Brownlee points to the EV’s range, storage, build quality, tech features, and general driving feel as the things that make it live up to that segment’s name.
Still, Brownlee doubles down on both his love for Tesla’s vehicles as his favorite daily drivers, noting that the Sapphire would be a close second to vehicles from the EV giant:
“Look, if you made me daily drive any EV in the world right now, and it couldn’t be a Tesla, it would be this,” Brownlee says. “It would be. I would have to matte black wrap it—I don’t know if I love the way it looks—but it would have to be this.
“It’s just way too good at driving to not pick it. The 400 miles is honest, like you can drive it like a grandma and get 400 miles, but just like the Plaid, with those big motors, you can really pull through battery quickly because it’s willing to deploy a ton of power.
“But I just don’t see any downsides with this car, simple as that. I think it’s the best sedan in the world, it’s crazy.”
Check out the full video from MKBHD’s Auto Focus below.
Brownlee also reviewed the Lucid Air Grand Touring trim in 2022, and he has reviewed several other EVs over the years. More recently, he called Tesla’s refreshed Model 3 a “mini Model S” in February, just weeks before going on to call the Fisker Ocean EV the “worst car he’s ever reviewed.”
Lucid’s first Air Sapphire rolled off the production line in Arizona last October, after initially unveiling the premium version of the vehicle in 2022. The EV maker is also preparing to launch its upcoming Gravity SUV later this year.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
News
Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain.
Tesla is rolling out Grok to vehicles in Europe. The feature will initially launch in nine European territories.
In a post on X, the official Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa account confirmed that Grok is coming to Teslas in Europe. The initial rollout includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain, and additional markets are expected to be added later.
Grok allows drivers to ask questions using real-time information and interact hands-free while driving. According to Tesla’s support documentation, Grok can also initiate navigation commands, enabling users to search for destinations, discover points of interest, and adjust routes without touching the touchscreen, as per the feature’s official webpage.
The system offers selectable personalities, ranging from “Storyteller” to “Unhinged,” and is activated either through the App Launcher or by pressing and holding the steering wheel’s microphone button.
Grok is currently available only on Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck vehicles equipped with an AMD infotainment processor. Vehicles must be running software version 2025.26 or later, with navigation command support requiring version 2025.44.25 or newer.
Drivers must also have Premium Connectivity or a stable Wi-Fi connection to use the feature. Tesla notes that Grok does not currently replace standard voice commands for vehicle controls such as climate or media adjustments.
The company has stated that Grok interactions are processed securely by xAI and are not linked to individual drivers or vehicles. Users do not need a Grok account or subscription to enable the feature at this time as well.
News
Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Tesla has officially ended the option to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that was announced for the United States market in January by CEO Elon Musk.
The driver assistance suite is now exclusively available in the U.S. as a subscription, which is currently priced at $99 per month.
Tesla moved away from the outright purchase option in an effort to move more people to the subscription program, but there are concerns over its current price and the potential for it to rise.
In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.
Although Tesla moved back the deadline in other countries, it has now taken effect in the U.S. on Sunday morning. Tesla updated its website to reflect this:
🚨 Tesla has officially moved the outright purchase option for FSD on its website pic.twitter.com/RZt1oIevB3
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 15, 2026
There are still some concerns regarding its price, as $99 per month is not where many consumers are hoping to see the subscription price stay.
Musk has said that as capabilities improve, the price will go up, but it seems unlikely that 10 million drivers will want to pay an extra $100 every month for the capability, even if it is extremely useful.
Instead, many owners and fans of the company are calling for Tesla to offer a different type of pricing platform. This includes a tiered-system that would let owners pick and choose the features they would want for varying prices, or even a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual pricing option, which would incentivize longer-term purchasing.
Although Musk and other Tesla are aware of FSD’s capabilities and state is is worth much more than its current price, there could be some merit in the idea of offering a price for Supervised FSD and another price for Unsupervised FSD when it becomes available.
Elon Musk
Musk bankers looking to trim xAI debt after SpaceX merger: report
xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. A new financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year.
Elon Musk’s bankers are looking to trim the debt that xAI has taken on over the past few years, following the company’s merger with SpaceX, a new report from Bloomberg says.
xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. Bankers are trying to create some kind of financing plan that would trim “some of the heavy interest costs” that come with the debt.
The financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year. Musk has essentially confirmed that SpaceX would be heading toward an IPO last month.
The report indicates that Morgan Stanley is expected to take the leading role in any financing plan, citing people familiar with the matter. Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., are all expected to be in the lineup of banks leading SpaceX’s potential IPO.
Since Musk acquired X, he has also had what Bloomberg says is a “mixed track record with debt markets.” Since purchasing X a few years ago with a $12.5 billion financing package, X pays “tens of millions in interest payments every month.”
That debt is held by Bank of America, Barclays, Mitsubishi, UFJ Financial, BNP Paribas SA, Mizuho, and Société Générale SA.
X merged with xAI last March, which brought the valuation to $45 billion, including the debt.
SpaceX announced the merger with xAI earlier this month, a major move in Musk’s plan to alleviate Earth of necessary data centers and replace them with orbital options that will be lower cost:
“In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale. To harness even a millionth of our Sun’s energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilization currently uses! The only logical solution, therefore, is to transport these resource-intensive efforts to a location with vast power and space. I mean, space is called “space” for a reason.”
The merger has many advantages, but one of the most crucial is that it positions the now-merged companies to fund broader goals, fueled by revenue from the Starlink expansion, potential IPO, and AI-driven applications that could accelerate the development of lunar bases.
Tesla rolls out xAI’s Grok to vehicles across Europe
Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.
