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Lucid CEO shares take on next-gen EVs: “The electric car of the future only needs 250 miles”
Lucid Motors made it a point to go above and beyond the industry standard when it released the Air, its first vehicle. With a range of over 500 miles, the Air was a strong statement from the EV maker. It entered the electric luxury sedan market late, but its range alone showed that it was a serious contender.
While the Lucid Air is not selling as strongly as its rivals like the Porsche Taycan and the Tesla Model S, the luxury electric vehicle maker is nonetheless optimistic about its potential. Just recently, Lucid and Aston Martin signed a deal that would see the American automaker supply powertrain components to the British sports car company. The Lucid Air also continues to earn accolades, including the 2023 World Car Luxury Car of the Year award.
Amidst these efforts, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson highlighted in a conversation with Auto Express UK that Lucid has developed into a group with three pillars. One pillar corresponds to the company’s vehicles like the Lucid Air and the upcoming Gravity SUV; another pillar corresponds to the company’s energy storage business; and the last corresponds to technology licensing transfer supply. It is this third pillar that Rawlinson sees quite a lot of potential, noting that he is hoping that Lucid could become the EV equivalent of Intel.
“We are limited by the number of cars we can make and sell for our technology. I want to have a big impact upon the planet – we’re worried about global warming. I want to get more people into electric cars sooner and it’s important that we use a multiplier effect that other people can be making cars with our technology. There’s a great example in Intel. There’s an Intel inside logo on many computers, and it’d be lovely to see ‘Lucid Inside’ on cars, too,” Rawlinson.
And while Rawlinson noted that Lucid plans to eventually offer vehicles that are cheaper — likely in the $50,000 range and thereby being competitors to the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y — the company is looking to provide innovations for even mainstream cars in the future. In a rather interesting statement, Rawlinson stated that the electric vehicle of the future only really needs 250 miles, and with Lucid’s technology, such a range should be achieved with a fairly small battery pack.
“The biggest impact on the mass market car will be with smaller battery packs. My vision is could we get to six miles per kilowatt-hour? We’re at 4.6 now. Could we get to six miles per kilowatt-hour with a fast-charging infrastructure, with overnight charging? The electric car of the future only needs 250 miles. We don’t need 500-mile cars in the future, 10 years from now.
“If we could get six miles per kilowatt-hour and you only need 150 miles range, that’s a 25 kilowatt-hour pack. That’s a $4,000 pack particularly with a bit of industrializing scale and battery manufacture. That’s what we need to make a $25,000 car and that’s what the environment and the world needs urgently to get masses into electric cars. You need the $25,000 car. Now is Lucid going to make that? No. It’s a horrible thing to be making. But could we be the ‘intel inside’ for that car? The enabler? Absolutely. And that’s where we could get the multiplier effect,” Rawlinson said.
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Tesla FSD fleet is nearing 7 billion total miles, including 2.5 billion city miles
As can be seen on Tesla’s official FSD webpage, vehicles equipped with the system have now navigated over 6.99 billion miles.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) fleet is closing in on almost 7 billion total miles driven, as per data posted by the company on its official FSD webpage.
These figures hint at the massive scale of data fueling Tesla’s rapid FSD improvements, which have been quite notable as of late.
FSD mileage milestones
As can be seen on Tesla’s official FSD webpage, vehicles equipped with the system have now navigated over 6.99 billion miles. Tesla owner and avid FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog also shared a screenshot indicating that from the nearly 7 billion miles traveled by the FSD fleet, more than 2.5 billion miles were driven inside cities.
City miles are particularly valuable for complex urban scenarios like unprotected turns, pedestrian interactions, and traffic lights. This is also the difference-maker for FSD, as only complex solutions, such as Waymo’s self-driving taxis, operate similarly on inner-city streets. And even then, incidents such as the San Francisco blackouts have proven challenging for sensor-rich vehicles like Waymos.
Tesla’s data edge
Tesla has a number of advantages in the autonomous vehicle sector, one of which is the size of its fleet and the number of vehicles training FSD on real-world roads. Tesla’s nearly 7 billion FSD miles then allow the company to roll out updates that make its vehicles behave like they are being driven by experienced drivers, even if they are operating on their own.
So notable are Tesla’s improvements to FSD that NVIDIA Director of Robotics Jim Fan, after experiencing FSD v14, noted that the system is the first AI that passes what he described as a “Physical Turing Test.”
“Despite knowing exactly how robot learning works, I still find it magical watching the steering wheel turn by itself. First it feels surreal, next it becomes routine. Then, like the smartphone, taking it away actively hurts. This is how humanity gets rewired and glued to god-like technologies,” Fan wrote in a post on X.
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Tesla starts showing how FSD will change lives in Europe
Local officials tested the system on narrow country roads and were impressed by FSD’s smooth, human-like driving, with some calling the service a game-changer for everyday life in areas that are far from urban centers.
Tesla has launched Europe’s first public shuttle service using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the rural Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm region of Germany, demonstrating how the technology can restore independence and mobility for people who struggle with limited transport options.
Local officials tested the system on narrow country roads and were impressed by FSD’s smooth, human-like driving, with some calling the service a game-changer for everyday life in areas that are far from urban centers.
Officials see real impact on rural residents
Arzfeld Mayor Johannes Kuhl and District Administrator Andreas Kruppert personally tested the Tesla shuttle service. This allowed them to see just how well FSD navigated winding lanes and rural roads confidently. Kruppert said, “Autonomous driving sounds like science fiction to many, but we simply see here that it works totally well in rural regions too.” Kuhl, for his part, also noted that FSD “feels like a very experienced driver.”
The pilot complements the area’s “Citizen Bus” program, which provides on-demand rides for elderly residents who can no longer drive themselves. Tesla Europe shared a video of a demonstration of the service, highlighting how FSD gives people their freedom back, even in places where public transport is not as prevalent.
What the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Transport says
Rhineland-Palatinate’s Minister Daniela Schmitt supported the project, praising the collaboration that made this “first of its kind in Europe” possible. As per the ministry, the rural rollout for the service shows FSD’s potential beyond major cities, and it delivers tangible benefits like grocery runs, doctor visits, and social connections for isolated residents.
“Reliable and flexible mobility is especially vital in rural areas. With the launch of a shuttle service using self-driving vehicles (FSD supervised) by Tesla in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm, an innovative pilot project is now getting underway that complements local community bus services. It is the first project of its kind in Europe.
“The result is a real gain for rural mobility: greater accessibility, more flexibility and tangible benefits for everyday life. A strong signal for innovation, cooperation and future-oriented mobility beyond urban centers,” the ministry wrote in a LinkedIn post.
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Tesla China quietly posts Robotaxi-related job listing
Tesla China is currently seeking a Low Voltage Electrical Engineer to work on circuit board design for the company’s autonomous vehicles.
Tesla has posted a new job listing in Shanghai explicitly tied to its Robotaxi program, fueling speculation that the company is preparing to launch its dedicated autonomous ride-hailing service in China.
As noted in the listing, Tesla China is currently seeking a Low Voltage Electrical Engineer to work on circuit board design for the company’s autonomous vehicles.
Robotaxi-specific role
The listing, which was shared on social media platform X by industry watcher @tslaming, suggested that Tesla China is looking to fill the role urgently. The job listing itself specifically mentions that the person hired for the role will be working on the Low Voltage Hardware team, which would design the circuit boards that would serve as the nervous system of the Robotaxi.
Key tasks for the role, as indicated in the job listing, include collaboration with PCB layout, firmware, mechanical, program management, and validation teams, among other responsibilities. The role is based in Shanghai.
China Robotaxi launch
China represents a massive potential market for robotaxis, with its dense urban centers and supportive policies in select cities. Tesla has limited permission to roll out FSD in the country, though despite this, its vehicles have been hailed as among the best in the market when it comes to autonomous features. So far, at least, it appears that China supports Tesla’s FSD and Robotaxi rollout.
This was hinted at in November, when Tesla brought the Cybercab to the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, marking the first time that the autonomous two-seater was brought to the Asia-Pacific region. The vehicle, despite not having a release date in China, received a significant amount of interest among the event’s attendees.
Tesla FSD fleet is nearing 7 billion total miles, including 2.5 billion city miles
Tesla starts showing how FSD will change lives in Europe
