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Lucid CEO shares take on next-gen EVs: “The electric car of the future only needs 250 miles”

Credit: Lucid Group

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2 years ago

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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. 

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“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. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla begins deliveries of its affordable Model Y Standard

The ‘Standard’ Model Y is now getting ready to fall into customer hands, according to some owners, who are preparing for or have already taken delivery of the new model.

Published

2 hours ago

on

October 22, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially started deliveries of the affordable Model Y ‘Standard’ less than three weeks after the company launched it on October 8.

Following the loss of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, Tesla launched the Model 3 and Model Y ‘Standard’ trims, both coming in at sub-$40,000 starting prices, but being stripped of many of the features that come in the ‘Premium’ configuration levels.

Tesla launches two new affordable models with ‘Standard’ Model 3, Y offerings

The vehicles are Tesla’s answer to the loss of the tax credit, which was phased out by the Trump Administration. Tesla said it has been developing these models for over a year, as it revealed in early 2024 that it was working to create new vehicles that would be more affordable.

It also said it was developing vehicles to be built on a new-generation platform, which is a likely reference to the Cybercab, which has also been spotted at both Gigafactory Texas and the Fremont Factory.

The ‘Standard’ Model Y is now getting ready to fall into customer hands, according to some owners, who are preparing for or have already taken delivery of the new model:

Tesla slated deliveries for November when the two vehicles launched on October 8, but that seems to be an underpromise and overdeliver type of situation.

The new features for the Model Y include:

  • New athletically tuned exterior and new alloy wheels to improve aerodynamics
  • 15.4″ touchscreen in the front, the same as the other trims
  • Available in three colors: Stealth Grey (free), White ($1,oo0 extra), Diamond Black ($1,500 extra)
  • Textile and vegan leather interior
  • Range sits at 321 miles
  • New front fascia
  • Covered glass roof (textile on inside)
  • Windows are not acoustically laminated for a quieter cabin
  • Manual mirrors and seats
  • Smaller frunk
  • No rear infotainment screen
  • No basic Autopilot
  • 69 kWh battery
  • New 19″ Aperture wheels
  • 0-60 MPH in 6.8 seconds
  • 7 speaker stereo, down from 15 speakers in premium models
@teslarati 🚨 Tesla’s Affordable Models are here! Let’s talk about them! #tesla #fyp #viral #teslaev #elonmusk ♬ Natural Emotions – Muspace Lofi

 

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Investor's Corner

Tesla analyst says this common earnings narrative is losing importance

“Numbers are going down next year, but that’s ok because it’s all about autonomy.”

Published

14 hours ago

on

October 21, 2025

By

(Credit: Tesla)

A Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) analyst is doubling down on the idea that one common earnings narrative is losing importance as the company continues to work toward new technologies and projects.

This week, Tesla will report earnings for the third quarter, and one thing people always pay attention to is deliveries. Although Tesla reveals its deliveries for the quarter well before it reports earnings, many investors will look for commentary regarding the company’s strategy for responding to the loss of the $7,500 tax credit.

Tesla has made a few moves already, including a lease deal that takes a substantial amount of money off, launching new Standard models, and cutting up to 23 percent off of lease pricing.

Tesla makes crazy move to spur short-term demand in the U.S.

However, analysts are looking at the company in a different light.

Aligning with the narrative that Tesla is not just a car company and has many different projects, Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management believes many investors need to look at another part of the business.

Munster said the delivery figures for Q3, which landed at 497,099, the highest in company history, were padded by customers rushing to showrooms to take advantage of the expiring tax credit.

He believes that deliveries will be more realistic in subsequent quarters, but investors should not worry because the focus on Tesla is not going to be on how many cars it hands over to customers:

“Numbers are going down next year, but that’s ok because it’s all about autonomy.”

Tesla has been working nonstop to roll out a dedicated Robotaxi platform in various cities across the United States, and has already launched in two states: Texas and California.

It has also received regulatory approvals to test driverless Robotaxis in Arizona and Nevada, while seeking permissions in Florida and other states, according to the company’s online job postings.

Munster continued:

“Most people are hyper-focused on the Robotaxi opportunity and not focused as much on FSD.”

While Robotaxi is incredibly important, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite is also extremely crucial moving forward, as it sets the stage for the company to roll out a formidable self-driving service.

Tesla rolled out its newest FSD software to more owners last night, and as it expands, the company is gaining valuable data to refine its performance.

Earnings will be reported tomorrow at market close.

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Tesla rolled out a new feature with FSD v14 to fix a major complaint

One of the most crucial cameras for FSD operation is located at the top of the windshield, and some owners have complained about condensation or other debris accumulating here, which impacts FSD’s availability during drives.

Published

15 hours ago

on

October 21, 2025

By

Credit: The Kilowatts | X

Tesla rolled out a new feature with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.3 in an effort to fix a major complaint from owners.

Tesla’s approach to self-driving is significantly different than other companies as it only relies on cameras for operation. Tesla Vision was launched several years ago and completely axed any reliance the suite had on sensors, as CEO Elon Musk’s strategy was unorthodox and went against the grain.

However, it has proven to be effective, as Tesla still operates the most refined semi-autonomous driving suite in the United States.

There are some drawbacks, though, and one of them has to do with the obvious: cameras get dirty and need to be cleaned somewhat regularly.

One of the most crucial cameras for FSD operation is located at the top of the windshield, and some owners have complained about condensation or other debris accumulating here, which impacts FSD’s availability during drives:

Tesla has been working to confront this issue, and in classic fashion, it used a software update to work on resolving it.

With the rollout of Full Self-Driving v14.1.3 and Software Version 2025.32.8.15, Tesla added a new feature that aims to clean the front camera efficiently without relying on the owner to do it manually.

Tesla Full Self-Driving’s new version officially gets a wider rollout

In its release notes for the suite, it said:

“Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher vehicle speed.”

If the camera starts to have some issues with visibility, the car will automatically clean the front windshield camera to avoid any issues:

This new addition is a small but mighty change considering all things. It is a necessary process to keep things operational and avoid any disruptions in FSD performance. It is also a testament to how much better Tesla vehicles can get with a simple software update.

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