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Lucid Gravity SUV moves closer to production as public road testing begins

Credit: Lucid Group

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The Lucid Gravity SUV is the automaker’s next big project and aims to offer what is rare in the electric vehicle sector: spaciousness, performance, and range. Today, Lucid announced the Gravity SUV has moved closer to production as the vehicle has transitioned to public road testing throughout the United States.

After first hinting toward the Gravity SUV several years ago, Lucid finally launched the vehicle in late 2022 and opened reservations to those interested. During the November event, Lucid detailed its new Gravity SUV, giving a preview of its spaciousness while offering mindblowing performance that is comparable to a supercar.

“It is both a supercar in disguise and an SUV with flexible passenger and cargo space that seems impossibly big relative to the exterior size of the vehicle,” Derek Jenkins, Lucid’s Senior VP of Design, said. “And it does this all with Lucid’s distinctive post-luxury design, inspired by California.”

Development has been in the works for the Project Gravity SUV for several years, evolving into the newest and one of the most exciting electric SUVs that is set to come to the market soon. It has moved forward quickly, and at a pace CEO Peter Rawlinson is impressed with.

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“I am excited to see the Gravity SUV moving forward so quickly in its development, as it builds upon everything this company has achieved thus far and drives further advancements of our in-house technology to create a luxury electric SUV like none other,” Rawlinson said. “The Lucid Air redefined the sedan category, and as our technology continues to evolve and lead the market, we are in a place where the Gravity is positioned to change the world of SUVs.”

Initial production prototypes have rolled off of what is a dedicated line for the Gravity SUV at the AMP-1 factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. Lucid is officially starting on-road testing with the Gravity SUV, its first step in moving toward building production units and beginning deliveries.

lucid gravity suv testing
lucid gravity suv testing

Testing on public roads is a major step forward in the development of a vehicle because it is the first step in assessing how an automaker anticipates a new model will perform in an everyday setting. These passenger vehicles undergo months of testing and analysis as automakers perform improvements to ensure they are ready for daily driving.

It is not uncommon to anticipate early production stages occurring soon after public road testing begins. Tesla has routinely performed on-road testing with its vehicle prototypes ahead of production, with many of the vehicles entering initial manufacturing just a few months later.

Of course, a vehicle must have the space to be built in factories, which is the most important step in the manufacturing processes of a car. Lucid currently only has one available vehicle, the Air, which is built in several different trim levels, offering different performance metrics and pricing levels.

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However, Lucid has maintained that the Gravity SUV will have its own dedicated production line in the AMP-1 factory, which is being developed as mass production nears, which the first customer deliveries will succeed.

Lucid will build the Gravity SUV soon, offering comfortable seating for up to seven adults. Its aesthetic will also be world-class as Lucid plans to offer new Glass Cockpit high-resolution displays that are powered by the company’s elegant software interface known as Lucid UX.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla looks to upgrade Matrix Headlights with new features

According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.

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Credit: @jojje167 on X

Tesla is looking to upgrade its Matrix Headlights, a unique and high-tech feature that is available on several of its vehicles. The headlights aim to maximize visibility for Tesla drivers while being considerate of oncoming traffic.

The Matrix Headlights Tesla offers utilize dimming of individual light pixels to ensure that visibility stays high for those behind the wheel, while also being considerate of other cars by decreasing the brightness in areas where other cars are traveling.

Here’s what they look like in action:

As you can see, the Matrix headlight system intentionally dims the area where oncoming cars would be impacted by high beams. This keeps visibility at a maximum for everyone on the road, including those who could be hit with bright lights in their eyes.

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There are still a handful of complaints from owners, however, but Tesla appears to be looking to resolve these with the coming updates in a Software Version that is currently labeled 2026.2.xxx. The coding was spotted by X user BERKANT:

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According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.

Finally, the new system will prevent the high beams from glaring back at the driver. The system is made to dim when it recognizes oncoming cars, but not necessarily objects that could produce glaring issues back at the driver.

Tesla’s revolutionary Matrix headlights are coming to the U.S.

This upgrade is software-focused, so there will not need to be any physical changes or upgrades made to Tesla vehicles that utilize the Matrix headlights currently.

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xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report

Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations. 

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Credit: xAI

Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.

Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.

Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations. 

The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards. 

Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD. 

Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible. 

The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper

“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

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Credit: Starlink

Elon Musk has pushed back on claims that Starlink’s recent price reductions are tied to Amazon’s Kuiper project.

In a post on X, Musk responded directly to a report suggesting that Starlink was cutting prices and offering free hardware to partners ahead of a planned IPO and increased competition from Kuiper.

“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “The lower the cost, the more Starlink can be used by people who don’t have much money, especially in the developing world.”

The speculation originated from a post summarizing a report from The Information, which ran with the headline “SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms.” The report stated that SpaceX is aggressively cutting prices and giving free hardware to distribution partners, which was interpreted as a reaction to Amazon’s Kuiper’s upcoming rollout and possible IPO.

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In a way, Musk’s comments could be quite accurate considering Starlink’s current scale. The constellation currently has more than 9,700 satellites in operation today, making it by far the largest satellite broadband network in operation. It has also managed to grow its user base to 10 million active customers across more than 150 countries worldwide. 

Amazon’s Kuiper, by comparison, has launched approximately 211 satellites to date, as per data from SatelliteMap.Space, some of which were launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Starlink surpassed that number in early January 2020, during the early buildout of its first-generation network.

Lower pricing also aligns with Starlink’s broader expansion strategy. SpaceX continues to deploy satellites at a rapid pace using Falcon 9, and future launches aboard Starship are expected to significantly accelerate the constellation’s growth. A larger network improves capacity and global coverage, which can support a broader customer base.

In that context, price reductions can be viewed as a way to match expanding supply with growing demand. Musk’s companies have historically used aggressive pricing strategies to drive adoption at scale, particularly when vertical integration allows costs to decline over time.

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