News
Lucid is expanding into Europe with two Air Dream Edition trim levels
Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) announced its initial launch plans for the European market today, which will be marked by the forthcoming availability of two configurations of the automaker’s Air Dream Edition sedan.
Lucid said it would release the Air Dream Edition R, optimized for efficiency with 900 kilometers, or 559 miles, of range, and the Dream Edition P, which features 1,111 horsepower. Lucid said it would also open its first European retail location at Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany on May 13.
“The expansion into Europe and the decision to offer Lucid Air Dream Edition in this market serve to strengthen Lucid’s position as a global brand and further supports our mission to elevate the standards of the electric vehicle industry,” Zak Edson, Vice President of Sales and Service for Lucid Group, said. “The company’s first offering, Lucid Air Dream Edition, delivers 0-100 km acceleration in 2.7 seconds or an estimated 900 km* of range on a single charge, along with a 924 V electrical architecture for impressive fast charging – all the performance, the quality, and the range that make it perfectly suited for the European market.”
Lucid’s first European retail location – the Lucid Studio at Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany – is a luxury retail space that invites customers to experience the brand and its products in the heart of the iconic old town area. The company expects to open additional studios and service centers in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland in 2022, and has the ambition to expand into additional key markets across the European continent in the coming years.
Lucid launched the Edition R and Edition P Air Dream Edition sedans in North America with a limited launch of only 520 units. Lucid said it would offer a “very limited number” of these trim levels to existing reservation holders in Europe to celebrate the European launch of the car. It will be offered to reservation holders in Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.
Dream Edition P
- Dual Motor AWD Powertrain
- 1,111 Horsepower
- 7 seconds 0-60 MPH
- 77 MPH Top Speed
- Specially developed Pirelli P-Zero tires – 245935 21” Front and 265/35 21” Rear, 19” optional
Dream Edition R
- Dual Motor AWD Powertrain
- 933 Horsepower
- 9 seconds 0-60 MPH
- 77 MPH Top Speed
- Specially developed Pirelli P-Zero tires – 245/45 19”, 21” optional
Both the Lucid Air Dream Edition P and R will be priced differently in each country:
- Germany – €218,000
- Netherlands – €222,000
- Switzerland – CHF 199,000
- Norway -NOK 1,850,000
First deliveries are expected to begin in late 2022, Lucid said. Pricing for Lucid’s other Air trim levels, including the Pure, Touring, and Grand Touring, will be announced later this year. Prices are expected to start at approximately €100,000 for the Air Pure in Germany and the Netherlands, CHF 100,000 in Switzerland, and NOK 1,000,000 in Norway.
Lucid currently accepts reservations for its products in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Reservation holders are required to put down a €300 deposit to secure their place in line. These markets were specifically chosen due to charging infrastructure, market acceptance, and size, Lucid said. It also plans to expand into more European regions in the future and plans to build additional sales studios in major European cities, as well as develop a right-hand-drive model for the UK.
Lucid Group reported its earnings for Q1 2022 last week, indicating it would have to increase prices due to rising raw material costs and supply chain challenges.
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News
Tesla FSD v14.2.2 is getting rave reviews from drivers
So far, early testers have reported buttery-smooth drives with confident performance, even at night or on twisty roads.
Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2 is receiving positive reviews from owners, with several drivers praising the build’s lack of hesitation during lane changes and its smoother decision-making, among others.
The update, which started rolling out on Monday, also adds features like dynamic arrival pin adjustment. So far, early testers have reported buttery-smooth drives with confident performance, even at night or on twisty roads.
Owners highlight major improvements
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD user @BLKMDL3 shared a detailed 10-hour impression of FSD v14.2.2, noting that the system exhibited “zero lane change hesitation” and “extremely refined” lane choices. He praised Mad Max mode’s performance, stellar parking in locations including ticket dispensers, and impressive canyon runs even in dark conditions.
Fellow FSD user Dan Burkland reported an hour of FSD v14.2.2’s nighttime driving with “zero hesitations” and “buttery smooth” confidence reminiscent of Robotaxi rides in areas such as Austin, Texas. Veteran FSD user Whole Mars Catalog also demonstrated voice navigation via Grok, while Tesla owner Devin Olsen completed a nearly two-hour drive with FSD v14.2.2 in heavy traffic and rain with strong performance.
Closer to unsupervised
FSD has been receiving rave reviews, even from Tesla’s competitors. Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng, for one, offered fresh praise for FSD v14.2 after visiting Silicon Valley. Following extended test drives of Tesla vehicles running the latest FSD software, He stated that the system has made major strides, reinforcing his view that Tesla’s approach to autonomy is indeed the proper path towards autonomy.
According to He, Tesla’s FSD has evolved from a smooth Level 2 advanced driver assistance system into what he described as a “near-Level 4” experience in terms of capabilities. While acknowledging that areas of improvement are still present, the Xpeng CEO stated that FSD’s current iteration significantly surpasses last year’s capabilities. He also reiterated his belief that Tesla’s strategy of using the same autonomous software and hardware architecture across private vehicles and robotaxis is the right long-term approach, as it would allow users to bypass intermediate autonomy stages and move closer to Level 4 functionality.
News
Elon Musk’s Grok AI to be used in U.S. War Department’s bespoke AI platform
The partnership aims to provide advanced capabilities to 3 million military and civilian personnel.
The U.S. Department of War announced Monday an agreement with Elon Musk’s xAI to embed the company’s frontier artificial intelligence systems, powered by the Grok family of models, into the department’s bespoke AI platform GenAI.mil.
The partnership aims to provide advanced capabilities to 3 million military and civilian personnel, with initial deployment targeted for early 2026 at Impact Level 5 (IL5) for secure handling of Controlled Unclassified Information.
xAI Integration
As noted by the War Department’s press release, GenAI.mil, its bespoke AI platform, will gain xAI for the Government’s suite of tools, which enable real-time global insights from the X platform for “decisive information advantage.” The rollout builds on xAI’s July launch of products for U.S. government customers, including federal, state, local, and national security use cases.
“Targeted for initial deployment in early 2026, this integration will allow all military and civilian personnel to use xAI’s capabilities at Impact Level 5 (IL5), enabling the secure handling of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in daily workflows. Users will also gain access to real‑time global insights from the X platform, providing War Department personnel with a decisive information advantage,” the Department of War wrote in a press release.
Strategic advantages
The deal marks another step in the Department of War’s efforts to use cutting-edge AI in its operations. xAI, for its part, highlighted that its tools can support administrative tasks at the federal, state and local levels, as well as “critical mission use cases” at the front line of military operations.
“The War Department will continue scaling an AI ecosystem built for speed, security, and decision superiority. Newly IL5-certified capabilities will empower every aspect of the Department’s workforce, turning AI into a daily operational asset. This announcement marks another milestone in America’s AI revolution, and the War Department is driving that momentum forward,” the War Department noted.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) v14.2.2 starts rolling out
The update focuses on smoother real-world performance, better obstacle awareness, and precise end-of-trip routing, among other improvements.
Tesla has started rolling out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2, bringing further refinements to its most advanced driver-assist system. The new FSD update focuses on smoother real-world performance, better obstacle awareness, and precise end-of-trip routing, among other improvements.
Key FSD v14.2.2 improvements
As noted by Not a Tesla App, FSD v14.2.2 upgrades the vision encoder neural network with higher resolution features, enhancing detection of emergency vehicles, road obstacles, and human gestures. New Arrival Options let users select preferred drop-off styles, such as Parking Lot, Street, Driveway, Parking Garage, or Curbside, with the navigation pin automatically adjusting to the user’s ideal spot for precision.
Other additions include pulling over for emergency vehicles, real-time vision-based detours for blocked roads, improved gate and debris handling, and extreme Speed Profiles for customized driving styles. Reliability gains cover fault recovery, residue alerts on the windshield, and automatic narrow-field camera washing for new 2026 Model Y units.
FSD v14.2.2 also boosts unprotected turns, lane changes, cut-ins, and school bus scenarios, among other things. Tesla also noted that users’ FSD statistics will be saved under Controls > Autopilot, which should help drivers easily view how much they are using FSD in their daily drives.
Key FSD v14.2.2 release notes
Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2 includes:
- Upgraded the neural network vision encoder, leveraging higher resolution features to further improve scenarios like handling emergency vehicles, obstacles on the road, and human gestures.
- Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.
- Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances).
- Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.
- Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.
- Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.
- Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).
- Improve handling of several scenarios, including unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school buses.
- Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and recover smoothly from degraded operation for enhanced reliability.
- Added alerting for residue build-up on interior windshield that may impact front camera visibility. If affected, visit Service for cleaning!
- Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher vehicle speed.
- Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.
Upcoming Improvements:
- Overall smoothness and sentience.
- Parking spot selection and parking quality.