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Lucid launches its biggest OTA update yet with ‘hundreds’ of new features

Lucid UX 2.0 (Credit: Lucid Group)

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Lucid announced this morning it had launched Lucid UX 2.0, its most extensive and biggest software update, which packs “hundreds of updates and new features for every Lucid Air on the road.”

Designed as a “true software-defined vehicle,” Lucid says the Air will benefit vastly from the array of new improvements. Including new features like “Instant-On” Glass Cockpit and Pilot Panel Displays, the launch of “Highway Assist” for DreamDrive, and redesigned on-screen layouts, Lucid said the complementary update makes the vehicle more enjoyable and easier to use.

Since launching deliveries of the Air last year, Lucid has worked to ramp production and solve supply chain issues that have plagued the automaker’s progress. Yesterday, the company announced one of its strongest quarters to date, with 2,282 units produced last quarter with 1,398 delivered.

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It has been a bright spot on a relatively disappointing year as Lucid has trimmed delivery projections for 2022 on two occasions. First aiming for 20,000 vehicles produced in 2022, then slashing to between 12,000 and 14,000 vehicles. In August, Lucid pushed this goal back to between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles.

Software Improvements

Lucid’s early EV software has been hit-and-miss, with some owners detailing various issues with basic functions that have made the vehicles stressful to drive. However, the automaker has developed a vast update that starts at the heart of software. SVP of Digital for Lucid, Michael Bell, detailed the improvements:

“This extensive software update, comprising tens of millions of new lines of source code across nearly every updateable computer in the vehicle, is achievable because the Lucid Air was engineered from the start with the capability to get better over time. Thanks to our integrated software and hardware engineering, Lucid has the in-house technical depth to enhance our vehicles long after they leave the assembly line.”

The Lucid UX 2.0 is completely designed and fabricated on owner feedback and ideas, Derek Jenkins, Senior VP of Design and Brand said. “Lucid’s truly innovative user interface becomes easier to use and even more aesthetically beautiful in each iteration, delivered seamlessly over-the-air to the vehicle.”

Glass Cockpit and Pilot Panel Displays

  • “Instant-on” displays, so the car is ready to drive as soon as the driver sits down and buckles up.
  • New on-screen layout for the Glass Cockpit display, moving the controls for the most-used apps like Home, Navigation, Media, and Phone to make Lucid UX more ergonomically friendly than ever.
  • Updated Navigation and maps, with turn-by-turn directions now appearing on the center display directly ahead of the driver.
  • More-intelligent prediction of remaining range, so drivers know even better what they can expect on the road.
  • Do more with Alexa Built-In voice control, such as change the climate control settings for the rear seat.
  • A more user-friendly browsing experience for third-party media apps, making it easier to see options, select favorite tunes, and start listening more quickly.

DreamDrive and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

  • Highway Assist with active lane centering and adaptive cruise control, allowing for even greater driving comfort on long journeys.
  • Rear Pedestrian Collision Protection is now also enabled when the vehicle is in Drive and rolling backwards.
  • Improvements to visual cues for Park Distance Warning feature.

Intelligent Micro Lens Array Headlights

  • High Beam Assist that detects not only other vehicles, but other sources of nearby light, and automatically switches to low beams when most appropriate.
  • Automatic headlight leveling with sensor-based adjustments for height and vehicle angle in relation to the ground.

Vehicle Entry and Exit

  • New De-Ice Mode combines defrost, automatic wiper blade movement, and wiper fluid to clear ice that may be obstructing the view through the windshield.
  • A number of measures to make automatic locking and unlocking simpler, more intuitive, and more responsive with both the key fob and Mobile Key, as well as additional user-customizable settings.

Disclosure: Joey Klender is not an LCID shareholder.

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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The Tesla Diner is basically finished—here’s what it looks like

The company first broke ground on the Diner, Drive-in, and Supercharger location in September 2023. Now, it has served one of its first internal customers.

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Tesla has finally completed the construction of its highly anticipated Diner, Drive-in, and Supercharger in Los Angeles, and recent photos of the interior’s “retro-futuristic” style are making their way around the internet.

X user Brad Goldberg shared photos from the Tesla Diner site last Tuesday, depicting some of the Supercharger stalls, indoor and outdoor seating areas, multiple neon lights, and even an Optimus robot. Goldberg also noted that there had been a “flurry of activity on site” while he was snapping the photos last week, suggesting that the restaurant location could be getting close to opening.

The Tesla Diner also served one of its first internal customers in the past few days, as Elon Musk posted on X on early Monday morning that he had just finished up eating a meal at the site:

I just had dinner at the retro-futuristic Tesla diner and Supercharger.

Team did great work making it one of the coolest spots in LA!

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The photos also show that the site is pretty much done, with some of them even showing vehicles charging at the charging stalls.

You can see some of the latest photos of the Tesla Diner below.

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: BradGoldbergMD | X

Credit: TeslaKing420 | X

Credit: TeslaKing420 | X

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

READ MORE ON TESLA’S LA DINER: Tesla readies Drive-In Diner Supercharger for launch with app inclusion

When will the Tesla Diner open to external customers?

While it’s still not open to external customers yet, the news again suggests that the company could be close to an official opening date. Tesla first broke ground on the Diner in September 2023, after receiving a wave of building permit approvals throughout that yearTeslarati also covered much of the construction progress throughout last year, including when crews installed the first and second drive-in screens.

Located at 7001 West Santa Monica Boulevard, the idea was first discussed in 2018 by Musk and a few others on Twitter, featuring 1950s rock and roll, waiters on roller skates, and drive-in movie theater screens playing clips from some of history’s best movies. Notably, the photos of the front doors also show that the site will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whenever it does end up opening.

Tesla’s progress on Supercharger with diner, drive-in seen in aerial footage

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Tesla updates Robotaxi app with several big changes, including wider service area

Tesla’s Robotaxi app has gotten another update, and this time it offers a wider service area, but there are a lot of other changes, too.

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Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla is rolling out its second update to its Robotaxi app after it launched the driverless ride-hailing service less than a month ago in Austin.

Among the changes, Tesla has expanded its service area, added walking directions to both the pickup and dropoff areas, added closing times for dropoff destinations, and allowed editing of your destination after booking a ride.

The new app version, Robotaxi 25.7.5, was rolled out on Monday morning. The biggest change is the near doubling of the service area, as Tesla expanded the possible travel region by a significant margin:

Tesla’s Robotaxi geofence in Austin grows, and its shape is hard to ignore

It’s no surprise Tesla decided to push the envelope with a new, interesting shape to the geofenced area that is hard to ignore.

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The new region includes notable points of interest in Austin, most notably is the University of Texas at Austin. Tesla included the school, which has over 53,000 students, in this expansion, and it could be pushing the app and service to some of them in the coming weeks.

It’s a great addition as it is a highly concentrated area of the city, full of students and visitors.

Robotaxi app changes outside of new service area

Tesla has also added a handful of new changes. With its first update of the Robotaxi app, Tesla addressed several highly requested changes, including the ability to adjust the pickup location instead of being fixed to a default spot.

Walking Directions to Pickup and Destination

In congested and large metro areas, ride-sharing pickups are sometimes confusing to navigate to. When it comes to dropoff at your destination, exiting the vehicle at the front door is not always possible (many in Austin noticed this at Terry Black’s BBQ).

Tesla Robotaxi’s biggest challenge seems to be this one thing

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Now, the app will guide you on how to reach your Robotaxi and your destination when pickup and dropoff are not available at the entrances of the establishments you’re visiting.

Search Results now show closing times

If you’re going to arrive at an establishment close to its closing time, the Robotaxi app will now warn you that you could arrive with only a few minutes to spare, or you could miss it altogether.

This is a nice touch because there’s nothing worse than craving some ice cream at 10 p.m., only to arrive and see the doors are locked and the lights are off.

Many navigation apps have this integrated to eliminate any confusion about closing times.

Destination editing after booking

This feature could go hand-in-hand with the closing times. As a business might close shortly after your arrival, you might find it advantageous to visit another establishment that has more time to serve you.

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You can now pivot your destination after you have entered your Roobtaxi.

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Tesla’s Robotaxi geofence in Austin grows, and its shape is hard to ignore

The expansion stayed true to Elon Musk’s rather lighthearted and juvenile humor at the same time.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has rolled out an expanded geofence for its Robotaxi pilot program in Austin, Texas. With the expansion, the Robotaxi’s geofence now rivals Waymo’s service area, while staying true to Elon Musk’s rather lighthearted and juvenile humor at the same time.

New Robotaxi geofence expansion

Elon Musk actually announced the expansion of the Robotaxi service’s Austin geofence last week, with the CEO stating that the company is expanding its coverage in the city over the weekend. At the time, Musk also mentioned that Tesla would be looking to launch its Robotaxi service in the Bay Area in a month or two.

Sure enough, there were no delays with the Austin Robotaxi expansion’s rollout. On Sunday, electric vehicle owners reported on social media that their Robotaxi apps have been updated with a much larger geofence. The rates of the Robotaxi service was reportedly still kept at a flat rate of $4.20 per ride.

Industry watchers also observed that with Tesla’s newest update, the Austin Robotaxi program now operates in an area that is quite comparable to Waymo’s. During the initial launch of Austin’s Robotaxi service, critics were keen to point out that Tesla’s operational area was notably smaller than Waymo’s geofence.

New shape pisses off critics, makes fans laugh

The fact that Tesla was able to expand its Robotaxi service’s operational area in Austin over the weekend is undoubtedly impressive. In true Elon Musk fashion, however, it also ended up pissing off critics because Tesla’s geofence in Austin is now shaped like a phallus—intentionally. 

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This was something that was suggested by TSLA retail investor Steve Mark Ryan as a joke, but in true Tesla spirit, the company did just that. It’s a classic Tesla move if one were to think about it.

Elon Musk and the Tesla team are keen to play around the joke too, with Musk posting on X that the Robotaxi service is now “bigger, longer, and uncut.” The official Robotaxi service’s X account, on the other hand, also wrote that its new service area is “harder, better, faster, stronger.”

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