The Model S premium car was Tesla’s first mass-produced product, and it helped make the Model 3 more famous a few years later. Lucid is going in a similar direction, with plans to start making more cheap cars soon. Peter Rawlinson is the CEO of Lucid Motors. He talked to ABC News about the company’s goals and the state of the auto business. The Lucid Air and the future Gravity SUV were made by an engineer who worked at Tesla, Lotus, and Jaguar. The company’s vehicles can go a long way and act in a fun way. On the other hand, Rawlinson wants the company to focus more on models that can appeal to a more extensive range of customers in the future. Rawlinson says the main thing holding back the broad use of electric cars in the U.S. and worldwide is how much they cost. I am very aware that the price of electric vehicles must decrease so that more people can afford them. The least expensive Lucid currently costs more than $80,000, but this could change. Rawlinson said, “Don’t hold me to that, but we’re going for around $50,000.” Even though I would rather have a cheaper car, this is the best that this manufacturer has to give in the middle to late 20th century. Finding ways to make new EVs more efficient is vital to reaching this goal. More fuel-efficient cars could go farther on miniature battery packs, which helps make them cheaper to produce. The CEO said that the Lucid Air would get between 5 and 6 miles per kilowatt hour in the future. Currently, the high-end car gets 4.74 miles per kilowatt hour. Also, Rawlinson says that EVs with big batteries and long ranges may be different from the way of the future. In his society, people often make short stops at charging stations, and cars with 25 kWh batteries that can go 150 miles on a single charge are the standard. Rawlinson says that EVs need a “top-and-go” attitude. “Grab a coffee, use the restroom, plug in for eight minutes, and leave.” It makes excellent sense for Lucid to increase the number of people it can serve by making its cars cheaper. The main question will be whether or not the company can find the right mix of cost-cutting measures and technological advances to drive a car that people want at a lower price while also increasing production to meet demand. As Tesla has shown over the past ten years, it is a challenging but worthwhile path.
