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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Lucid Motors has always delivered one thing every other EV struggled to achieve: driving range beyond 400 miles.

Why it matters: The automaker's focus on endurance has come at the expense of virtually everything else.

Flashback: Lucid debuted in 2021 not with an SUV in truck-crazed America but a long, low sedan with a starting price of $169,000.

The Air aimed to unseat Tesla's upmarket Model S sedan and Model X SUV, clawing market share, grabbing headlines and generating revenue as it introduced cheaper models.

Yes, but: The automaker sacrificed virtually everything in the name of battery range — including in the nearly $90,000 model I drove. 

The interior was shoddy, the software clunky, and the build quality questionable.

Friction point: Lucid hasn't sold more than 3,400 vehicles in a quarter — a fraction of its competitors.

What we're watching: The sales struggles are testing investor patience.

The company's Nasdaq share price, hovering in the $20s, is a fraction of its peak of $552.10 in 2021.

Lucid shareholders this summer approved a 1-for-10 reverse stock split to shore up the company's sagging stock.

Between the lines: The company is controlled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which acquired a majority stake in 2018 before the startup went public, and expanded its holdings last year.

The latest: Little has improved, with Q2 net losses deepening to $855 million, 8% worse than the same quarter last year.

The bottom line: Four years since the Air debuted, it remains little more than a battery on wheels. Whether the brand keeps going and going is an open question.

A photo of the interior of the Lucid Air sedan with black leather seats and trim.

They're hard to see in this photo, but some of the seat creases are visible in the driver's seat. Photo: Alan Neuhauser

I picked up a fully charged Lucid Air in Manhattan and drove nonstop to Rhode Island, where I spent a week motoring around town and on the highway.

Why it's the BFD: Arriving with 150 miles of battery life left was profound. Everything else was not.

Charge time: 20 minutes to the recommended 80% — and as much as 200 miles in just 16 minutes. Awesome. 

The range and charge time. The most efficient EV on American roads.

The air suspension glided across potholes.

Automatic sunshades on the rear passenger windows are a neat trick.

Confusing, distracting infotainment system. More menus and submenus than a Cheesecake Factory.

Creases in the seats and permanent smudges on the buttons — with fewer than 4,000 miles on the odometer.

Tinny sound system, choppy backup camera.

Big panel gaps interrupt what would otherwise be a sleek exterior — and undercut confidence in the vehicle's assembly.

The bottom line: While other automakers are building bridges to mainstream EV adoption, delivering polished features and expertly crafted vehicles, the Lucid Air feels stuck in 2021: a science project saddled with an enthusiast-only sticker price.

A 3-year-old girl in red dress and pants climbs into the backseat of a gray Lucid Air sedan with a childseat.

The lengthy Lucid Air has ample room for a child seat. Door pinecones not included. Photo: Alan Neuhauser

The Lucid Air's expansive driving range offers maximum flexibility for choosing when — and whether — to stop.

Why it matters: For parents doing a late-night drive with sleeping kids in the backseat, staying on the road to make sure they remain in dreamland is a huge plus.

State of play: The Lucid Air spans more than 16 feet — roughly as long as a Toyota Highlander or Hyundai Palisade SUV.

That's ample room for child seats, plus oceans of trunk space.

Plus: The vehicle's low ride height makes it easy for kids to climb in and out.

The bottom line: Between the range and the space, this is one of the few EVs that could be crowned a family's primary road-trip car — assuming you can overlook the other downsides.

A green Lucid Gravity electric SUV on display at the 2025 New York International Auto Show.

Lucid displayed the Gravity SUV at the New York International Auto Show in April. Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Lucid has pinned its future to a seven-seat SUV it started delivering this year.

Yes, but: U.S. drivers reportedly bought fewer than 10 of them — total — through the first six months of the year. 

Catch up quick: The $96,500 Gravity claims 450 miles of range, making it the furthest-driving three-row SUV in the U.S.

Reality check: There were just nine Gravity vehicles registered in the U.S. through June 30, per Automotive News, citing data from S&P Global Mobility.

The other side: Lucid has denied the figures, stating internal data reflects sales in the "multiple hundreds."

"Gravity is significantly more than nine, and the real number is well into the three-digit range," Lucid told the publication, noting a lag between when vehicles are sold and when they are registered.

What they're saying: Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff in June acknowledged that Gravity production was growing more slowly than expected at its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, partly due to tariffs.

By the numbers: Lucid expects to sell at least 18,000 Gravity and Air vehicles this year — a decline from its initial prediction of 20,000, but roughly equal to all the Air sedans it sold from 2021-2024.

What we're watching: The automaker has developed a platform for three midsize vehicles, and it plans to begin delivering the first two as soon as next year.

A bar chart that displays U.S. sales of select performance-oriented EVs in Q1 and Q2 2025. Lucid Air leads with about 5,100 units sold, followed by Dodge Charger EV at 4,300. Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan sold 2,700 and 2,100 units, respectively. Audi E-Tron GT had the lowest sales at 473 units.

U.S. sales of select performance-oriented EVs

Data: Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book; Chart: Axios Visuals

That's it! Thank you to George Moriarty and Katie Lewis for edits. Stay tuned for more editions of Climate Wheels, coming soon.

Climate Wheels: 🛞 Lucid Air

A photo of the front corner of a gray Lucid Air electric sedan, parked on a suburban street in front of green grass.

Lucid Motors has always delivered one thing every other EV struggled to achieve: driving range beyond 400 miles.Why it matters: The automaker&#x27;s focus on endurance has come at the expense of virtually everything else.

Climate Wheels: 🛞 Lucid Air

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