Are we dreaming? Well, Lucid swears this does more than 500 miles on a charge.
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Go over, Elon Musk. Tesla may have been the first to build an electric car with a range of more than 400 miles, but Lucid has some pretty great news to tell us.
The startup, which once fell on the brink of collapse, said on Tuesday its Air electric sedan will go a whopping 517 estimated miles on a single charge. Five hundred and seventeen miles, folks. Today, the Tesla Model S is king with a 402-mile EPA-rugged range, and in fact it will stay on top until Lucid actually builds the air. But if it did, it could deliver a powerful blow to Tesla.
Now, of course, it’s easy to throw numbers around when it comes to startups and wild concepts. But Lucid did his homework. They took the air to FEV North America to undergo independent testing. There, FEV applied the EPA’s current test cycle with the standard adjustment factor, giving it back the 517-mile range. In addition to the independent test results, Lucid said her own tests indicated the Air would go far beyond its original estimate of 400-plus miles of range.
“A few years ago, we unveiled our Lucid Air alpha prototypes and promised to reach more than 400 miles; a reflection of our technology at the moment,” said Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson. “In the intervening period, we have achieved a series of technological breakthroughs, culminating in an unchanging degree of energy efficiency.”
In essence, Lucid thinks it was years ago. While the company struggled financially before it was thrown into a lifeline in the form of Saudi investment fund, it also kept ahead of its own technology. That brought us today, less than a month before the production Air debuts in September.
Rawlinson also credits Air and Atieva’s 900-volt electrical architecture, Lucid’s technology arm and battery supplier. Since 2018, Atieva’s have been the official supplier of batteries for the FIA Formula E racing series, and clearly, Lucid thinks his experience paid off in making a production electric car.
“I’m glad we’s consistently achieved an estimated EPA 517 miles range today, while also significantly reducing the capacity of our battery pack, thereby reducing the weight and cost of the car and improving interior space,” Rawlinson added.
This is quite a performance from Lucid, though, remember, you can buy a Tesla Model S today, though you may not buy a Lucid Air after reading this story. Lucid is still accepting reservations for the luxury sedan and plans to increase production new factory in Arizona early 2021. And except as Tesla the new Roadster of Cybertruck with its planned 500-mile range, Lucid seems to be the eventual winner.
See again:
Rapid development: Lucid Air electric car debuts with …
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