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Despite launching the electric vehicle with the highest range on the market right now, Lucid Group’s CEO Peter Rawlinson believes that is not what ultimately drives the company. In an interview with Green Car Reports, the former Tesla Model S chief engineer says Lucid Group is driven by efficiency, much like Tesla.
Actually, Rawlinson says Tesla and Lucid are the only companies with a comprehensive approach toward efficient EVs right now. While most other automakers are merely making EVs, Lucid sees itself in a much smaller group in which the tech leads the product.
“Maybe us… maybe we’ll push Tesla a bit. I think that would be great. What I will be proud of is if I can use this technology and the efficiency to drive down the cost so that the man on the street could afford an electric car. Tesla’s doing that, and hats off to Tesla for doing it; but right now it’s a one-horse race, it’s bloody ridiculous.”
According to Rawlinson, efficiency is the single most relevant metric related to EVs and how they succeed, and it defines the expertise of an EV company. In a speech at the Arizona plant last month, the executive talked about how Lucid had accomplished more than 4.6 miles per kilowatt-hour in the Air production model, far more than the Tesla Model S. In fact, only the base Model 3 Standard Range Plus bests that—Tesla quotes 5.1 miles/kWh in its latest Impact Report.
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Rawlinson’s statements are interesting because they offer insight into both Lucid Group’s philosophy as a company and its future products.
While the EV startup’s first car, the Air Dream Edition, costs a whopping $169,000, Rawlinson sees Lucid building an entry-level $25,000 EV late in the decade. He believes the company’s business plan might potentially lead to that as long as the charging infrastructure is robust and more people can charge overnight.
“Six miles per kilowatt hour, 150 mile range, in a 25 kilowatt hour pack,” Rawlinson sums up Lucid’s potential entry-level EV. Who knows, maybe that car will get to compete with another $25K electric vehicle, the one promised by Tesla.
The executive also explained why Lucid‘s first product is an expensive car like the Air luxury sedan and not an entry-level model.
“If my passion is the world needs a $25,000 EV, there’s no way I could do that because I’d have to go and get $15 billion, not $1.5 billion, to industrialize it. And then there’s another reason, that the first product defines the brand—so you want to go from high-end technological tour de force. How did the iPhone succeed, how did Dyson succeed, how did Lexus succeed with LS400?”
Rawlinson touched on many other interesting topics in the interview, including why future EVs will have less range, so make sure you read it in full at Green Car Reports.
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