Peter Rawlinson Lucid man Daily Car Blog
Tesla is Far Too Plebeian To Be Considered A Rival Says Lucid CEO
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Electric carmaker in the making, Lucid, is literally laughing in the face of Tesla, despite not having manufactured a single car as of today. The Lucid CEO, Peter Rawlinson, is a former Tesla man. He more than any other person knows Lucid will face a long road regardless of the positive press coverage. Rawlinson believes the $150,000 Lucid Air is a direct competitor for Mercedes, not Tesla.  The inference being that the 1080bhp Lucid Air is a true luxury electric car, whereas the Tesla Model S is simply a large, 4 door electric sedan.

Indeed Rawlinson has benchmarked the Mercedes S Class as a direct rival for the Lucid Air rather than the Tesla Model S. This is what Lucid’s CEO said in a recent media interview.

Peter Rawlinson, Lucid CE0:

“I would say our main competitor is a car company; I highlight Mercedes Benz in terms of the attributes of Lucid Air,” he commented. “We’re going after S-class Mercedes, but it’s a natural comparison, and I accept that comparison with Tesla. I think it’s really important that we start at a high-end position as a true luxury brand. I’m a great believer that the first product defines the brand in way Tesla Model S defined Tesla as a brand.”

Rawlinson also believes that traditional car manufactures are developing electric vehicles that are at least a decade behind in terms of technological development.

Peter Rawlinson, Lucid CEO:

“We’re not seeing high levels of efficiency from these other automakers, Tesla’s right up there. Lucid is surpassing Tesla. We’re getting over 4 and a half miles per kilowatt-hour. I’m not seeing anything close to that from these traditional automakers.”

But the real Elephant in the room question is, can Lucid match its lofty ambitions with lucrative results? Tesla has, year-on-year, suffered from quality assurance issues. Lucid will also suffer from quality control issues, start-up car manufacturers always do.

Can Lucid meet its goal of manufacturing and delivering 60,000 units per year? That’s the real question no one is asking. The answer is no. Even if everything goes well Lucid will make no more than 25,000 units in its first year. Year 5 is when they will reach the 60,000 unit per year mark.


Peter Rawlinson Lucid man Daily Car Blog
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