Peter Rawlinson, CEO of Lucid Motors, has announced that he wants to expand his range of electric vehicles with a more affordable model, the starting price of which will be around 50,000 dollars (approximately 46,600 euros). The idea is obviously to attack Tesla (again), even with the cheapest models currently on the market, the Model 3 and Model Y.

At the moment, the Californian startup has only one car in its range — the Air sedan, whose base price in the US starts at $82,400 (about €77,000). The most exclusive and powerful, the Lucid Air Sapphire, the price is stratospheric, approaching $250,000 (€232,900).

The $50,000 anti-Tesla Model 3 and Model Y

In an interview with ABC News, Peter Rawlinson touched on several topics related to today’s automotive landscape, sharing his thoughts on range concerns and charging infrastructure.

At the time, he said the brand’s goal is to produce a relatively affordable electric car. He added that attracting investment requires a high-quality product at the start. It’s also somewhat the path Tesla took, first with the Model S and Model X, then with the Model 3 and Model Y.

The idea is to run an electric car for about $50,000, “In the center of the territory of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y”. Based on current pricing, that price is close to the higher end of the Model 3 and Model Y price range, but it seems like the most Lucid can do in terms of price.

A long way to an “economical” and electric car

In June 2023, Lucid announced that it had raised three billion dollars (€2.8 billion), most of which came from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the main shareholder of Lucid Motors with more than 60% of the shares. A large part of this money can be used specifically for the development of “little Lucid”as the second planned vehicle, a large SUV, should share most of its bases with the Air sedan.

During the interview, Peter Rawlinson also talked about the NACS connector provided by Tesla. Interestingly, a key role in the development of this connector was played by Peter Rawlinson himself, who is a former employee of Tesla. But Lucid remains one of the few manufacturers that hasn’t yet said they’ll accept it. The leader dismissed the subject, saying that he was “open” and what he considered “All”. But given Elon Musk’s recent statements to Lucid, perhaps Peter Rawlinson doesn’t see his rapprochement with Tesla anytime soon.

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