Samsung Banner sticky Advertisement
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Elon Musk’s Ex-Chief Engineer Creates A New Car—And Says It Beats Tesla - Reviews

Elon Musk’s Ex-Chief Engineer Creates A New Car—And Says It Beats Tesla - Reviews

5th February 2021
"Rawlinson’s ambitions go far beyond delighting wealthy drivers with a $169,000 luxury car."

This spring, the $169,000 Lucid Air is coming and Peter Rawlinson says it will be the planet's fastest, longest-range electric vehicle. 

Peter Rawlinson's Lucid Air has many goals. One is that it should be hailed as the best electric vehicle in the world. A decade ago, he designed Tesla's Model S. 

 

Elon Musk’s Ex-Chief Engineer Creates A New Car

Certainly, the 'Dream' edition of the Air seems to wow. It tops the S with an industry-leading 517 miles per charge, quicker recharging, and in just over 2 seconds the ability to go from 0 mph to 60 mph. This spring, the first Air customers will take delivery. 

But Rawlinson's dreams go far beyond offering a $169,000 luxury car to rich drivers.

His bigger purpose is to leverage the 1,080 horsepower propulsion technology to power cheaper electric vehicles—which he says are by far the most powerful in the world. In just five years, Rawlinson wants to be selling hundreds of thousands of mid-$40,000 electric cars and helping big automakers sell $25,000 mass-market EVs–the very same objective his old boss, Elon Musk, is chasing.

Rawlinson wants to build his cars on his very first oil-rich automotive factory in Saudi Arabia, which has two-thirds owned by its sovereign wealth fund.

Elon Musk’s Ex-Chief Engineer Creates A New Car

“There’s a really big misunderstanding about our business model,” says the Welsh engineer, 63. “This is not about making an expensive car for wealthy people. That’s not why I’m here. That’s not what drives me. … I want us to be making a million cars a year. The ambition of Lucid is to have a profound effect. We are not a minority play.”

The current U.S. president has also signed initiatives pushing the federal government to substitute energy with fossil-fuel vehicles. 

The major businesses jumped on board. General Motors has already undertaken to manufacture only electric vehicles by 2035 and Ford and Volkswagen both aim to switch away from fossil fuels vigorously. 

Elon Musk’s Ex-Chief Engineer Creates A New Car

 

California, the main U.S. market for EVs and home to Lucid and Tesla, is ground-zero for the increase and may become America’s “Norway” for battery-powered cars. “At more than 50% EV penetration, Norway is 15 years ahead of the rest of the world,” Jonas said. “Watch for California to move in this direction rather quickly, influencing a significant number of other U.S. states that are in a position to take matters into their own hands in terms of de-carbonization of the fleet.”

Lucid is starting out at a calculated rate for now. This year, Rawlinson plans to manufacture at least 6,000 Airs at a new plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, potentially producing revenue of $900 million. In 2022, as Air versions priced at $77,000 arrive, volume could top 25,000 units. With the launch of an electric crossover, tentatively called Gravity, in 2023, followed by even cheaper and smaller versions to compete with Tesla's top-selling Model 3, further growth is expected.

With a $1.3 billion investment in 2018 from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which, according to Pitchbook, priced the firm at $15 billion, the private Newark, California-based company is currently paying for Air's growth and development. That is on top of the $150 million previously raised by the company.

But it's expensive to make cars and Rawlinson knows he needs to find even more cash and is seeking to publicly list shares, probably through a SPAC. Though he’d previously considered SPAC a “dirty word,” that’s changed. “That was the financier’s view, that was Wall Street’s view of SPACs, not so long ago. I think I would say what a difference a year makes,” he says, without confirming a specific plan.

Elon Musk’s Ex-Chief Engineer Creates A New Car

 

“If you’re a sprinter what is your best time for the 100 meters? That’s your metric. Usain Bolt, it’s a 9.69,” Rawlinson says. “You can almost do [the same] for an electric car company, and that is your EPA efficiency.”

He came to Tesla in 2009 when it was emerging from garage startup status and was promoted to Vice President and Chief Engineer of Model S in 2010.. “I put my heart and soul into that.”

Musk is famously hard to work for, but Rawlinson has mostly positive memories of his Tesla days. “We got on like a house on fire for most of the time I was there–not at the very end.”

“We both obsessed about reaching for the stars with technology and engineering–and it just can’t be good enough,” he recalls. Rawlinson is following Musk’s playbook when it comes to cracking the auto market: Start with ultra-luxe and then drive aggressively down market.

He left Tesla in 2012, but was ready to get back to work a year later. He joined the Silicon Valley startup Atieva as a CTO in 2013 as it moved from a battery supplier to an EV manufacturer.

It was renamed Lucid Motors at the end of 2016, ahead of the debut of the Air prototype, but struggled to raise funds until the Saudi investment. Rawlinson, who became the CEO of Lucid in 2019, won't say how much of the company he owns.

Lucid and Tesla are not the only beneficiaries of the growing demand for electric cars. Amazon-backed Rivian is starting to deliver electric pickups and SUVs this year. Famed car designer Henrik Fisker is prepared to begin selling the Ocean, with a stylish $37,499 electric crossover in 2022.9 electric crossover in 2022.

Apple is eternally rumored to be eying the space. Dozens more EVs are coming from General Motors, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Nissan and other major car manufacturers, starting this year with Ford's high-powered Mustang Mach-E.

Gartner analyst Mike Ramsey thinks that Lucid's plan to move down to more affordable ultra-premium cars is the right approach. “What’s been proven is in this technology the way that you get in is that you aim at the high market, then build a loyal customer base, use the cache, the brand awareness, and then spread and go further.”

Elon Musk’s Ex-Chief Engineer Creates A New Car
 

Musk and Rawlison share a passion for EV technology, but they can't be any different from how they run their companies. Tesla has become the world's most valuable automaker, briefly turning Musk into the richest person in the world on the basis of his large stake in it, despite selling less than 500,000 vehicles in 2020. Musk has become the world's leading technology icon, with more than 42 million people on Twitter. And for good or bad, he rules as Tesla's absolute leader and brand symbol.

Lucid’s CEO, who doesn’t have a Twitter account, has a different approach. “I’m not an autocrat. Lucid is a team effort,” he says. “That is a big difference. The other thing is that I don’t expect someone who buys a Lucid to know my name. I don’t expect them to know who Peter Rawlinson is.”

Also Read :


TESLA TO RECALL 135,000 U.S. VEHICLES UNDER PRESSURE FROM AUTO SAFETY REGULATOR - REVIEWS

ELECTRIC CARS: ROLLOUT OF CHARGING POINTS STILL TOO SLOW - REVIEWS

APPLE AND HYUNDAI-KIA PUSHING TOWARDS DEAL ON APPLE CAR - REVIEWS

GREEN HYDROGEN LAB : DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEN HYDROGEN ECOSYSTEM IN NEPAL - REVIEWS

UPCOMING CARS COMING TO NEPAL THIS MONTH - REVIEWS

 

 

 

 

 

Compiled by : Rahul Shrestha Rahul Shrestha

Tesla becomes World's second-most valuable auto-maker overtaking Volkswagen

28th January 2020
"Tesla's market top hit $100 billion on Wednesday, speeding past Volkswagen, which right now sits at $88 billion."

Tesla's market top hit $100 billion on Wednesday, speeding past Volkswagen, which right now sits at $88 billion. Tesla shares flooded 16% in the week through January 23, expanding Elon Musk's total assets by $1.7 billion to $32 billion.

The 49-year-old Tesla CEO, who possesses almost 22% of the electric vehicle producer's stock, is as of now the 28th-most extravagant individual on the planet. He additionally has an expected $12.5 billion stake in SpaceX, his secretly held aviation organization known for reusable rockets.

Tesla CEO

Tesla shares have dramatically increased since October and are up over 30% this year — it's still just January. Tesla outperformed Ford and GM in advertise capitalization prior this month. The main carmaker still behind Toyota, with a market top of $233 billion.

Toyota Logo

Also read  FORD MUSTANG MACH-E: ONLINE RESERVATION STARTING 17 NOV. COMPARE WITH TESLA MODEL Y

                     TOP 10 RICHEST CAR COMPANIES 

 

  • Tags :
Compiled by : Debashish S Neupane Debashish S Neupane

THE LUCID AIR IS A LUXURY ELECTRIC SEDAN WITH THE SPEED AND POWER TO RIVAL TESLA

9th September 2020
"Lucid isn’t going after big car buyers."

Most of the Lucid Air’s specs have been announced. The company’s media strategy has been to release a new tidbit every week for the past month leading up to the actual unveiling. That way, instead of one story about a new car containing all the relevant information, you get nearly a dozen, each about its own separate feature.

It feels as if we already know a lot about this car even though today is its official public debut. Heck, The Verge went for a ride in an engineering prototype back in 2017.

Trim level and pricing are some of the newest bits of information, so let’s dive into that for a moment. There will be four versions of the Lucid Air: the base Air for $80,000 (minus tax credits); Air Touring for $95,000; Air Grand Touring at $139,000; and Air Dream Edition at a whopping $169,000 — each with its own range, performance specs, and charging estimates.

lucid-air-design 

Like many EV makers, Lucid is hoping to replicate Tesla’s strategy of selling a lot of really expensive cars in the hopes of making enough money to eventually produce something more mass-market.

LUCID AIR LINEUP AT A GLANCE

Model  Price (USD Est. EPA range (up to) Horsepower 0-60 (seconds) Quarter mile (sec) / speed (mph) Top speed (mph) Charging (miles/time via DC fast charging) Peak charging speed Availability
Air $80,000 TBA  TBA  TBA  TBA  TBA  300/20 mins 1200 mph 2022
Air Touring $95,000 406 miles 620 3.2  11.4/123 155 300/20 mins  1200 mph Q4 2021
Air Grand Touring $139,000  517 miles 800 3 10.8/133 168 300/20 mins  1200 mph Q4 2021
Air Dream Edition $169,000 465 miles (21" AeroDream wheels); 503 miles (19" wheels)   1,080  2.5 9.9/144  168 300/20 mins  1200 mph Q4 2021


Another new feature is Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant will be natively integrated into the Air. That means drivers will be able to use Alexa to control the vehicle’s navigation, answer calls, change radio stations, and even link up with their Echo device at home.

lucid-air-interior

Robust voice recognition is more than just a novelty, though. It can be a key element in reducing driver distraction. Being able to toggle between the directions, temperature, and Spotify while keeping my eyes on a road made me a better driver and reduced the likelihood that I’d swerve or let my attention wander. Smartphones and digital infotainment systems that invite a lot of scrolling or tapping are obvious distractions, and tech companies need to come up with better ways to mitigate that problem.

THE MOST STRIKING THING ABOUT THE AIR IS THAT IT’S A SEDAN

The most striking thing about the Air is that it’s a sedan. The US auto market is currently drowning in big, hulking vehicles, with SUV sales making up nearly 50 percent of all vehicles purchased in 2019. By 2025, experts predict light trucks and SUVs will make up over three-fourths of the US market. But Lucid isn’t going after those car buyers — at least not yet. 

Lucid isn’t the only EV maker to lead with a sedan. Volvo offshoot Polestar recently began delivering its impressively minimalist Polestar 2 sedan to customers in the US. But most new electric vehicles being released are in that light truck and SUV segment, from legacy automakers like Nissan and Cadillac, to new players like Rivian.

lucid-motors-air

Lucid will obviously compete with the Model S. But to hear Rawlinson say it, Tesla is not the company’s primary target. The Lucid Air is for “someone who has an S-Class Mercedes who says: ‘Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have been that interested in electric. Tesla has piqued my interest, I love what Tesla is doing with electric, but I’m not getting out of my Mercedes for a Model S,’” he told Bloomberg in a recent interview.

Like many electric vehicle startups, Lucid Motors has experienced ups and downs. The Lucid Air was supposed to go into production in 2018, but the company ran into trouble lining up funding required to build its planned $700 million factories in Arizona. It spent much of 2017-2018 languishing until Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund came along.

lucid-air

I think that we can be part of a movement that could catalyze change for good. That’s what I see,” Rawlinson said. “We have a partnership — which is very aligned — a partnership with the PIF. It’s a strategic partnership. They’re committed to helping us make this change to benefit all mankind. And it will benefit Saudi society.

But the company is already working on its next vehicle, an SUV. The push to develop a second car is coming, in part, from Saudi Arabia, according to the people familiar with the company’s plans. Sales of larger cars and trucks are through the roof, and major automakers like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, have followed Tesla’s lead in developing all-electric SUVs.

Lucid-Air-Exterior

An SUV is probably the least shocking next move for Lucid. Based on its price, the Lucid Air is bound to be a niche vehicle, sought by customers who likely already own an electric vehicle. In order to break out and achieve true Tesla-levels of success, the company will need to focus on bringing its prices down in order to make its vehicles accessible to a broader group of customers.

Source: TheVerge

Also Read:

 

DFSK GLORY 560 LAUNCHED IN NEPAL: PREMIUM MID SIZE SUV IN TOWN

SUZUKI VITARA BREZZA BS6 PETROL VERSION NOW IN NEPAL 

2020 FORD ECOSPORT BS-6 LAUNCHED IN NEPAL

TOP 5 SUVS IN NEPAL IN 2020 | UPDATED PRICE

NEW UPCOMING ELECTRIC CARS IN NEPAL 2020

TOP 5 CARS IN NEPAL UNDER 30 LAKHS

Compiled by : Kiran Shah Kiran Shah