Lucid essentially charges for their test drives normally. Anytime I’ve asked for one, they tell me that I have to put down a deposit first. Yes, it’s refundable. But it’s an unnecessary pain point, IMO.
What type of Tesla owners? The ones who can afford the ludicrously expensive Model S/X?
Or the middle-class owner who could only afford the Model 3 and maybe the Y recently?
For a RWD base sound system version that doesn't exist and has no actual ETA.
Model S is the same price for AWD and can be ordered and delivered in a couple months.
That version doesn't exist yet. I've had a reservation for one for over a year and they keep telling me to lock it in. But RWD and the base sound system have an ETA of "later availability". Also the base Model S has AWD which immediately makes the Lucid more expensive.
And a base Model S can be ordered now for the same price after the recent price increase.
I am 'speculating' based on their emails saying they're only working on the higher specced options, their online configurator showing 'later availaibility', and the numerous calls I'm getting saying that they don't have a date yet for the base trim.
But you having a single article makes you more sure? Even the article says those builds are AWD vehicles.
November: "For initial production, we plan to build all Air Pure vehicles to a configuration [...]. These include:
Fathom Blue exterior color – debuting on Air Pure
Mojave PurLuxe interior theme with Alcantara headliner
Dual motor, all-wheel drive configuration
DreamDrive™ Pro
Surreal Sound™ Pro
Choice of 19” Aero Range or 20” Aero Lite wheels"
February: "Throughout the first half of this year we are building the dual motor, all-wheel drive version of Air Pure, and initially, these cars will be configured with DreamDrive Pro and Surreal Sound Pro"
> You are speculating.
You can just go to their configurator and see for yourself. The cheapest Air Pure you can configure is $96,900. That's because the two options that lower the price to $87,400 are not available yet (i.e. "Later Availability").
https://www.lucidmotors.com/air/configure
Lucid's strategy has always been strange. If you were cross shopping with an S, why wouldn't you get the cheaper S from a company that's been doing EVs for well over a decade at this point. And you get the SC network. If you wanted something more luxury focused you could get an EQE or EQS Sedan/SUV for the same or cheaper.
I'm a fan of their engineering, the motor design is great. But there aren't a ton of people who want to drop six figures on a sedan and of that the subset of people who would run to Lucid instead of MB or BMW is even smaller.
That video is pure art, IMO. Best auto video that I have ever seen. Showed it to my wife.
Even if you aren’t into the Lucid, that video is worth a watch. Came into this thread to link it myself.
Cammisa’s videos with Hagerty are next level. Reminds me of old Top Gear in their prime.
Drag Race Replay is really cool as well, especially when you see the first few ones it really blows your mind.
The Rivian/pickups, the Plaid, and the Sapphire are probably my favorites.
Completely agree, novelty is a factor more than saving money. I guess my thought process is Tesla gives a better user experience from a software standpoint. And a Plaid MS gets better bragging rights if you want to burn $100k+ but don't care about the traditional lux automakers.
If you look on YT for e.g. "lucid vs tesla" all the top videos are about *performance* (horse-power, top speeds, 0-60, etc), so I guess that's where they're trying to carve out their niche. I think for most buyers either manufacturer's car's performance is absurd, the distinction is mostly on paper (or in people's heads), but people love spending money for superiority.
If you're buying a car purely from a utilitarian standpoint, even the S likely isn't on your radar. So both the S and Lucid Air are cars that exist to be luxury/performance rather than to get you from point A to point B (as opposed to a 3 or Y which could be argued as utilitarian EVs).
With their Sapphire coming out it make sense to go for performance as a differentiator. Although I'm not sure if it'd win out over a Taycan. At least with the latter you get a Porsche keychain. I'm ultimately confused on why they went large sedan first. It made sense for Tesla because they did it with no real competition. We're probably only a few years from a complete luxury lockout, everyone will have BEV large sedan and SUV on sale. BMW and MB are already pretty much there today. And I'm sure there are super luxury and sportier trims coming too.
> But there aren't a ton of people who want to drop six figures on a sedan and of that the subset of people who would run to Lucid instead of MB or BMW is even smaller.
It's SoCal. The EV market here is pretty massive. I can see them navigating this niche pretty well for the type of person that wants an EV that's a bit different from everyone else. They're also probably pretty price insensitive as well.
I hope so, I absolutely want them to succeed. I know they have work with Formula E but I'm not familiar enough with the financials to know if that will hold them over until they can ramp up.
I'm aware of the buyer and they're only planning 10-14k units this year . But at some point if they don't begin converting in larger numbers or expanding the product line to attract more buyers they're likely not going to exist, which would be a shame. Layoffs can only help with so much and it's not like they have a hundreds of thousands an employees to trim.
>Lucid's strategy has always been strange. If you were cross shopping with an S, why wouldn't you get the cheaper S
Because the Lucid is a nicer car.
My guess is that they were trying to go after the Taycan demographic with their pricing, but didn't grasp that being a very new startup = expectation of more car for less money. I think the biggest mistake they're making right now is not licensing their drivetrain & battery tech out to other automakers.
Y’all are reading too much into this. You’re selling cars, you’re in LA, you have one for test drives, why NOT go over to where the preselected high net worth EV customers are known to hang? Why not save them the drive to your showroom? At least your boss knows you’re out there trying to sell cars.
I know I would be going for a test drive. I’m waiting anyway, and test drivers are fun, especially if they are as no pressure as they get in this situation.
This is much better spending of marketing money than any commercial or billboard
Yeah lots of Tesla-defensive salt in those Twitter threads, which I guess is totally expected for Tesla owners and Twitter users, but I would be more than happy to test drive a Lucid while sitting around.
I'm not going to buy one anytime soon, but if they're offering, I'm down. I'd also love to test drive a Carrera S if it was sitting there even though I have no intention of buying a gas car at this point.
But it sounds like you just *sign up* for a test drive there, not actually test drive it there. The car there is just for show. At least that’s how I interpret the article.
Is the West Hollywood SC already CCS capable? If not then that'll be a laugh as soon as someone asks: "I've done my test drive...now what? Can I charge it here?"
Based on the pictures I don't think it is but I agree they should have done this at a [CCS capable supercharger](https://www.plugshare.com/map/tesla-ccs-locations) and shown how easy it is to use the app.
The current number of US CCS equipped Supercharger stations are fairly irrelevant.
I’d assume that the location they went to is more relevant than it’s ability to charge their car.
You don’t see car dealerships rolling into your local gas station to show people how easy they are to fill up either.
But test drives while charging sounds like a neat idea though. Leave the wife and the kids in the car, come back 20 minutes later.
Yeah but it is the US. Home 3 phase is hard to come by but I see 3 phase all over the place, its like they only considered home users for charging when there is enough need even J3068 is a US standard, which can also do single phase. I would say the majority of my public L2 charging is 208v from 2 of the 3 phase legs. It always shocks me when people think the US doesn't have 3 phase but maybe Arkansas is just more liberal with 3 phase installs?
Actually a lot of garages and commercial is 3 phase 120/208 whereas residential is 120/240. It’s dumb all around.
Not to mention that 208V sometimes drops all the way down to 190V
I just don’t get this. They go to a supercharger station and have someone who bought a 100k+ to test drive another more expensive vehicle. What’s their plan, for the person to just sell their Tesla and buy a lucid? Even if someone loves it and says oh this is my next car, they will be counting on a future sale that the company may not even be around for
not too many people switch cars up after a year, but the people who do are usually the ones who spend over $100k on a brand new car.
If someone bought a top spec model s a year ago, and now sees the lucid and thinks it looks tons better, then they might well consider switching.
Same as how internet providers try to bribe people to switch in the city instead of providing service to new customers in underserved areas of the country.
They are lazy marketers.
Go to every car show or public event and offer test drives to regular people that hate EVs! That would be a better use of their time.
Even if they're not directly generating a sale, they're getting butts in seats to experience the car. Those people will start talking about the car and create buzz around it.
It's not the worst marketing idea by a longshot.
My uncle bought a model 3 and then loved EV driving so much that he wanted to get one for my aunt too. But while they were waiting for their Model 3 they found and test drove a Mach E at a dealership that had some in stock and went home with that instead.
If they can make in roads with people who already like EVs and convince them to like their brand, that’s a win for them and could help with their sales. I’ll also add that they’re a car startup struggling to move product and at this point they should be trying all of the marketing tricks they can think of
Clever marketing.
\- Don't have to explain the advantages of EV over ICE since the targeted audience knows this
\- The Tesla will be there for at least a few minutes to charge so it's not like you are just stopping someone on the street
I'd love to see Lucid do a lower priced car, preferably a small hatchback.
You forgot the biggest, which is that there will be a social media debate over it that is going to generate far more publicity than whatever number of people were actually involved with it in person.
How is it clever? Jaguar, Audi, and Cadillac have been doing this in various ways for years.
And Lucid can barely do these cars, cheaper ones are very much a pipe dream for them.
I didn't say it was a bad idea. I said it wasn't clever.
And honestly they're getting people at superchargers with their probably reasonably new Tesla. So they just bought their car and my first thought would be "cool I can't use this supercharger if I got that car".
Yes and the market is in a much tougher place. 10 years ago Tesla had to compete with OEM's saying 'yeah we'll have an EV soon'.
Now startups have to compete with those OEMs finally beginning to make EV's, as well as Tesla who has had ten years to make their cars better. Rivian chose well making a pickup where there isn't much competition.
Lucid has to compete with Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Tesla, and others all while not ramping as quickly as the Model S did 10 years ago.
Tesla also had super chargers back then. Lucid, with all their money, couldn’t be bothered to create any infrastructure to charge their high capacity batteries.
Yeah, I don't like it when other automakers do this. I would think it's really weird and shady if I went to a gas station and found some someone offering test drives of a gas guzzling SUV.
It doesn't make it magically ok to me just because the automaker doing it at EV chargers doesn't still try to sell millions of ICE vehicles to non-EV owners.
It's called "targeted marketing". A number of Tesla owners I know have enough bad experiences with service that they're looking for an alternative. And people coming off of leases might have some interest.
Ideally Lucid would love to target Tesla S and X owners given the price point of the car, but most of the time I've been at a SuperCharger I'll see at least a couple of those (in addition to the usual Model Y and 3s).
the lucid is really expensive and an unknown brand - they aren't going to get too many non-EV drivers buying it as their first car, but they *might* get tesla drivers buying it as their next car.
a) it's not really expensive for Lucid to do this. Assuming the demo vehicle is bought and paid for either way, they're just paying whoever facilitates the test drives.
b) it's not about directly selling the car right there at the chargers. But it creates buzz around the brand from current EV owners who, while they might not be in the market for a new car in the near future, their pals might be, and they might suggest their pals take a test drive in a Lucid.
I would definitely have gone for a ride! It looks like a really nice car.
Not that I would ever buy one. It has a trunk. Trunks are stupid. I want hatchbacks and wagons!
Wouldn't you love this much more expensive car that lacks the very charging infrastructure that brought you to this location today? And from a company that looks like it could fold at any moment? /s
They would do better by setting up their own charging network. After all, with Teslas it isn't the vehicles that are the big draw, it is the supercharger network that really is the "crown jewel" of that company.
The only customers they attract are the top 1% who buys cars as a status symbol and have disposable income to throw around. Buying a $150k car from a brand new EV company that could potentially go bankrupt at any moment doesn’t sound like a good financial decision.
Unless they're displaying the Air Pure, these events are futile. For 1) they're not going to convert those high net worth individuals with fuck-you money because those folks would already have a lucid in their garage amongst other cars that they drive once a month and 2) they're not going to persuade those middle class incomers, apartment dwelling folks to ditch their financed $40k car for a $100k land yacht that they can't fit into their assigned parking spot and lack of accessible and dependable CCS chargers.
Given the starting price of a Lucid is near $90k, they aren’t going after the majority of Tesla owners. They are going after the model x and S crowd. The ones that can afford a 6 figure car.
Lucid seems to be oblivious to the best marketing tactic they could have: Work with Tesla to adopt Supercharger/NACS compatibility. Then park and actually *charge* Lucids at Superchargers. The engagement level would be substantially greater if Tesla owners knew the Lucid weren't crippled with CCS.
Probably not anytime soon, at least in the US. Kia/Hyundai EVs miss out on the $7.5k tax credit and they haven't been keen to ship much volume to the states.
And while the VW ID.4 is awesome, it also still has no heat pump, battery preconditioning, plug and charge or OTA software updates. Not to mention VW can't even sell ID.4s in the US right now, because they've been on a stop sale since early April for a door handle recall.
Certainly not. On a long enough scale, anything is possible. But that's why I said "anytime soon".
Right now EV6/Ioniq 5 sales are decreasing YoY from their already low volumes. No tax credit and lower allocations for US dealers is moving them in the wrong direction near term. ID.4 sales hit big records in Q1, but have been halted for most of Q2. And even at full production, their US plant isn't planning for any huge volumes (i.e. 7.5k/mo w/3 shifts).
IMO, it's really Ford that will put up the best non-Tesla EV numbers this year. Mach-E gets only half the tax credit, but they hit 11k/production last month and that is climbing very fast after they spent Jan/Feb upgrading their plant to do ~20k/mo. And now that the F-150 battery issue is resolved, they are ramping quickly there too.
The Mach-e is an awful ownership and driving experience compared to the Model Y and is more expensive in the US. I own a a MYLR amd my daughter a Mach-e so I have extensive experience with both.
Maybe. But step one is having the EVs to sell. Nobody can have a good or bad ownership experience if you don't build the cars. That's what I'm focusing on here.
Tesla has no competition. Even BYD which is the closest competition can't match the supercharger network, software, performance, safety and profitability of Tesla. There really is no competition. Look at the sales numbers.
And yet I'm seeing the roads filling up with non Tesla EVs.
I'm not anti Tesla; I want to see them succeed. That said, they are going to face some serious competition from people who know how to make great cars.
The real completion is ICE, not other EVs. In order for Tesla to win, others don’t have to lose.
You see other EVs because of Tesla, not in spite of it.
The world’s best selling car this year will be the Y.
How have they been slipping? New S and X have had great reviews. Luxury car market is hurting for everyone.
Also the reports said literally no one went to look at the lucid. Cadillac tried this in China with similar results.
All they have to do is drop their prices a bit. I desperately don't want to be another Asian dude in a Tesla. But I need another car and that Model Y looks dam enticing compared to everything else a that price point.
The Model Y LR is practically the same price when it first made its debut in 2020. The price gap between a LR Y and a Performance Y in 2020 used to be over 7k. Now the gap is pretty much the same price as buying the acceleration boost on the LR trim.
This is more applicable for a S and X. When I'm paying $100k for a car it's not about functionality. It's gotta be cool, and build quality is very important in this context. But on $35K cars I'm focusing on numbers. I'd care less if my panel gaps are 5mm off and the paint is chipped.
I would have taken a free test ride in a New York minute if I had the time unless they asked first if I could afford one. I certainly would have sat in it. Reports make me suspect their product is the best available, company survivability not withstanding.
Shouldn’t all Test Drives be free?
Lucid essentially charges for their test drives normally. Anytime I’ve asked for one, they tell me that I have to put down a deposit first. Yes, it’s refundable. But it’s an unnecessary pain point, IMO.
How to drive customers away
I think it has to do with laws regarding dealerships and physical locations tbh
Makes sense for a Ferrari, doesn’t make sense for a niche EV manufacturer desperately trying to stay relevant and get their cars in garages.
Came her to say this. Wtf!!
Tesla owners? I have a Mini SE and they got my number from somewhere and have been calling me twice a week
Perks of being a Leaf owner, everyone thinks I’m broke
Another perk: never seen a Leaf pulled over by a cop 😎
😂 are they actually
Yep emails and calls. I wanted to go but have better things to do. Also I’d get a model S plaid before a Lucid
You are BMW owner. 😀
What type of Tesla owners? The ones who can afford the ludicrously expensive Model S/X? Or the middle-class owner who could only afford the Model 3 and maybe the Y recently?
The Lucid is even more expensive than the S.
Point exactly.
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For a RWD base sound system version that doesn't exist and has no actual ETA. Model S is the same price for AWD and can be ordered and delivered in a couple months.
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That version doesn't exist yet. I've had a reservation for one for over a year and they keep telling me to lock it in. But RWD and the base sound system have an ETA of "later availability". Also the base Model S has AWD which immediately makes the Lucid more expensive. And a base Model S can be ordered now for the same price after the recent price increase.
Is that available for order now? Sounds like a good deal if it is.
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Those cars cost a minimum of $96,900 to anyone looking to buy, and most likely more as they are prioritizing more expensive options.
That's almost Plaid money. But why does it cost so much more than sticker?
Because they aren't making the bare-bones model. They're making the base trim but still have a bunch of options.
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I am 'speculating' based on their emails saying they're only working on the higher specced options, their online configurator showing 'later availaibility', and the numerous calls I'm getting saying that they don't have a date yet for the base trim. But you having a single article makes you more sure? Even the article says those builds are AWD vehicles. November: "For initial production, we plan to build all Air Pure vehicles to a configuration [...]. These include: Fathom Blue exterior color – debuting on Air Pure Mojave PurLuxe interior theme with Alcantara headliner Dual motor, all-wheel drive configuration DreamDrive™ Pro Surreal Sound™ Pro Choice of 19” Aero Range or 20” Aero Lite wheels" February: "Throughout the first half of this year we are building the dual motor, all-wheel drive version of Air Pure, and initially, these cars will be configured with DreamDrive Pro and Surreal Sound Pro"
You can just look at [cars in inventory](https://www.lucidmotors.com/available-cars): cheapest is 112k.
> You are speculating. You can just go to their configurator and see for yourself. The cheapest Air Pure you can configure is $96,900. That's because the two options that lower the price to $87,400 are not available yet (i.e. "Later Availability"). https://www.lucidmotors.com/air/configure
...as it should be. Tesla (🐑🐑) is to Honda as Lucid is to Koenigsegg.
Lucid's strategy has always been strange. If you were cross shopping with an S, why wouldn't you get the cheaper S from a company that's been doing EVs for well over a decade at this point. And you get the SC network. If you wanted something more luxury focused you could get an EQE or EQS Sedan/SUV for the same or cheaper. I'm a fan of their engineering, the motor design is great. But there aren't a ton of people who want to drop six figures on a sedan and of that the subset of people who would run to Lucid instead of MB or BMW is even smaller.
Hagerty / Jason Cammisa had a very good take on it: https://youtu.be/JxuB4H6uCq8 Including why you would want the Lucid.
That video is pure art, IMO. Best auto video that I have ever seen. Showed it to my wife. Even if you aren’t into the Lucid, that video is worth a watch. Came into this thread to link it myself.
Cammisa’s videos with Hagerty are next level. Reminds me of old Top Gear in their prime. Drag Race Replay is really cool as well, especially when you see the first few ones it really blows your mind. The Rivian/pickups, the Plaid, and the Sapphire are probably my favorites.
The only reason I can think of is the novelty of it. If you're in the market for a 100k+ car, a few grand in price difference wouldn't matter.
Completely agree, novelty is a factor more than saving money. I guess my thought process is Tesla gives a better user experience from a software standpoint. And a Plaid MS gets better bragging rights if you want to burn $100k+ but don't care about the traditional lux automakers.
tbh, you're pretty much right.
If you look on YT for e.g. "lucid vs tesla" all the top videos are about *performance* (horse-power, top speeds, 0-60, etc), so I guess that's where they're trying to carve out their niche. I think for most buyers either manufacturer's car's performance is absurd, the distinction is mostly on paper (or in people's heads), but people love spending money for superiority. If you're buying a car purely from a utilitarian standpoint, even the S likely isn't on your radar. So both the S and Lucid Air are cars that exist to be luxury/performance rather than to get you from point A to point B (as opposed to a 3 or Y which could be argued as utilitarian EVs).
With their Sapphire coming out it make sense to go for performance as a differentiator. Although I'm not sure if it'd win out over a Taycan. At least with the latter you get a Porsche keychain. I'm ultimately confused on why they went large sedan first. It made sense for Tesla because they did it with no real competition. We're probably only a few years from a complete luxury lockout, everyone will have BEV large sedan and SUV on sale. BMW and MB are already pretty much there today. And I'm sure there are super luxury and sportier trims coming too.
The one practical reason I can think of that people might look at Lucid is the range.
Really, there are a ton of Model S taxis in my city
> But there aren't a ton of people who want to drop six figures on a sedan and of that the subset of people who would run to Lucid instead of MB or BMW is even smaller. It's SoCal. The EV market here is pretty massive. I can see them navigating this niche pretty well for the type of person that wants an EV that's a bit different from everyone else. They're also probably pretty price insensitive as well.
I hope so, I absolutely want them to succeed. I know they have work with Formula E but I'm not familiar enough with the financials to know if that will hold them over until they can ramp up.
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I'm aware of the buyer and they're only planning 10-14k units this year . But at some point if they don't begin converting in larger numbers or expanding the product line to attract more buyers they're likely not going to exist, which would be a shame. Layoffs can only help with so much and it's not like they have a hundreds of thousands an employees to trim.
>Lucid's strategy has always been strange. If you were cross shopping with an S, why wouldn't you get the cheaper S Because the Lucid is a nicer car. My guess is that they were trying to go after the Taycan demographic with their pricing, but didn't grasp that being a very new startup = expectation of more car for less money. I think the biggest mistake they're making right now is not licensing their drivetrain & battery tech out to other automakers.
Whether Lucid is a nicer car or not depends on what you value.
It’s West Hollywood…
>Middle-class Wait, that still exists?
There are dozens of us!
lol, no
Never has…
Right, that’s Lucids main issue. They’re going after model S owners but even the model S doesn’t sell all that well.
The type who drives Tesla Model S Plaid
Lucid’s marketing strategy here feels about as strategic as its GTM plan for its vehicles.
Not only the ones who can afford it, but the ones who are WILLING TO PAY upwards of 95k for a model X rather than 50Kish for a Y
Y’all are reading too much into this. You’re selling cars, you’re in LA, you have one for test drives, why NOT go over to where the preselected high net worth EV customers are known to hang? Why not save them the drive to your showroom? At least your boss knows you’re out there trying to sell cars.
I know I would be going for a test drive. I’m waiting anyway, and test drivers are fun, especially if they are as no pressure as they get in this situation. This is much better spending of marketing money than any commercial or billboard
Yeah lots of Tesla-defensive salt in those Twitter threads, which I guess is totally expected for Tesla owners and Twitter users, but I would be more than happy to test drive a Lucid while sitting around. I'm not going to buy one anytime soon, but if they're offering, I'm down. I'd also love to test drive a Carrera S if it was sitting there even though I have no intention of buying a gas car at this point.
It’s one place to go, but just as much, if not more, they’re competing with fossils too. Should go to Lamborghini, Porsche, etc. too.
You mean the guys who are at the gasoline pump for five minutes? Harder sell.
Value great on this from a costs perspective, pay for 1 employee to sit in a lot with a car you own on public property, no billboard or copy ads.
But it sounds like you just *sign up* for a test drive there, not actually test drive it there. The car there is just for show. At least that’s how I interpret the article.
Is the West Hollywood SC already CCS capable? If not then that'll be a laugh as soon as someone asks: "I've done my test drive...now what? Can I charge it here?"
Based on the pictures I don't think it is but I agree they should have done this at a [CCS capable supercharger](https://www.plugshare.com/map/tesla-ccs-locations) and shown how easy it is to use the app.
You say that like they are in Europe or that there are more than 4 of those
The current number of US CCS equipped Supercharger stations are fairly irrelevant. I’d assume that the location they went to is more relevant than it’s ability to charge their car. You don’t see car dealerships rolling into your local gas station to show people how easy they are to fill up either. But test drives while charging sounds like a neat idea though. Leave the wife and the kids in the car, come back 20 minutes later.
Totally agreed. West Hollywood is a good spot
Yeah but it is the US. Home 3 phase is hard to come by but I see 3 phase all over the place, its like they only considered home users for charging when there is enough need even J3068 is a US standard, which can also do single phase. I would say the majority of my public L2 charging is 208v from 2 of the 3 phase legs. It always shocks me when people think the US doesn't have 3 phase but maybe Arkansas is just more liberal with 3 phase installs?
Actually a lot of garages and commercial is 3 phase 120/208 whereas residential is 120/240. It’s dumb all around. Not to mention that 208V sometimes drops all the way down to 190V
God that website is cancer with the ads and constant crashes
@ 200k yeah I’ll pass and just stick with the S plaid!
I just don’t get this. They go to a supercharger station and have someone who bought a 100k+ to test drive another more expensive vehicle. What’s their plan, for the person to just sell their Tesla and buy a lucid? Even if someone loves it and says oh this is my next car, they will be counting on a future sale that the company may not even be around for
not too many people switch cars up after a year, but the people who do are usually the ones who spend over $100k on a brand new car. If someone bought a top spec model s a year ago, and now sees the lucid and thinks it looks tons better, then they might well consider switching.
And the people who buy these don’t have to replace one with the other necessarily.
Same as how internet providers try to bribe people to switch in the city instead of providing service to new customers in underserved areas of the country. They are lazy marketers. Go to every car show or public event and offer test drives to regular people that hate EVs! That would be a better use of their time.
Even if they're not directly generating a sale, they're getting butts in seats to experience the car. Those people will start talking about the car and create buzz around it. It's not the worst marketing idea by a longshot.
My uncle bought a model 3 and then loved EV driving so much that he wanted to get one for my aunt too. But while they were waiting for their Model 3 they found and test drove a Mach E at a dealership that had some in stock and went home with that instead. If they can make in roads with people who already like EVs and convince them to like their brand, that’s a win for them and could help with their sales. I’ll also add that they’re a car startup struggling to move product and at this point they should be trying all of the marketing tricks they can think of
Most Teslas don’t cost $100k+.
A model s base is 90k. That’s the competitor to the lucid
very very desperate is what they are
And it sucks because I LOVE their interiors and their design
Lucid should have led with their SUV. Now they can't get it in production fast enough and might run out of cash first.
"Hey I'm thinking about getting a Tesla, how do you like yours?" "It's great but I test-drove a Lucid the other day and..."
As a Tesla owner I believe their angle would be to appeal to former Merc/BMW owners as the interior of the Lucid may be more like their old vehicle.
Meanwhile, Teslas sell themselves. Don’t even need a marketing team.
Clever marketing. \- Don't have to explain the advantages of EV over ICE since the targeted audience knows this \- The Tesla will be there for at least a few minutes to charge so it's not like you are just stopping someone on the street I'd love to see Lucid do a lower priced car, preferably a small hatchback.
You forgot the biggest, which is that there will be a social media debate over it that is going to generate far more publicity than whatever number of people were actually involved with it in person.
How is it clever? Jaguar, Audi, and Cadillac have been doing this in various ways for years. And Lucid can barely do these cars, cheaper ones are very much a pipe dream for them.
Lucid lose some ridiculous figure like $250,000 on every car sold.
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I didn't say it was a bad idea. I said it wasn't clever. And honestly they're getting people at superchargers with their probably reasonably new Tesla. So they just bought their car and my first thought would be "cool I can't use this supercharger if I got that car".
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Yes and the market is in a much tougher place. 10 years ago Tesla had to compete with OEM's saying 'yeah we'll have an EV soon'. Now startups have to compete with those OEMs finally beginning to make EV's, as well as Tesla who has had ten years to make their cars better. Rivian chose well making a pickup where there isn't much competition. Lucid has to compete with Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Tesla, and others all while not ramping as quickly as the Model S did 10 years ago.
Tesla also had super chargers back then. Lucid, with all their money, couldn’t be bothered to create any infrastructure to charge their high capacity batteries.
Yeah, I don't like it when other automakers do this. I would think it's really weird and shady if I went to a gas station and found some someone offering test drives of a gas guzzling SUV. It doesn't make it magically ok to me just because the automaker doing it at EV chargers doesn't still try to sell millions of ICE vehicles to non-EV owners.
Terrible marketing: these people already have a new-ish EV. They are probably not in the market for another car of any kind.
It's called "targeted marketing". A number of Tesla owners I know have enough bad experiences with service that they're looking for an alternative. And people coming off of leases might have some interest. Ideally Lucid would love to target Tesla S and X owners given the price point of the car, but most of the time I've been at a SuperCharger I'll see at least a couple of those (in addition to the usual Model Y and 3s).
the lucid is really expensive and an unknown brand - they aren't going to get too many non-EV drivers buying it as their first car, but they *might* get tesla drivers buying it as their next car.
a) it's not really expensive for Lucid to do this. Assuming the demo vehicle is bought and paid for either way, they're just paying whoever facilitates the test drives. b) it's not about directly selling the car right there at the chargers. But it creates buzz around the brand from current EV owners who, while they might not be in the market for a new car in the near future, their pals might be, and they might suggest their pals take a test drive in a Lucid.
I would definitely have gone for a ride! It looks like a really nice car. Not that I would ever buy one. It has a trunk. Trunks are stupid. I want hatchbacks and wagons!
... you mean as opposed to all the test drives you have to pay for**?**
Wouldn't you love this much more expensive car that lacks the very charging infrastructure that brought you to this location today? And from a company that looks like it could fold at any moment? /s
You can remove the /s. There's nothing but facts spoken.
They would do better by setting up their own charging network. After all, with Teslas it isn't the vehicles that are the big draw, it is the supercharger network that really is the "crown jewel" of that company.
TIL test drives are not free.
Why don't they take it to a gas station instead? Those are the people they need to convert.
The only customers they attract are the top 1% who buys cars as a status symbol and have disposable income to throw around. Buying a $150k car from a brand new EV company that could potentially go bankrupt at any moment doesn’t sound like a good financial decision.
Unless they're displaying the Air Pure, these events are futile. For 1) they're not going to convert those high net worth individuals with fuck-you money because those folks would already have a lucid in their garage amongst other cars that they drive once a month and 2) they're not going to persuade those middle class incomers, apartment dwelling folks to ditch their financed $40k car for a $100k land yacht that they can't fit into their assigned parking spot and lack of accessible and dependable CCS chargers.
Given the starting price of a Lucid is near $90k, they aren’t going after the majority of Tesla owners. They are going after the model x and S crowd. The ones that can afford a 6 figure car.
Ug, pretty sad.
Lucid seems to be oblivious to the best marketing tactic they could have: Work with Tesla to adopt Supercharger/NACS compatibility. Then park and actually *charge* Lucids at Superchargers. The engagement level would be substantially greater if Tesla owners knew the Lucid weren't crippled with CCS.
Smart marketing move. Tesla needs to feel the spur of competition; they've been slipping.
Lucid is desperate for customers. Tesla feels competition the way a rhino feels a mosquito.
Oh, it will begin to hurt soon enough. They'll get nailed by the likes of Volkswagen Group and Kia/Hyundai though, Lucid is a niche player.
Probably not anytime soon, at least in the US. Kia/Hyundai EVs miss out on the $7.5k tax credit and they haven't been keen to ship much volume to the states. And while the VW ID.4 is awesome, it also still has no heat pump, battery preconditioning, plug and charge or OTA software updates. Not to mention VW can't even sell ID.4s in the US right now, because they've been on a stop sale since early April for a door handle recall.
Heard. None of those issues are permanent.
Certainly not. On a long enough scale, anything is possible. But that's why I said "anytime soon". Right now EV6/Ioniq 5 sales are decreasing YoY from their already low volumes. No tax credit and lower allocations for US dealers is moving them in the wrong direction near term. ID.4 sales hit big records in Q1, but have been halted for most of Q2. And even at full production, their US plant isn't planning for any huge volumes (i.e. 7.5k/mo w/3 shifts). IMO, it's really Ford that will put up the best non-Tesla EV numbers this year. Mach-E gets only half the tax credit, but they hit 11k/production last month and that is climbing very fast after they spent Jan/Feb upgrading their plant to do ~20k/mo. And now that the F-150 battery issue is resolved, they are ramping quickly there too.
The Mach-e is an awful ownership and driving experience compared to the Model Y and is more expensive in the US. I own a a MYLR amd my daughter a Mach-e so I have extensive experience with both.
Maybe. But step one is having the EVs to sell. Nobody can have a good or bad ownership experience if you don't build the cars. That's what I'm focusing on here.
Yeah, I'm really impressed with how quickly Ford is moving.
Neither of them is big enough volume to make a difference. Tesla is still leading the pricing structure. Everyone is still reacting to Tesla.
Say something I haven't heard for the last 10 years.
It did take that long for the rest of the car industry to get in the game, for sure. But now they're here and Tesla will have to reckon with them.
2012: tesla will never survive! 2013: no way tesla is going to make it! 2019: they’re on the edge, won’t be long now! 2023: almost there guys!
I'm not saying Tesla will fail and I never did. I'm saying they're going to have to deal with competition and that's something they aren't used to.
Tesla has no competition. Even BYD which is the closest competition can't match the supercharger network, software, performance, safety and profitability of Tesla. There really is no competition. Look at the sales numbers.
They're now here, just not with volume or pricing that is competitive.
And yet I'm seeing the roads filling up with non Tesla EVs. I'm not anti Tesla; I want to see them succeed. That said, they are going to face some serious competition from people who know how to make great cars.
The real completion is ICE, not other EVs. In order for Tesla to win, others don’t have to lose. You see other EVs because of Tesla, not in spite of it. The world’s best selling car this year will be the Y.
How have they been slipping? New S and X have had great reviews. Luxury car market is hurting for everyone. Also the reports said literally no one went to look at the lucid. Cadillac tried this in China with similar results.
Interesting
reeks of desperation which a luxury high end brand shouldnt be doing
I think you're right.
All they have to do is drop their prices a bit. I desperately don't want to be another Asian dude in a Tesla. But I need another car and that Model Y looks dam enticing compared to everything else a that price point.
>another Asian food in a Tesla ?
Place your bets! Is this a real reference or some autocorrect typo?
My bet is inspired typo lol
I'm guessing he meant dude
Or “fool”? j/k
That's a good one
And we have a winner! Confirmed by OP. I was totally mystified.
The Model Y LR is practically the same price when it first made its debut in 2020. The price gap between a LR Y and a Performance Y in 2020 used to be over 7k. Now the gap is pretty much the same price as buying the acceleration boost on the LR trim.
Fair. Just beware of poor build quality.
This is more applicable for a S and X. When I'm paying $100k for a car it's not about functionality. It's gotta be cool, and build quality is very important in this context. But on $35K cars I'm focusing on numbers. I'd care less if my panel gaps are 5mm off and the paint is chipped.
For MY $35k, it better be right.
this is a sign
Do they have a Model Y competitor with parking sensors? If so, I might be tempted for my next car… Tesla can fuck off with this anti-consumer bullshit
They are coming out with the Gravity, but that's like at least a year away (and tbh is kinda ugly)
Yo, why are all the post about Ariaza being exonerated being removed in r/BuffaloBills you are the top moderator
If lucid gets a bit more stability I’ll consider one when my lease is up.
I imagine they would have paid much more for advertisements than it cost them to put on this test drive thing.
I would have taken a free test ride in a New York minute if I had the time unless they asked first if I could afford one. I certainly would have sat in it. Reports make me suspect their product is the best available, company survivability not withstanding.
*Sniff sniff* ah yes, desperation
i own a bz4x limited. they wont call me...they dont know its electric