Tesla’s former lead engineer starts his own business—with an aim to produce all-electric ultra-luxury vehicles at sub-tesla prices

by Matt Scanlon

This is a fascinating and perilous time to be an alternative fuels car maker.

After years of federal tax credits that effectively reduced the price of plug-in and hybrid-electric cars by $7,500, plus state incentives that make prices cheaper still, the antiregulatory stance of the prevailing political environment is pushing back. Not only is the federal tax incentive likely to be revisited, but states like Georgia, Utah, Indiana, Kansas, and Montana have repealed their own subsidies and/or actually assessed fees for electric car users, and purchases have typically plummeted in states that do so.

Still, sales overall are encouraging, despite generally cheap gas and oil prices. February’s electric car sales were up no less than 68% over the same month a year ago, fueled in part by restless enthusiasm over the release of Tesla’s Model 3.

The former lead engineer of Elon Musk’s pioneering electric car company, Peter Rawlinson, saw so much possibility in the market, in fact, that he started his own company, Lucid Motors (formerly Atieva).

Unveiled in December 2016, and scheduled for release in the middle of 2018, Rawlinson’s first model, the Lucid Air, features a 400 hp front motor and 600 hp rear motor (yes folks, that’s 1,000 ponies, with test track speeds of up to 217 mph) and a 400-mile range.

Its “Executive Seating” interior offers novel rear accommodation with seats that recline to no less than 55 degrees, a 29-speaker audio system, autonomous driving, and a variety of active safety systems (utilizing no fewer than eight onboard cameras, short- and long-range radar, and light detection and ranging technology, or LIDAR).

Prices start at a sub-Tesla Model S $60,000, though options can cause the sticker to wander to nearly $100,000.

Reservations for 2018 models can be made for $2,500, and a $25,500 deposit entitles buyers to one of 255 special edition cars, with unique options and distinguishing features.

Lucid Motors
lucidmotors.com