Tesla's competitors received investments of $ 1 billion from Saudi Arabia
On Habré, they practically did not write about Lucid Motors, and it is in vain - this is a rather interesting company, which is called a dangerous competitor Tesla Inc. At the same time, the “competitor” has not yet released a single electric vehicle, although there are working prototypes, they are being tested on public roads. But there are no models on sale yet. Lucid Motors is set to begin commercial operations in 2020.
And at the same time, the company consistently receives investments from various companies and individuals. Recently it became known that Lucid Motors was able to getabout $ 1 billion from investors from Saudi Arabia, namely, the sovereign fund of this country (with which, by the way, Ilon Musk negotiated at one time). It is worth noting that it was founded in 2007, so it is not new to the hi-tech car market.
True, initially a startup was engaged in near-car development, but its management did not consider the possibility of developing cars entirely. But in 2015 it was decided to start creating full-fledged electric vehicles that could compete with Tesla. Change plans contributed to the largest shareholder of the company, the state Chinese fund BAIC.
The startup started from scratch, but with a good start - Tesla veterans came to the company, including the ex-tops of this company. One of them is Peter Rawlinson, who for a long time held the position of Operations Director at Tesla. With such a team and the support of investors, the project is simply doomed to success (in any case, the probability of it is very high).
Now the company is developing a model of electric Lucid Air, which is considered "luxury". The prototype is not closed from prying eyes, it was shown to journalists and experts on robots. Some of them were delighted, saying that it was even strange to see such a functional prototype at such an early stage of development. Lucid Air is a direct competitor to the luxury sedan from Tesla Inc - we are talking about the Tesla Model S.
The cost of an electric car will be about $ 100,000. The power of an electric motor is about 1,000 hp, according to plans, it can drive about 550 km on a single battery charge. There is a cheaper model with a price tag of $ 60 thousand. For the money the buyer gets an electric car with a battery designed for 380 km and a power of 400 hp. As in the case of Tesla, pre-order for Lucid Air can be even before the release of the electric car on sale. Pre-order is made on the company's website, for this you need to pay $ 2500. If everything goes well, the electric car may start to be sold earlier - for example, next year.
It should be noted that the company does not make very loud promises. Its representatives say that the car Lucid Air will not be something radically new. Its creators plan to make a beautiful and comfortable car that will not release harmful substances into the environment, and which can be driven comfortably.
Investing in $ 1 billion is a great opportunity for the company to step up its work and, finally, realize the desired goal - to release the first model of its electric car. As far as can be judged from the Tesla case, a competitor cannot immediately become a profitable company - you will have to “burn” a lot of money in the furnace of the production process. But if the management of Lucid Motors takes into account the mistakes of Tesla Inc, then some problems can be avoided.
Regarding the electric car business, the head of Lucidstated the following: “It is a myth that electric vehicle manufacturers are losing money. However, [present the picture this way] is a smart move. If I dominated the market, would it not be profitable for me that competitors be sure that this is not a profitable direction? ”
As for the design of an electric car, the company is still working on it - some elements may change. However, most of the construction modules are already brought to mind. Lucid Air has several advantages over the Tesla Model S. One of them is comfort, the second is design (the developers believe that the design of their car is somewhat better than that of Tesla).
So, Lucid Air is smaller outside, but more inside, the cabin is more comfortable. The company places in the car showroom everything necessary for passengers to feel, if not at home, then at least, like in a mobile office. The seats are adjusted to the person individually, the music plays from 10 speakers, and the airbags are also 10.
It only remains to wait to see how the rivalry between the two manufacturers will unfold. If, of course, it will be.