Future-Proofed for a Future That Never Came

[AirBo]

Disclosure: I own shares of Lucid Group (LCID) which are performing poorly and I drive a Lucid Air Grand Touring ( I am stuck with even though I've had so many issues - since the value of the car s terribly low to sell).

I want this company to succeed. That's exactly why I'm writing this and I hope some of the leadership reads it and they should not forget about us customers who help at the early stages by buying the car and trusting.

Lucid sold the Air on three big promises beyond the car itself: Vehicle-to-Home power backup, DreamDrive Pro autonomy, and a "future-proofed" sensor suite worth $10,000. Years later, the scorecard isn't great.

V2H — Still WaitingLucid's Connected Home Charging Station was marketed with "built-in bidirectional capabilities" that would "soon let you power your home." V2V (charging another EV) finally arrived in 2023. V2H? Still no timeline. Owners who bought the $1,200 home charger specifically for blackout backup have been told "not-too-distant future" as recently as late 2025. Ford's F-150 Lightning has had it since 2022.

DreamDrive Pro — $10K for Hands-Free Highway DrivingAt launch, DreamDrive Pro's 32-sensor LiDAR suite was marketed as "fully future-proofed for Level 3." Early buyers paid a $10K premium on that promise. What arrived — years late — was hands-free lane keeping on compatible highways. Meanwhile, GM's Super Cruise, which comes standard on some Hummer EVs at no upcharge, changes lanes autonomously and does it more smoothly according to some DreamDrive Pro owners. Level 3 is now targeted for 2028 — on future midsize vehicles, not necessarily the Air.

"Highway Assist" → "Drive Assist" — Why the Rename?Lucid says it was "to better fit continuing enhancements." The timing tells a different story. The rename coincided with Lucid shifting its autonomy roadmap focus toward Gravity and future platforms, with Air owners increasingly uncertain whether their car is even on that roadmap anymore. Vaguer name, fewer commitments, lowering expectations and not delivering (breach of contract) of whay you paid for. .

The PatternLucid sold hardware ambitions upfront — through option pricing and home charger sales — while the software to unlock them has arrived years late, partially, or not at all. As one owner put it: "Everything is always coming soon. You need to start delivering on those promises or people will simply not trust what Lucid says." The stock performance reflects. Lucid leadership, do something to keep your promises and deliver a car we expected.

Tell me what you think?

 

[drb3333]

I don't know how much of a consolation this is, but recently I went back to review Tesla's stock history (very roughly).
Elon came on the scene about 2005 and the stock was sitting $1.57 in 2012 (seven years later) during the Model S era.
After the release of the Model 3 in 2016 the stock hung in the teens until 2020 or 15 years of Elon before it became profitable.

Lucid kicked off in 2013 so we are at Year 12, somewhat similar to the Model S times. Growth of the Gravity and mid-size is
almost in line with the Tesla trajectory.

I had just forgotten how dismal things looked for Tesla in 2012.

 

[BS8899]

Disclosure: I own shares of Lucid Group (LCID) which are performing poorly and I drive a Lucid Air Grand Touring ( I am stuck with even though I've had so many issues - since the value of the car s terribly low to sell).

I want this company to succeed. That's exactly why I'm writing this and I hope some of the leadership reads it and they should not forget about us customers who help at the early stages by buying the car and trusting.

Lucid sold the Air on three big promises beyond the car itself: Vehicle-to-Home power backup, DreamDrive Pro autonomy, and a "future-proofed" sensor suite worth $10,000. Years later, the scorecard isn't great.

V2H — Still WaitingLucid's Connected Home Charging Station was marketed with "built-in bidirectional capabilities" that would "soon let you power your home." V2V (charging another EV) finally arrived in 2023. V2H? Still no timeline. Owners who bought the $1,200 home charger specifically for blackout backup have been told "not-too-distant future" as recently as late 2025. Ford's F-150 Lightning has had it since 2022.

DreamDrive Pro — $10K for Hands-Free Highway DrivingAt launch, DreamDrive Pro's 32-sensor LiDAR suite was marketed as "fully future-proofed for Level 3." Early buyers paid a $10K premium on that promise. What arrived — years late — was hands-free lane keeping on compatible highways. Meanwhile, GM's Super Cruise, which comes standard on some Hummer EVs at no upcharge, changes lanes autonomously and does it more smoothly according to some DreamDrive Pro owners. Level 3 is now targeted for 2028 — on future midsize vehicles, not necessarily the Air.

"Highway Assist" → "Drive Assist" — Why the Rename?Lucid says it was "to better fit continuing enhancements." The timing tells a different story. The rename coincided with Lucid shifting its autonomy roadmap focus toward Gravity and future platforms, with Air owners increasingly uncertain whether their car is even on that roadmap anymore. Vaguer name, fewer commitments, lowering expectations and not delivering (breach of contract) of whay you paid for. .

The PatternLucid sold hardware ambitions upfront — through option pricing and home charger sales — while the software to unlock them has arrived years late, partially, or not at all. As one owner put it: "Everything is always coming soon. You need to start delivering on those promises or people will simply not trust what Lucid says." The stock performance reflects. Lucid leadership, do something to keep your promises and deliver a car we expected.

Tell me what you think?

Agree totally with all your points. I don't plan to use V2H so I don't pay attention to it.
The other items you cited, I have the same take. Lucid way over-sold the future, and charge extra for it. I bought all these extra features you listed.

As for hands free driving, what Lucid implemented today is inferior to what I have on my 2023 Rivian R1S. As a recent example, in the past months, I made about 15 trips on Hwy101 (then to CA37 etc.) from Sausalito to Sonoma. My R1S (no LIDAR) handled it flawlessly on the Hwy 101 stretch (~20miles, which were mapped). The Lucid "tries" to navigate the same but periodically disconnects (multiple times) on the same stretch. I know this is just one stretch and the Lucid might do better on another stretch, but I doubted!

BTW, I've been asking multiple times in the forum, how does Lucid use the LIDAR to enhance hands-free driving? No one offered me any explanation.

 

[L-Dude]

I think Lucid has absolutely delivered what I expected from it. V2H would be nice, and I think it will show up eventually, but this is an extremely minor part of the buying experience for me. DDPro is better than I expected. And honestly, I find it a bit weird to get worked up over a name change on a product that is delivering 150% of what I hoped it would..

 

[gaskiller]

Disclosure: I own shares of Lucid Group (LCID) which are performing poorly and I drive a Lucid Air Grand Touring ( I am stuck with even though I've had so many issues - since the value of the car s terribly low to sell).

I want this company to succeed. That's exactly why I'm writing this and I hope some of the leadership reads it and they should not forget about us customers who help at the early stages by buying the car and trusting.

Lucid sold the Air on three big promises beyond the car itself: Vehicle-to-Home power backup, DreamDrive Pro autonomy, and a "future-proofed" sensor suite worth $10,000. Years later, the scorecard isn't great.

V2H — Still WaitingLucid's Connected Home Charging Station was marketed with "built-in bidirectional capabilities" that would "soon let you power your home." V2V (charging another EV) finally arrived in 2023. V2H? Still no timeline. Owners who bought the $1,200 home charger specifically for blackout backup have been told "not-too-distant future" as recently as late 2025. Ford's F-150 Lightning has had it since 2022.

DreamDrive Pro — $10K for Hands-Free Highway DrivingAt launch, DreamDrive Pro's 32-sensor LiDAR suite was marketed as "fully future-proofed for Level 3." Early buyers paid a $10K premium on that promise. What arrived — years late — was hands-free lane keeping on compatible highways. Meanwhile, GM's Super Cruise, which comes standard on some Hummer EVs at no upcharge, changes lanes autonomously and does it more smoothly according to some DreamDrive Pro owners. Level 3 is now targeted for 2028 — on future midsize vehicles, not necessarily the Air.

"Highway Assist" → "Drive Assist" — Why the Rename?Lucid says it was "to better fit continuing enhancements." The timing tells a different story. The rename coincided with Lucid shifting its autonomy roadmap focus toward Gravity and future platforms, with Air owners increasingly uncertain whether their car is even on that roadmap anymore. Vaguer name, fewer commitments, lowering expectations and not delivering (breach of contract) of whay you paid for. .

The PatternLucid sold hardware ambitions upfront — through option pricing and home charger sales — while the software to unlock them has arrived years late, partially, or not at all. As one owner put it: "Everything is always coming soon. You need to start delivering on those promises or people will simply not trust what Lucid says." The stock performance reflects. Lucid leadership, do something to keep your promises and deliver a car we expected.

Tell me what you think?

Never trust any future promises and timelines. I learned that from Musk.

 

[HC_79]

Never trust any future promises and timelines. I learned that from Musk.

Regardless, It doesn't make it right that companies are allowed to get away with this with no consequences. I don't necessarily disagree with embellished marketing, everyone does it and need to hype product for sale, but when you actually take money based on a promise then a company should be legally liable to deliver and within a set timeframe. If they don't then the simple coarse of action would be to force them to refund the option. The only way I see these companies learning not to do this bad habit is when it hits their hip pocket.

 

[Leftlane]

I don't know how much of a consolation this is, but recently I went back to review Tesla's stock history (very roughly).
Elon came on the scene about 2005 and the stock was sitting $1.57 in 2012 (seven years later) during the Model S era.
After the release of the Model 3 in 2016 the stock hung in the teens until 2020 or 15 years of Elon before it became profitable.

Lucid kicked off in 2013 so we are at Year 12, somewhat similar to the Model S times. Growth of the Gravity and mid-size is
almost in line with the Tesla trajectory.

I had just forgotten how dismal things looked for Tesla in 2012.

Nobody has the luxury today of what Tesla did back then - they were the only real game in town. If you wanted a real world EV then you went with Tesla and put up with the foibles. Now, there is no need to settle, or compromise, as the choices are plentiful. Makes it much harder to compete for sure.

 

[AirBo]

Never trust any future promises and timelines. I learned that from Musk.

Thank you. for sharing. I will accept the blame, since I trusted

I don't know how much of a consolation this is, but recently I went back to review Tesla's stock history (very roughly).
Elon came on the scene about 2005 and the stock was sitting $1.57 in 2012 (seven years later) during the Model S era.
After the release of the Model 3 in 2016 the stock hung in the teens until 2020 or 15 years of Elon before it became profitable.

Lucid kicked off in 2013 so we are at Year 12, somewhat similar to the Model S times. Growth of the Gravity and mid-size is
almost in line with the Tesla trajectory.

I had just forgotten how dismal things looked for Tesla in 2012.

Never trust any future promises and timelines. I learned that from Musk.

. Should we leave it at that? if you get robbed, the fault is yours and not the robber's. Interesting viewpoint. How does this help Lucid or Lucid customers?

 

[AirBo]

Agree totally with all your points. I don't plan to use V2H so I don't pay attention to it.
The other items you cited, I have the same take. Lucid way over-sold the future, and charge extra for it. I bought all these extra features you listed.

As for hands free driving, what Lucid implemented today is inferior to what I have on my 2023 Rivian R1S. As a recent example, in the past months, I made about 15 trips on Hwy101 (then to CA37 etc.) from Sausalito to Sonoma. My R1S (no LIDAR) handled it flawlessly on the Hwy 101 stretch (~20miles, which were mapped). The Lucid "tries" to navigate the same but periodically disconnects (multiple times) on the same stretch. I know this is just one stretch and the Lucid might do better on another stretch, but I doubted!

BTW, I've been asking multiple times in the forum, how does Lucid use the LIDAR to enhance hands-free driving? No one offered me any explanation.

Thank you for yoru reply. So many sensors, so many cameras and still no recordings if somevody vandalizes your car (an investment).

 

[BS8899]

Thank you for yoru reply. So many sensors, so many cameras and still no recordings if somevody vandalizes your car (an investment).

Yup, part of the reason why I didn't wait for Gravity and exercised my option on a 2023 Rivian R1S. The R1S, not as fancy as the Gravity, was ~70% of Gravity's (now lowered) ASP. Truth-in-advertising: the cost of the R1S has gone up since.
As far as depreciation goes, my R1S depreciates significantly slower than my AGT. I can easily sell my R1S more than my AGT.
Lucid has vision to make great vehicles (Air and Gravity). But their execution and value delivery are poor when compared with competition.

 

[knewman]

I think you're right, it's crummy when a marketing dept writes checks that engineering can't cash.

But at the same time, I don't think the path towards high market value for Lucid involves putting a ton of resources into older niche product lines like the Air. That's not what Air owners want to hear but I think it's the reality.

There are irritations but in it's current state my Air is pretty stable, the car is super fun to drive, and it's genuinely a nice place to be in. I personally don't feel ripped off.

 

[babylou66]

I was the second owner of an R1T in Houston and they also promised hands free driving that still hasn't come to fruition. Serious phantom braking issues on the highway when using the Autopilot or whatever it was called. Delivered with faulty bits like non-functioning phone chargers that they wanted to sell to you three years later after they fixed the design.

So they all seem to be rowing the same boat.

 

[sri]

Its like you are expecting a gold bar and they delivered you a copper coin and charged you for a diamond.

 

[socktucker]

Disclosure: I own shares of Lucid Group (LCID) which are performing poorly and I drive a Lucid Air Grand Touring ( I am stuck with even though I've had so many issues - since the value of the car s terribly low to sell).

I want this company to succeed. That's exactly why I'm writing this and I hope some of the leadership reads it and they should not forget about us customers who help at the early stages by buying the car and trusting.

Lucid sold the Air on three big promises beyond the car itself: Vehicle-to-Home power backup, DreamDrive Pro autonomy, and a "future-proofed" sensor suite worth $10,000. Years later, the scorecard isn't great.

V2H — Still WaitingLucid's Connected Home Charging Station was marketed with "built-in bidirectional capabilities" that would "soon let you power your home." V2V (charging another EV) finally arrived in 2023. V2H? Still no timeline. Owners who bought the $1,200 home charger specifically for blackout backup have been told "not-too-distant future" as recently as late 2025. Ford's F-150 Lightning has had it since 2022.

DreamDrive Pro — $10K for Hands-Free Highway DrivingAt launch, DreamDrive Pro's 32-sensor LiDAR suite was marketed as "fully future-proofed for Level 3." Early buyers paid a $10K premium on that promise. What arrived — years late — was hands-free lane keeping on compatible highways. Meanwhile, GM's Super Cruise, which comes standard on some Hummer EVs at no upcharge, changes lanes autonomously and does it more smoothly according to some DreamDrive Pro owners. Level 3 is now targeted for 2028 — on future midsize vehicles, not necessarily the Air.

"Highway Assist" → "Drive Assist" — Why the Rename?Lucid says it was "to better fit continuing enhancements." The timing tells a different story. The rename coincided with Lucid shifting its autonomy roadmap focus toward Gravity and future platforms, with Air owners increasingly uncertain whether their car is even on that roadmap anymore. Vaguer name, fewer commitments, lowering expectations and not delivering (breach of contract) of whay you paid for. .

The PatternLucid sold hardware ambitions upfront — through option pricing and home charger sales — while the software to unlock them has arrived years late, partially, or not at all. As one owner put it: "Everything is always coming soon. You need to start delivering on those promises or people will simply not trust what Lucid says." The stock performance reflects. Lucid leadership, do something to keep your promises and deliver a car we expected.

Tell me what you think?

V2H, no idea

10k was a deal back when FSD was 12k, but it isn't as good as competitors I agree

Drive Assist is a better name especially if they intend to have it work on more places than the Highway

I believe that Lucid believed the things they said when they said it, but some of them failed. Some is their fault, some is nobodys fault.

 

[AirBo]

I think you're right, it's crummy when a marketing dept writes checks that engineering can't cash.

But at the same time, I don't think the path towards high market value for Lucid involves putting a ton of resources into older niche product lines like the Air. That's not what Air owners want to hear but I think it's the reality.

There are irritations but in it's current state my Air is pretty stable, the car is super fun to drive, and it's genuinely a nice place to be in. I personally don't feel ripped off.

You bought a $150K software platform with a promised upgrade path, not a car that gets abandoned the moment the next model ships. If you really own Air if they do that you will also feel the pain, Correct? If it was a gift it is a different story.

 

[HC_79]

I was the second owner of an R1T in Houston and they also promised hands free driving that still hasn't come to fruition. Serious phantom braking issues on the highway when using the Autopilot or whatever it was called. Delivered with faulty bits like non-functioning phone chargers that they wanted to sell to you three years later after they fixed the design.

So they all seem to be rowing the same boat.

I think Rivian did Gen 1 owners more dirty than what Lucid has done with Air. Rivian seemed to look at the Gen 1 and just say "this isn't sustainable" pivoted to Gen 2 so quickly and removed a bunch of promises they made to Gen 1 owners like you mentioned. They're also doing the same thing with R2, the LiDAR isn't ready for the launch models and is coming later but they've told the early adopters this isn't a big deal. Based on past history those owners could simply be told "you can't have this upcoming feature because you don't have the LiDAR"

Again, it really does point back to these companies (not just Lucid) being held accountable for the promises they make, especially when people have handed over cash.

 

[knewman]

You bought a $150K software platform with a promised upgrade path, not a car that gets abandoned the moment the next model ships. If you really own Air if they do that you will also feel the pain, Correct? If it was a gift it is a different story.

"Abandoned" is a strong word, especially considering my car just got the 2.9 upgrade over the weekend. I never said Lucid is abandoning the Air, they're obviously not doing that. If they weren't making strides towards promised features then it would be a different story.

And not to quabble but I certainly didn't pay anywhere close to $150k. I doubt anyone did unless they have a Sapphire.

 

[HC_79]

You bought a $150K software platform with a promised upgrade path, not a car that gets abandoned the moment the next model ships. If you really own Air if they do that you will also feel the pain, Correct? If it was a gift it is a different story.

They haven't abandoned Air owners. I'll agree that they've been slow to move on the Air since the Gravity launched but the Air is just a few short months away from getting UX3.0 which will get it almost at parity with Gravity. V2H, while extremely long overdue is coming so not abandoned either.

I'll agree with you on DDPro to some extent. Lucid did promise Level 3 in the early days and that was a good justification for the $10K price but they quickly pivoted away from that and adjusted the price down as a result. Aside from Level 3, Lucid has delivered everything on DDPro I believe. It was always meant to be hands-free highway only.

 

[AirBo]

I think Rivian did Gen 1 owners more dirty than what Lucid has done with Air. Rivian seemed to look at the Gen 1 and just say "this isn't sustainable" pivoted to Gen 2 so quickly and removed a bunch of promises they made to Gen 1 owners like you mentioned. They're also doing the same thing with R2, the LiDAR isn't ready for the launch models and is coming later but they've told the early adopters this isn't a big deal. Based on past history those owners could simply be told "you can't have this upcoming feature because you don't have the LiDAR"

Again, it really does point back to these companies (not just Lucid) being held accountable for the promises they make, especially when people have handed over cash.

Agreed. Otherwise we will continue paying .....suffering as customers and shareholders.

 

[HC_79]

"Abandoned" is a strong word, especially considering my car just got the 2.9 upgrade over the weekend. I never said Lucid is abandoning the Air, they're obviously not doing that. If they weren't making strides towards promised features then it would be a different story.

And not to quabble but I certainly didn't pay anywhere close to $150k. I doubt anyone did unless they have a Sapphire.

I paid $150K for the Air Grand Touring out the door in April 2022