Car Software Update cadence

[ColonelBadger]

The best comment that makes the most sense.

Yeah I don't think they abandon the Air, but there's a possibility given the size of the team, that the amount of updates slows down dramatically. At least until Gravity is making enough revenue to justify increasing the size of the team

 

[no gas]

Very close to pulling the trigger on an Air Touring. Have been looking at the site OTA Updates to see how often and what features have been updated on the car. What are everyone's thoughts on the cadence of updates compared to their competition e.g Lucid, Rivian etc. My sense, from the outside looking in, is that they're not moving as fast as these two? For instance there's been no meaningful update to the car software wise since February.

Just buy the car if you like it, it’s a drivers car, the BMW M5 of EV’s….software is 90% there , too much information and selections takes away from enjoying a drivers car.

 

[no gas]

My personal concern is that the current platform will be deprioritized rather than abandoned. While I’m relatively happy with the stability of the current software (CarPlay being the exception), there are still several DD Pro features that were initially promised that I would like to see come into fruition. “Future ready” was an early promise and I want to make sure that the current line up is getting the same features (as close as possible) as Gravity and later Airs. Rivian and Tesla have been able to ensure that later models don’t make earlier model software obsolete and I would want to know that Lucid has the same intention prior to making a purchase. Otherwise, I would lease and make a purchase after this has been sorted. I don’t expect Lucid to make any announcements on this topic, so we will probably find out when Gravity launches.

Lucid Air is their halo car, it won’t be abandoned

 

[HC_79]

I wouldn’t bank on this, of course, but I can tell you that every one of the Lucid execs I’ve spoken to have made it a *real point* to reiterate over and over again that this is something they’re worried about and really care about not making Air owners feel “left behind.”

Here lies the biggest issue, I’ve heard similar things from Execs within Lucid but time and time again they do nothing to appease existing owners concerns publicly. I think one of the biggest gripes about Lucid on this forum is communication. We know they read this forum and yet continue to ignore the elephant in the room.

People aren’t demanding the entire software development roadmap. A simple communication of “this is what to expect in the next 3 or 6 months” etc. is not an unreasonable ask. Heck, even an email with “Something big is coming to your car soon” with no other information would be better than the continued silence.

For me, how they treat Air owners in the coming months will tie into whether I upgrade to the Gravity so silence does come with potential consequences. Like you said though, time will tell but it’s not looking too promising at this stage. I for one certainly won’t be footing the cost for DDPro on the Gravity (if I upgrade) when nothing has really advanced on DDPro for the Air.

 

[HC_79]

Yeah I don't think they abandon the Air, but there's a possibility given the size of the team, that the amount of updates slows down dramatically. At least until Gravity is making enough revenue to justify increasing the size of the team

Signs point to the Gravity being more successful than the Air. For starters, it’s an SUV! If your resources are limited where are you going to put them? On the popular product with the non popular product being put in maintenance mode only.

 

[Ricetomeetyou]

I own both a Lucid and a Rivian. I have also been one of the more vocal members on the forum who believes just adding a pet comfort mode was not a meaningful release. Other than that, we are coming up on 3 MONTHS since the last feature update. Compared to the Rivian which gives updates that are packed with useful new additions every single month, it truly is laughable.

The way I see it is this. If you want an amazing vehicle with the best hardware but poor software support and communication, Lucid is your choice. If you want a very fun to drive and functional 7 seater SUV that has amazing updates from a company that actually communicates with their owners, get the Rivian. Wassym Bensaid (VP of Software Engineering at Rivian) regularly responds on the Rivian subreddit and holds Q&As.

I still want to keep my Lucid. I guess I just have more expectations from a $100k vehicle than others.

 

[borski]

Here lies the biggest issue, I’ve heard similar things from Execs within Lucid but time and time again they do nothing to appease existing owners concerns publicly. I think one of the biggest gripes about Lucid on this forum is communication. We know they read this forum and yet continue to ignore the elephant in the room.

People aren’t demanding the entire software development roadmap. A simple communication of “this is what to expect in the next 3 or 6 months” etc. is not an unreasonable ask. Heck, even an email with “Something big is coming to your car soon” with no other information would be better than the continued silence.

For me, how they treat Air owners in the coming months will tie into whether I upgrade to the Gravity so silence does come with potential consequences. Like you said though, time will tell but it’s not looking too promising at this stage. I for one certainly won’t be footing the cost for DDPro on the Gravity (if I upgrade) when nothing has really advanced on DDPro for the Air.

I don't disagree with you re: communication.

I'm just also more optimistic, that's all. The Air has yet to let me down; but certainly I don't expect everyone to feel precisely how I do.

 

[ColonelBadger]

I own both a Lucid and a Rivian. I have also been one of the more vocal members on the forum who believes just adding a pet comfort mode was not a meaningful release. Other than that, we are coming up on 3 MONTHS since the last feature update. Compared to the Rivian which gives updates that are packed with useful new additions every single month, it truly is laughable.

The way I see it is this. If you want an amazing vehicle with the best hardware but poor software support and communication, Lucid is your choice. If you want a very fun to drive and functional 7 seater SUV that has amazing updates from a company that actually communicates with their owners, get the Rivian. Wassym Bensaid (VP of Software Engineering at Rivian) regularly responds on the Rivian subreddit and holds Q&As.

I still want to keep my Lucid. I guess I just have more expectations from a $100k vehicle than others.

I completely agree, particularly with a new brand, how important it is to have close communication with your valued customers. A number of brands in the past have done that well through Reddit and other channels. Shame Lucid hasn’t embraced that.

 

[borski]

I own both a Lucid and a Rivian. I have also been one of the more vocal members on the forum who believes just adding a pet comfort mode was not a meaningful release. Other than that, we are coming up on 3 MONTHS since the last feature update. Compared to the Rivian which gives updates that are packed with useful new additions every single month, it truly is laughable.

I just want to clarify: it's been 28 days since the last update, and 57 days since the last feature update; we're approaching two months, not three.

The way I see it is this. If you want an amazing vehicle with the best hardware but poor software support and communication, Lucid is your choice. If you want a very fun to drive and functional 7 seater SUV that has amazing updates from a company that actually communicates with their owners, get the Rivian. Wassym Bensaid (VP of Software Engineering at Rivian) regularly responds on the Rivian subreddit and holds Q&As.

I agree I prefer Rivian's more open communication style, for the record. I don't want anything to think I prefer it this way, haha.

I still want to keep my Lucid. I guess I just have more expectations from a $100k vehicle than others.

There are dozens of $100k vehicles that don't even have the ability to do an OTA update; your expectations are much more nuanced than that, and that's important to recognize. It's not the price; it's the relative comparison to some other EVs that are in the same price range, but not all. I promise you Porsche and Mercedes do not communicate as readily as Rivian, and release updates at an even lower cadence than Lucid.

But I agree, that when compared to Rivian, which is the other newcomer on the block, or to Tesla, which is the other 'EV heavyweight' on the block, the software release communication could use work.

 

[HC_79]

I think the people who marvel the engineering and driving experience accept the software and have more patience than those who can appreciate the engineering but it's not the main reason they purchased the car. I'm a tech guy at heart and can appreciate the level of engineering that went into the car but I purchased it because I wanted the Tesla product that gets regular enhancements over time without having to buy a Tesla. Lucid sold that to me in the early days and now I'm in the "more fool me for believing them" boat.

@borski is right, Lucid is way better at OTA's than Porsche, Audi, Mercedes, BMW etc. but Lucid kind of marketed themselves as following the Tesla mantra hence why in the other camp some people are getting a little frustrated when not only do you see all these continued improvements to Tesla's (software, not stupid decisions on removing stalks etc.) but also Rivian who started producing vehicles at almost the same time as Lucid. Just a little sad to watch is all and makes me question if I bet on the wrong horse.

 

[ColonelBadger]

There are dozens of $100k vehicles that don't even have the ability to do an OTA update; your expectations are much more nuanced than that, and that's important to recognize. It's not the price; it's the relative comparison to some other EVs that are in the same price range, but not all. I promise you Porsche and Mercedes do not communicate as readily as Rivian, and release updates at an even lower cadence than Lucid.

That’s a very valid point. Certainly the expectations on EV/manufacturers are different to ICE cars or even the traditional car manufacturers. When I was contemplating an E-Tron GT the OTA updates weren’t even a factor.

 

[Ricetomeetyou]

I just want to clarify: it's been 28 days since the last update, and 57 days since the last feature update; we're approaching two months, not three.

In my message I mentioned "other than" the controversial pet comfort mode I was talking about. If we don't include that, the last feature update was back on 2/6/24. We are coming up on May in a few days. May 6th will be 3 months, hence we are approaching it.

 

[ColonelBadger]

but I purchased it because I wanted the Tesla product that gets regular enhancements over time without having to buy a Tesla. Lucid sold that to me in the early days and now I'm in the "more fool me for believing them" boat.

I had the same attraction to Lucid vs Tesla, but as long as the updates continue even at the cadence they are now I think I’d be happy. Particularly given the driving experience.

 

[borski]

In my message I mentioned "other than" the controversial pet comfort mode I was talking about. If we don't include that, the last feature update was back on 2/6/24. We are coming up on May in a few days. May 6th will be 3 months, hence we are approaching it.

Sure, I hear ya. Thing is: for me, for example, that was an extremely meaningful update, since I have a dog and have used it pretty much daily since it came out, heh.

So while it's not a feature you care about, it's sort of inarguable that it was a feature release nonetheless, and that it was at least important to some.

But either way, this particular technicality belies the larger point, which I actually agree with you on; while I don't care much about the updates coming out faster (I'd much rather they be done right than fast), I do wish the communication was better.

 

[borski]

I think the people who marvel the engineering and driving experience accept the software and have more patience than those who can appreciate the engineering but it's not the main reason they purchased the car. I'm a tech guy at heart and can appreciate the level of engineering that went into the car but I purchased it because I wanted the Tesla product that gets regular enhancements over time without having to buy a Tesla. Lucid sold that to me in the early days and now I'm in the "more fool me for believing them" boat.

I agree completely - I wanted a spectacular car, and thus am very happy with the fact that it happens to also get OTA updates, have a lot of software, and so on. I'm also a tech guy at heart, but I want my car to be a great car first, and a computer second.

I agree, though, that that order of preference is the crux of the whole discussion. For me, I want a great car first, and software second. Wanting great software first, and a great car second is a great reason to buy a Tesla. Rivian has both, but I don't want a pickup or large SUV like the R1S.

I do believe Lucid will get to the 'software' piece, given the velocity / acceleration I've seen since I bought the car, and I trust Mike Bell (and his team) to get it there. I also think that's easier to fix / improve than the car is, since one is software and the latter is hardware.

But you're totally right that that order of desires is likely the crux of the whole discussion.

 

[maractwin]

I do believe Lucid will get to the 'software' piece, given the velocity / acceleration I've seen since I bought the car, and I trust Mike Bell (and his team) to get it there. I also think that's easier to fix / improve than the car is, since one is software and the latter is hardware.

While this is largely true, if the software were more mature before the initial release of the car, they might have discovered some of the architecture problems in time to fix them in the Air rather than waiting for Gravity. For example, the many problems people have unlocking the car were initially thought to be software bugs, but it's now apparent that the underlying hardware is insufficient.

 

[borski]

While this is largely true, if the software were more mature before the initial release of the car, they might have discovered some of the architecture problems in time to fix them in the Air rather than waiting for Gravity. For example, the many problems people have unlocking the car were initially thought to be software bugs, but it's now apparent that the underlying hardware is insufficient.

Sure, I agree. But if the drivetrain and handling were less mature, I’d never have bought the car.

 

[xponents]

Sure, I agree. But if the drivetrain and handling were less mature, I’d never have bought the car.

Cough Vinfast COUGH ACHOO Fisker

 

[no gas]

I think the update frequency is fine, not sure why others are complaining!

 

[ColonelBadger]

While this is largely true, if the software were more mature before the initial release of the car, they might have discovered some of the architecture problems in time to fix them in the Air rather than waiting for Gravity. For example, the many problems people have unlocking the car were initially thought to be software bugs, but it's now apparent that the underlying hardware is insufficient.

My understanding from perusing the forums was that the uniocking issues were mainly related to the fob battery or the Mobile app on Android. iOS seems ok?