DD Versions, Trial, and Upgrades

[Adnillien]

Apologies in advance for being a little lazy - because I should be able to answer these 2 questions with a quick test drive - but I am not in a position to do so at the moment.

1) If I forgo purchasing DDPro or DDpremium - I lose the driver display camera view that comes up when signaling. I never paid close enough attention - but do the mirrors also include a small "blind spot warning light" that lights up (regardless of signal on or not) whenever there is a vehicle or object in the blindspot of said mirror ? I assume the answer is yes, and that is the Blind Spot Warning mentioned at the bottom of the chart ?
2) By forgoing the DDPro or Premium - do I also forgo the front (D) and rear (R) camera views that come up on the right side of the drivers screen when starting out and up to 5 mph or so ?

1) You are correct the blindspot indicator on the mirror is part of the base package.

2) You will still have the front and rear view cameras.

 

[borski]

But there is no risk. You had 90 days to decide to purchase it. You chose not to. Now it's past 90 days and you want the old pricing. They may be able to get you that option, but you also had 90 days to decide! Trial periods are trial periods for a reason and there are plenty of instances where pricing during trials are lower than after. This is not new.

Hell, when I ran Tinfoil I had the most brilliant idea: our 30 day trial gave you 3 months at 30% off if you signed up the first day. 29% off the second day. 28% off the third day. And so on, until you paid full price after the trial.

 

[TomMJM36]

The window sticker simply indicates for VIN verification purposes what hardware, software, and options the vehicle was built with from the factory. These are then registered in your official VIN number. What is controlling is your purchase agreement which stipulates what features/options you paid for. If DDP isn't in your purchase agreement, you didn't pay for it. I'd certainly double check my purchase agreement to see if you paid DDP and SSP.

I confirmed that: 1) my car includes the DreamDrive Pro hardware, and 2) that my purchase agreement clearly stated that I had a 90 day trial to the 3D Surround View and Blind Spot Display. So I guess I will be paying to keep those features because I really like the Blind Spot Display. The large side pillars and somewhat narrow side windows on the Air make it a bit harder to see out the sides which makes this feature a near necessity IMV.

 

[Steveinarizona]

By contrast, Lucid provides auto park and also front and rear cross traffic protection as standard, which most automakers don’t. It balances out, and strategically making features only available on higher trims or as an upgrade is nothing new in the auto industry in general.

I think that one should evaluate a car based on the features one wants and the price with that feature set. Whether one gets there with options or as standard doesn't matter to me.

 

[mpkillio]

Thank you all for your thoughts and ideas. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding for my post. The post is more about the treatment of Lucid in ignoring my repeated requests for help and information. Had they just followed through and given me the truth which is probably that they did not yet have the software available that would have been at least an explanation and follow through for my inquires. The last comment in my original post was a possible solution Lucid could make for their lack of follow through and communication on numerous requests for assistance. Whether I decide to purchase at any price is not near as important as good communication and follow through by any seller.

 

[Genghis]

/thread

There should have been no trial period. If you value the potential features (even if they are enabled at a later date), you buy. If not, then you don't. Now, they are offering a premium feature and same logic. If you value, you buy. Test drives are where you should be able to test these features if you want to really evaluate them before buying versus having them in a "trial," like it, and then complain about them taking it away because you don't want to pay for it.

The only sympathy I have are for the owners that were misled by their SA on what comes with the car you bought, misquoted costs or have written evidence of what was included in the final price. There, you write a letter to HQ or escalate in CS. The arguments for entitlements is a bit of a reach regardless the cost of the car.

 

[EZEVDriver]

All I'm saying is that it's disappointing and I'm going to pass on these upgrades on principle. It's not about the actual cost that they are within their rights to charge, it's about the feeling I'm being nickel and dimed after repeatedly asking for clarity that wasn't forthcoming.

There's no clarity on what base DreamDrive actually includes, eg. which sensors and cameras are active. My conversation yesterday with my SA's manager indicates that only two cameras are part of base DreamDrive, front and rear. What other sensors are used? Obviously, LIDAR is not, but is there a reason to not use a full camera suite for safety purposes included in the base package? Does DD Premium activate other sensors for the 360 suround view? Anyone know?

 

[Demosthenes]

Regarding atmos, you can use the built in Amazon music to play atmos tracks by voice commanding it e.g. ‘Alexa play music in Dolby atmos’ or something along those lines. It’s tedious and no actual Amazon music dedicated interface on the car itself but if you wanted to listen to some atmos tracks and judge the difference for yourself without signing up for tidal that’s one way you could try.

 

[GMan]

There's no clarity on what base DreamDrive actually includes, eg. which sensors and cameras are active. My conversation yesterday with my SA's manager indicates that only two cameras are part of base DreamDrive, front and rear. What other sensors are used? Obviously, LIDAR is not, but is there a reason to not use a full camera suite for safety purposes included in the base package? Does DD Premium activate other sensors for the 360 suround view? Anyone know?

Have a look here.

 

[EZEVDriver]

Have a look here.

I meant which sensors and cameras are available under which DD versions. To accomplish the blind spot monitoring on the display, I assume there are two additional side cameras that have to be active. Which cameras/sensors are active for the surround view? I'm (gently) suggesting that lane keeping could be implemented with cameras only as it is with Tesla and other EVs. So the incorporation of lane keeping into a $12,000 package is that it is the only differentiated feature in HA, which has otherwise added no new features.

 

[Bobby]

I meant which sensors and cameras are available under which DD versions. To accomplish the blind spot monitoring on the display, I assume there are two additional side cameras that have to be active. Which cameras/sensors are active for the surround view? I'm (gently) suggesting that lane keeping could be implemented with cameras only as it is with Tesla and other EVs. So the incorporation of lane keeping into a $12,000 package is that it is the only differentiated feature in HA, which has otherwise added no new features.

Certainly that does make sense as we stand. However, I would imagine they plan to institute more features… Or at least I hope so! When they do, I imagine there will be a long thread of people on this forum complaining that it now costs $14,000.

 

[Adnillien]

I meant which sensors and cameras are available under which DD versions. To accomplish the blind spot monitoring on the display, I assume there are two additional side cameras that have to be active. Which cameras/sensors are active for the surround view? I'm (gently) suggesting that lane keeping could be implemented with cameras only as it is with Tesla and other EVs. So the incorporation of lane keeping into a $12,000 package is that it is the only differentiated feature in HA, which has otherwise added no new features.

Since radar and LiDAR cannot see lane lines, this is a pretty good guess.

 

[GMan]

Feedback from SA on whether a DDPremium purchase now may be used towards a future DDPro upgrade later ...

"According to current terms, electing DreamDrive Premium now will not decrease the cost of a Pro upgrade later."

So, for those of us choosing DDPrem now, please do not come back to this forum later and complain that the upgrade cost should be applied to DDPro. You have been informed.

 

[Babyrocko1908]

Feedback from SA on whether a DDPremium purchase now may be used towards a future DDPro upgrade later ...

"According to current terms, electing DreamDrive Premium now will not decrease the cost of a Pro upgrade later."

So, for those of us choosing DDPrem now, please do not come back to this forum later and complain that the upgrade cost should be applied to DDPro. You have been informed.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I have a problem with car companies starting to make functions only available via a subscription. But I have no problem with a car company offering the option as an initial purchase, or a purchase after a trial period, or a subscription after a trial period. More choices without forcing a particular solution on the customer.

I applaud Lucid for what it is doing.

 

[Cali Bob]

Got my email and then I happen to see there is a sorftware update wiaitng to go through. I have a hard time seeing how I go on without the surround view cameras

 

[openball]

Feedback from SA on whether a DDPremium purchase now may be used towards a future DDPro upgrade later ...

"According to current terms, electing DreamDrive Premium now will not decrease the cost of a Pro upgrade later."

So, for those of us choosing DDPrem now, please do not come back to this forum later and complain that the upgrade cost should be applied to DDPro. You have been informed.

Feedback from SA on whether a DDPremium purchase now may be used towards a future DDPro upgrade later ...

"According to current terms, electing DreamDrive Premium now will not decrease the cost of a Pro upgrade later."

So, for those of us choosing DDPrem now, please do not come back to this forum later and complain that the upgrade cost should be applied to DDPro. You have been informed.

Is this good practice? good for business? I'm invested heavily in this company and this does not seem to work for me. I would gladly jump on DDPro at the current price if it was more advanced; and it will be soon. I intended to jump on DDPrem but with this development I will wait until DDPro is worth it. Investing an additional $14k in the company shares until the service is ready will hopefully pay for itself.
I've also noticed that it is users who had the initial bundle that are okay with this new pricing, but you all need to analyze it from both sides. It is way too early to charge 14k to users who already have the hardware, they have tried it for 90 days and the service is not worth 14k. If it was a case of adding the hardware then a majority will jump on the opportunity.
The hardware is already present and an offer to buy at the original or current price will benefit Lucid more (I don't understand how most people do not get this).
A clear statement with a future price increase will cause most people to jump on the offer which will only benefit the company.
It absolutely makes no sense to offer a subscription to existing owners that is higher than the current price.

 

[joec]

Is this good practice? good for business? I'm invested heavily in this company and this does not seem to work for me. I would gladly jump on DDPro at the current price if it was more advanced; and it will be soon. I intended to jump on DDPrem but with this development I will wait until DDPro is worth it. Investing an additional $14k in the company shares until the service is ready will hopefully pay for itself.
I've also noticed that it is users who had the initial bundle that are okay with this new pricing, but you all need to analyze it from both sides. It is way too early to charge 14k to users who already have the hardware, they have tried it for 90 days and the service is not worth 14k. If it was a case of adding the hardware then a majority will jump on the opportunity.
The hardware is already present and an offer to buy at the original or current price will benefit Lucid more (I don't understand how most people do not get this).
A clear statement with a future price increase will cause most people to jump on the offer which will only benefit the company.
It absolutely makes no sense to offer a subscription to existing owners that is higher than the current price.

Let's start by clarifying that it's not a subscription. It's a one-time purchase.

Now that's out of the way…

The only perpsective that matters here is Lucid's perspective. They are trying to run a business and maximize their revenue. With that in mind…

Think of new customers who have not yet bought their Air. Lucid tells these customers "Purchase DDPro now, and it will be $x. Or enjoy a 90-day trial period for free, then purchase for $x + $y.

Given the purchase later is more expensive, at least some customers buy DDPro immediately, not wanting to miss out on the cheaper pricing. This makes Lucid more quick, short-term money. They get a return on the investment of including the hardware three months sooner. They also get people driving around using these features, feeding their training data.

Others don't buy up front but do decide it's worth the extra money and purchase at the higher price three months later, bringing in even more revenue. Sure, those customers are kicking themselves for having to pay more, but they like the features, and they accept the higher price as the cost of delaying their purchase.

The majority of customers never buy, which is true regardless of how Lucid approaches this.


Now let's try it your way. Lucid tells the same customers "Purchase DDPro now, and it will be $x. Or enjoy a 90-day free trial, and then you can STILL purchase it later for $x.

What customer in their right mind would purchase up front at that point? That's right. No customer. No one says no to three months of free money.

So now Lucid gets at best a 90-day delay from all of their customers on that DDPro price. No extra money, no data from those drivers.

Plus, a good portion of the folks who would have purchased up front never end up purchasing, as after the 90-day trial they decide they can wait a bit longer after all for more features to arrive. They can purchase at any time at no cost penalty, so why not wait until next year? The year after? And so on.

Lucid loses all around.

Make sense now?

 

[openball]

Let's start by clarifying that it's not a subscription. It's a one-time purchase.

Now that's out of the way…

The only perpsective that matters here is Lucid's perspective. They are trying to run a business and maximize their revenue. With that in mind…

Think of new customers who have not yet bought their Air. Lucid tells these customers "Purchase DDPro now, and it will be $x. Or enjoy a 90-day trial period for free, then purchase for $x + $y.

Given the purchase later is more expensive, at least some customers buy DDPro immediately, not wanting to miss out on the cheaper pricing. This makes Lucid more quick, short-term money. They get a return on the investment of including the hardware three months sooner. They also get people driving around using these features, feeding their training data.

Others don't buy up front but do decide it's worth the extra money and purchase at the higher price three months later, bringing in even more revenue. Sure, those customers are kicking themselves for having to pay more, but they like the features, and they accept the higher price as the cost of delaying their purchase.

The majority of customers never buy, which is true regardless of how Lucid approaches this.


Now let's try it your way. Lucid tells the same customers "Purchase DDPro now, and it will be $x. Or enjoy a 90-day free trial, and then you can STILL purchase it later for $x.

What customer in their right mind would purchase up front at that point? That's right. No customer. No one says no to three months of free money.

So now Lucid gets at best a 90-day delay from all of their customers on that DDPro price. No extra money, no data from those drivers.

Plus, a good portion of the folks who would have purchased up front never end up purchasing, as after the 90-day trial they decide they can wait a bit longer after all for more features to arrive. They can purchase at any time at no cost penalty, so why not wait until next year? The year after? And so on.

Lucid loses all around.

Make sense now?

You missed the point of the entire post, I can guess you already have DDPro.
Now, the subscription used was wrongly worded, I know it is a one time payment.
The main point I made which you agree with but don't even realize it, is that it should be sold at the current price (read my text again) It makes absolutely no sense to sell it higher than the "original or current price"
Now for your second part - "lets try it your way"....
My way is they should make the offer now, after the 90 day period NOT when the 90 day period is offered. isn't that the whole point of the trial?.... buy at x price now or at a premium after it expires...

Do you get it now?

 

[joec]

You missed my point entire post, I can guess you already have DDPro.
Now, the subscription used was wrongly worded, I know it is a one time payment.
The main point I made which you agree with but don't even realize it, is that it should be sold at the current price (read my text again) It makes absolutely no sense to sell it higher than the "original or current price"
Now for your second part - "lets try it your way"....
My way is they should make the offer now, after the 90 day period NOT when the 90 day period is offered. isn't that the whole point of the trial?.... buy at x price now or at a premium after it expires...

Do you get it now?

No. I don't. What you are describing is exactly what they are doing. They are offering you a chance to purchase after the trial ended at a higher price.

Are you saying they should say the price will be higher when you buy the car, and then backtrack on that and offer it for the same price after 90 days?

I'm so confused.