Gravity Delivery Discussion

[HC_79]

As the deliveries for customers were promised by end of April we should be expecting VINs assigned and also lucid releasing the lease & finance details in the next 10 days. Cars to the showrooms will probably be after a few DE customer deliveries.

Cars to showrooms were supposed to be happening starting beginning of April and not entirely sure any have received any beyond the NY Studio. Lucid has always been transparent that the next cars in line were destined for Studios. If Studios aren't receiving cars still then maybe the April delivery to customers has gone out the window. Order finalization, etc. is probably overdue to meet an end of April delivery unless picking up at the factory.

 

[hmp10]

When this thread opened three and a half months and 31 pages ago, this was the opening post:

"Post Deliveries here!"

Now, that was optimism.

 

[hydbob]

When this thread opened three and a half months and 31 pages ago, this was the opening post:

"Post Deliveries here!"

Now, that was optimism.

Yea...I should have known better.

 

[HC_79]

Yea...I should have known better.

Don't think anyone thought Lucid was going to epically fail and have a worse delivery ramp up compared to the Air. Have to give them credit, whatever the issue is that caused such a significant delay in deliveries has remained top secret. No one is buying the "This is normal, nothing to see here" line.

 

[hmp10]

Cars to showrooms were supposed to be happening starting beginning of April and not entirely sure any have received any beyond the NY Studio.

Actually, Mark Winterhoff said cars would arrive at showrooms beginning in April -- and we're only halfway through -- not at the beginning of April. From the link you provided earlier:

"We have nearly completed building vehicles for studios and test drives and expect them to begin arriving at our locations across the U.S. beginning in April."

I'm not sure what's going on in the NYC studio. Someone went by there after the big event and said Gravities were on display but could not be test driven, although the event itself included at least ride-alongs.

 

[Adnillien]

Actually, Mark Winterhoff said cars would arrive at showrooms beginning in April -- and we're only halfway through -- not at the beginning of April. From the link you provided earlier:

"We have nearly completed building vehicles for studios and test drives and expect them to begin arriving at our locations across the U.S. beginning in April."

I'm not sure what's going on in the NYC studio. Someone went by there after the big event and said Gravities were on display but could not be test driven, although the event itself included at least ride-alongs.

I was told that Lucid made the decision to not allow test drives until the press reviews are released. Lucid does not want anything going on that may detract from the press reviews. It would not surprise me to see Studio cars appear in the studios a few days after the press embargo lifts. Of course, it also would not surprise me to see it take until sometime in May for Studio cars to arrive. Lucid appears to be deliberately withholding information now so that momentum can build after the press reviews.

 

[HC_79]

I was told that Lucid made the decision to not allow test drives until the press reviews are released. Lucid does not want anything going on that may detract from the press reviews. It would not surprise me to see Studio cars appear in the studios a few days after the press embargo lifts. Of course, it also would not surprise me to see it take until sometime in May for Studio cars to arrive. Lucid appears to be deliberately withholding information now so that momentum can build after the press reviews.

Maybe I'm wrong but I just have a feeling that Lucid is hiding something and is actively trying to control the narrative to buy themselves more time. It’s relatively easy for them to dictate what the press can and can’t discuss or show, unlike a random person getting in a car, filming something, and posting it online. The entire approach to this launch is quite peculiar; they initiate something and then abruptly go silent, only to repeat the same with test drives over a weekend then abruptly stop them.

 

[jered]

That seems a little paranoid -- I'm sure it's just not wanting to flood YouTube with test drivers before the official videos. The press isn't going to just ignore major problems.

The complaint I'm expecting to have is that the ADAS won't as good as my Tesla. I never let it drive in city traffic, but the behavior (lane selection, passing, general lane-keeping, etc) is really great for everything from divided highways to loooong rural roads. I miss that whenever I have a rental, and I'm sure I'll miss that despite the DreamDrive 2 Pro features that do exist. I have faith that they'll be at parity someday, but it might not be before I've already moved on to a new vehicle!

 

[Adnillien]

Maybe I'm wrong but I just have a feeling that Lucid is hiding something and is actively trying to control the narrative to buy themselves more time. It’s relatively easy for them to dictate what the press can and can’t discuss or show, unlike a random person getting in a car, filming something, and posting it online. The entire approach to this launch is quite peculiar; they initiate something and then abruptly go silent, only to repeat the same with test drives over a weekend then abruptly stop them.

I understand your skepticism and deep down I even share some of it. However, I still hope that is well planned to build awareness and momentum.

 

[DeaneG]

That seems a little paranoid -- I'm sure it's just not wanting to flood YouTube with test drivers before the official videos. The press isn't going to just ignore major problems.

The complaint I'm expecting to have is that the ADAS won't as good as my Tesla. I never let it drive in city traffic, but the behavior (lane selection, passing, general lane-keeping, etc) is really great for everything from divided highways to loooong rural roads. I miss that whenever I have a rental, and I'm sure I'll miss that despite the DreamDrive 2 Pro features that do exist. I have faith that they'll be at parity someday, but it might not be before I've already moved on to a new vehicle!

Lucid's general lanekeeping and lane changes are fine. I don't think it's likely they will match Tesla's FSD in the foreseeable future, nor IMO should they try, as Lucid's software team is much smaller. But if you want the most comfortable, best driving car, there's no contest.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

What if we’ve heard nothing because Lucid wants to make a BIG splash? What if Gravities will be in the studios immediately after the lifting of the press embargo?

 

[hydbob]

What if we’ve heard nothing because Lucid wants to make a BIG splash? What if Gravities will be in the studios immediately after the lifting of the press embargo?

I'd argue that the marketing push for Gravity has been a little bit of a Jekyll and Hyde show. Time will tell, but so far, outside enthusiasts, it's much ado about nothing.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

I'd argue that the marketing push for Gravity has been a little bit of a Jekyll and Hyde show. Time will tell, but so far, outside enthusiasts, it's much ado about nothing.

I don’t disagree with you, but hope springs eternal, right?

 

[L-Dude]

Every time I feel antsy about my AGT order, I come into this thread to make myself feel better . I have no dog in this fight, but my feeling is that Lucid is trying to resolve some last minute issues before ramping up production. I wasn't here during the Air launch however it seems like they are trying really hard to produce a car that isn't riddled with gremlins.

I am (was) in a high pressure, deadline-driven business where people always wanted the product now now now. But in the end, no one remembers whether it was a week or two late, but they do remember if it was screwed up when you delivered it.

 

[flarbear]

That seems a little paranoid -- I'm sure it's just not wanting to flood YouTube with test drivers before the official videos. The press isn't going to just ignore major problems.

The complaint I'm expecting to have is that the ADAS won't as good as my Tesla. I never let it drive in city traffic, but the behavior (lane selection, passing, general lane-keeping, etc) is really great for everything from divided highways to loooong rural roads. I miss that whenever I have a rental, and I'm sure I'll miss that despite the DreamDrive 2 Pro features that do exist. I have faith that they'll be at parity someday, but it might not be before I've already moved on to a new vehicle!

Did you have FSD or just AP? You said you didn't let it drive in city traffic so I would expect that meant that you hadn't opted for FSD?

The basic AP software used to be amazing and I'm not sure but if you didn't have FSD you might have kept the AP highway software all along...?

Those of use that paid for FSD used to have that very mature and stable AP on the highway until recently. First the HW4 cars got the "FSD everywhere" update and then only recently did my old HW3 car get it. And... it was a huge step backwards. The AP software I'd trust in a minute, but the FSD software - while being a pretty cool party trick that could do a lot - was something I trusted less than a teenager with a learner's permit. And when the merged stack came along unleashing FSD on the highway I really didn't like it. It was happily ping-ponging across the lane and trying to sniff other car's (or, worse, truck's) door handles. One trip I spent 4 or 5 miles riding the Bott's Dots along the lane boundary waiting to see if it would snap out of it (very low traffic late at night and no, it never snapped out of it). Two software updates later it was back to mediocre (2017 levels and still wandering back and forth but never riding the lane markers) but never seemed to be approaching the good performance of the original AP version I had just a few months ago. I was happy to get rid of it for my Polestar 3 even though the PS Pilot software is not well regarded - at least it's not sniffing door handles.

So, as long as Gravity performs at least as well as the FSD version of Tesla highway autopilot I'll be happy.

Basically, until about 3 months ago I shared your "how will I live without Tesla AP on the highway", but after that it was more "this isn't fun any more and I hope that anybody's highway ADAS is better than this".

 

[HC_79]

The press isn't going to just ignore major problems

If you recall the Air, nothing was mentioned about the software in the initial reviews. Later, it was revealed that the press was not permitted to discuss it. For those of us who were part of the early UX1.0 days, we can understand why it was avoided from being mentioned.

Don’t underestimate the control a company has over the press, especially when it comes to invited events. Trash the brand, and they’ll never be invited back. Alex from the now defunct E for Electric destroyed his career by speaking negatively about car companies in the end. He started calling them out and never got invited to press events again.

 

[HC_79]

What if we’ve heard nothing because Lucid wants to make a BIG splash? What if Gravities will be in the studios immediately after the lifting of the press embargo?

Hope you’re right

 

[HC_79]

I understand your skepticism and deep down I even share some of it. However, I still hope that is well planned to build awareness and momentum.

I hope I’m wrong and you’re right.

 

[RoninHard]

What if we’ve heard nothing because Lucid wants to make a BIG splash? What if Gravities will be in the studios immediately after the lifting of the press embargo?

I think it will be something like this based on Winterhoff's NYC speech:
"Also, you will see probably around mid-April some media reviews, because we're conducting extensive media test drives in the first half of April. And then, after that in the second half of April we will then start test drives for our customers." I know second half could technically be the last day of the month, but I'm hopeful reviews post tomorrow or by end of week at the latest and then Gravities show up in studios by next week at the latest for test driving. I'm trying to beat down my pessimistic side and be optimistic for a change!

 

[Batteryman]

Maybe I'm wrong but I just have a feeling that Lucid is hiding something and is actively trying to control the narrative to buy themselves more time. It’s relatively easy for them to dictate what the press can and can’t discuss or show, unlike a random person getting in a car, filming something, and posting it online. The entire approach to this launch is quite peculiar; they initiate something and then abruptly go silent, only to repeat the same with test drives over a weekend then abruptly stop them.

It’s just a car, a month or two delay is nothing as long as they get it right…..remember, if Gravity has the same issues they had with the initial Air quality and software, they are toast. Would you rather they release defective vehicles or spend a month or two rectifying the issues? It’s not like they are delaying cancer treatment.