Gravity Delivery Discussion

[AirDoll]

A number of people here seem to have the impression Lucid somehow planned to not be able to deliver HUD, and set up orders with it knowing they’d eventually have to pull it.

You all get that’s not how this stuff works, right?

My guess is up until a week ago, Lucid thought they were fine on delivering vehicles with HUD in large numbers. They likely had the parts contracts lined up, etc.

Then something changed. That’s life. That’s business. You react. You adapt. You make the tough call to ship with something missing rather than wait another year or more to start delivering cars.

And yes, that pisses some people off. Anything they did was going to piss some people off.

The goal is to make the decisions that piss people off the least while still accepting reality.

Given that frame, I think telling customers HUD is no longer going to be possible and refunding them the money for the option was likely the least bad of their available options.

I agree, the way they framed the option to get the DE in the same sentence was maybe not the best idea. That was probably better handled as a separate subject.

But if they have enough parts for those 400 or so cars, they might as well ship it in those cars for now. It’s clear the DE doesn’t have enough differentiation to appeal to enough customers. Otherwise it would have sold out by now. This may put it over the top. Selling out of DE is not a bad thing for the company. More profit for the company is better for the whole customer base right now. If you don’t want to contribute to that, that’s your choice. But there’s no question in my mind keeping the HUD on the DE was a good idea.

This comment should be pinned to the top.

 

[joec]

Agree, but not explaining the cause is the real problem. I don't think people would be worked up over the loss of HUD if Lucid gave a reasonable explanation.

Communication is hard. And I agree, Lucid isn't always great at it. But we don't know the circumstances. It's entirely possible they are not at liberty to say what happened.

 

[Murcie]

Fascinating. So, the 120V plugs are still available at a lesser upcharge. The dynamic lighting seems like a weird trim differentiation that I doubt is a differentiator for anyone. The real difference is the HUD being DE only.

That doesn't make sense from a general business perspective. The HUD is something that's specialized and expensive to develop, and limiting it to 450 units won't recoup the investment. That means it's either:
- To move more DEs earlier, as you theorize. Possible, but I'm sure they can sell them all. There may be considerations like they want to build all of the DEs (in the colors ordered) before moving on to the GTs, but otherwise... they will sell.
- The HUD is supply chain availability or cost/tariff constrained; they can't supply it for the GT or they can't eat the cost on that trim.
- The HUD doesn't work yet, and DE customers will be more understanding.

It's certainly a curious business choice to make this late in the game, but it's got to be backed by logic.

I agree with you, and I’ll add one more possibility, HUD might require manual calibration to ensure it’s properly focused based on the distance between the HUD unit and the front windshield, so manually doing so is possible for the special 450 DE limited edition units, but doesn’t make financial sense for mass production.

 

[Murcie]

I agree with you, and I’ll add one more possibility, HUD might require manual calibration to ensure it’s properly focused based on the distance between the HUD unit and the front windshield, so manually doing so is possible for the special 450 DE limited edition units, but doesn’t make financial sense for mass production.

I take that back lol, Nick just confirmed it’s just supply chain issues and it’ll be offered again later for the GGT.

 

[jered]

Wow, that's uncharacteristically awesome transparency! (Why didn't they say that all to start?)

 

[msaunders9430]

I wonder what they will do to my order now...i have a feeling they will end charging me more for it later since I want the GT with the HUD and 450 mile range. I don't really care about the DE with the additional HP. I'd be disappointed and as a matter of principle, cancel my order entirely if this is what they do. Here's hoping they don't that as I'm willing to wait for the car I ordered...

I take that back lol, Nick just confirmed it’s just supply chain issues and it’ll be offered again later for the GGT.
View attachment 28410

So one of the obvious questions is when will it be added back. Depending on the length of the wait, I'd request delaying fulfillment of my order until the HUD is available.

 

[borski]

I take that back lol, Nick just confirmed it’s just supply chain issues and it’ll be offered again later for the GGT.
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I am immensely surprised. I thought for sure they really wanted to steal your money.

Guess we should have more faith or something

 

[borski]

Wow, that's uncharacteristically awesome transparency! (Why didn't they say that all to start?)

Yeah, I really wish they would start out holding the fire extinguisher instead of doing contained but seemingly uncontrolled burns lol

 

[eelpout]

with this HUD news, my dillema will be, because I wouldn't get a Gravity without it, I'd wait, I'm guessing by the time that spec is available the Ranger Rover EV might be out for MY2026. I didn't order a 7 seat Gravity, so something the size and capacity of the full fat Range Rover is fine for me.

But I've made a pledge that I'm not getting another JLR until they get their ADAS up to modern standards.

 

[msaunders9430]

They’ve never publicly announced or promised either of those.

But they will come. Eventually.

Everything takes longer than I’d like with Lucid. That’s the common thread for my entire ownership so far. But when I look back on when I got the car vs now, it’s undeniable that the car has been improved dramatically.

And sitting in Gravity yesterday, it was clear that car is starting at a much better place than Air did. So it will be better faster.

So I just keep being patient. Sucks, but that’s the reality.

After almost a year of following Lucid and waiting on the Gravity, for me your "Everything takes longer ..." statement and the last sentence probably best sum up the mindset I need to embrace while I wait for my Gravity and even after delivery.

I want to say, I wish I had other alternatives, but I really do believe in this company.

 

[msaunders9430]

After almost a year of following Lucid and waiting on the Gravity, for me your "Everything takes longer ..." statement and the last sentence probably best sum up the mindset I need to embrace while I wait for my Gravity and even after delivery.

I want to say, I wish I had other alternatives, but I really do believe in this company.

Correction: After almost a year on this forum.

 

[Neuner89]

Has anyone received a notice of when the deliveries will begin again? I heard "end of April", but we're here now. I think also people forget, the original Air was delayed by over a year, and it sucked the wind out of the sails of momentum. Lucid reported back in Feb of 2022 that they had over "25,000" preorders for the Air. Imagine their financials if they could have timely fulfilled and continued that momentum at that time. I fear if they don't start delivering the Gravity soon, it will be met with the same fate, other automakers like Kia and Hyundai are stealing thunder. Any news?