Gravity Orders Discussion

[hmp10]

The ability to tow

I don't always guess correctly, but I did get that one right.

However, is it just an installed mount for a tow pommel and brake light connectors, or does it involve some reinforcement of the frame and/or powertrain software modifications?

In other words, can it be added later at a Service Center?

The airflow under Lucids is so carefully managed that I wonder if it disrupts that in any significant way?

 

[tonybot]

I don't always guess correctly, but I did get that one right.

However, is it just an installed mount for a tow pommel and brake light connectors, or does it involve some reinforcement of the frame and/or powertrain software modifications?

In other words, can it be added later at a Service Center?

The airflow under Lucids is so carefully managed that I wonder if it disrupts that in any significant way?

I was told by my SA that it can’t be added on. They were all advised to ask customers to add one if they need as it can’t be added later on.

 

[joec]

The release mentions it in 2 places. In the bullet items near the top, it just says "into its vehicles in 2024", but in the text below it clarifies "future vehicles in 2025" which covers the Air not necessarily getting it right away, but the Gravity shipping with it since it will essentially be 2025 when it is released and is likely listed as a 2025 model.

The 2025 Air will not ship with NACS. It's already shipping with CCS, and that won't change throughout all of next year. Possibly not the next, either. A lot will depend on when the actual Tesla supercharging deal is in place.

 

[HC_79]

I don't always guess correctly, but I did get that one right.

However, is it just an installed mount for a tow pommel and brake light connectors, or does it involve some reinforcement of the frame and/or powertrain software modifications?

In other words, can it be added later at a Service Center?

The airflow under Lucids is so carefully managed that I wonder if it disrupts that in any significant way?

Seems like the stock standard that comes with most cars. $750 seems the be the norm also

 

[joec]

Any Lucid can charge at a Tesla supercharger that has a magic dock. They're pretty rare, but they exist. Any CCS car can do that, whether or not their manufacturer has an agreement - you just need to open an account with the Tesla app.

Yes, we all know about Magic Dock. All 20 of them.

When folks talk about being excited by being able to use Superchargers, they are talking about going to ANY Supercharger, plugging in, and getting a charge. This will not be possible at Gravity launch. Ford, Rivian, Volvo just got access very recently. Lucid will follow at some point, but probably not for a while. It all depends on Tesla.

 

[NoseyReporter]

Random thought:

In the Air, if your battery is full. Regen turns off.

What happen if you are towing a heavy load, say 5500lbs, traveling downhill, and your battery is full? Do you lose all regen assist? Is the only way to control your downhill speed via brakes? Or do they apply some current to the motors in "reverse" to help slow the car down? <- not a EE but assuming this is possible.

 

[hmp10]

Seems like the stock standard that comes with most cars. $750 seems the be the norm also

View attachment 24537

Oh, I see. I looked at the info tab on the order configurator myself, but I didn't notice that you have to scroll down to catch the second paragraph.

Some of the posts had me thinking about whether I wanted to add it to my order in case I ever sell the car to someone who wants towing ability, but I don't want that hardware protruding from the undercarriage.

 

[hmp10]

Random thought:

In the Air, if your battery is full. Regen turns off.

What happen if you are towing a heavy load, say 5500lbs, traveling downhill, and your battery is full? Do you lose all regen assist? Is the only way to control your downhill speed via brakes? Or do they apply some current to the motors in "reverse" to help slow the car down? <- not a EE but assuming this is possible.

I don't know that regen turns off. It's that a full battery has no capacity to take the current input from regeneration. That would be the case whether towing or not.

 

[tonybot]

Yes, we all know about Magic Dock. All 20 of them.

When folks talk about being excited by being able to use Superchargers, they are talking about going to ANY Supercharger, plugging in, and getting a charge. This will not be possible at Gravity launch. Ford, Rivian, Volvo just got access very recently. Lucid will follow at some point, but probably not for a while. It all depends on Tesla.

We have seen some pictures of Gravity changing at what seems to be regular Tesla chargers. Could that be part of the testing? I also read somewhere that Tesla could open access to individuals, such as some influencers. Curious what that means?

 

[NoseyReporter]

I don't know that regen turns off. It's that a full battery has no capacity to take the current input from regeneration. That would be the case whether towing or not.

But in the case of towing, your 5000lbs system is now doubled to 10,000 lbs.

So I'm genuinely curious how they deal with that type of situation. Full battery, downhill, hauling a large load, how do you manage the speed?

 

[skomarla]

But in the case of towing, your 5000lbs system is now doubled to 10,000 lbs.

So I'm genuinely curious how they deal with that type of situation. Full battery, downhill, hauling a large load, how do you manage the speed?

how do you manage this in an ICE vehicle?

 

[WeighingGravity]

I can't imagine a world where I would tow in my Gravity, and I can't imagine it having much if any impact on resale value, so I'm comfortable leaving it off my build. I actually don't really see why towing is considered a big deal in EVs. I assume towing absolutely crushes range, making it practical really only for in-town towing. I guess that works if you're a landscape contractor with a zero-turn on a trailer? or maybe you have a small boat you need to be able to take down to a local slip? Or maybe you want to tow a teardrop camper and are ok stopping to charge a LOT? I have a tough time accepting that even a super-efficient EV with towing is much more than a narrow boutique need.

 

[Leftlane]

I haven’t searched for a picture, but if the Gravity is anything like my wife’s Infiniti QX80 (or Tahoes, etc) the tow hitch receiver is hidden behind a body colored panel that you remove when you put the hitch on. Nothing protrudes if you aren’t using it - if the Gravity is the same it would make sense to add it now because $750 is a deal, it will cost a lot more if you ever try to retrofit (if possible), and it will help in resale if you aren’t leasing.

 

[skomarla]

I think the most immediate use case is for bike racks. those would need hitch receivers. if you are likely to get a bike rack, i think 750 to have the factory do it is straightforward. in my wife's acura mdx, the dealer wanted over a thousand to do it.

 

[WeighingGravity]

RE: bike racks: Fair point.

That does bring up another question for me though - I haven't seen any allusions to roof-mounted racks on Gravity. They definitely weren't in the configurator, nor do I recall much discussion about them in these forums. But I did see a handsome roof rack on an Air at the local showroom. Has anyone seen or heard anything about Gravity roof racks?

 

[NoseyReporter]

how do you manage this in an ICE vehicle?

Lots of trucks will try to use the transmission to hold downhill speeds; downshift. Then you can just tap the brakes to bring it under control.

Diesel trucks have jake brake system.

 

[hmp10]

But in the case of towing, your 5000lbs system is now doubled to 10,000 lbs.

So I'm genuinely curious how they deal with that type of situation. Full battery, downhill, hauling a large load, how do you manage the speed?

I'm pretty sure the friction brakes will have enough oomph for the relatively low speeds and short duration of such a situation. Nobody should have any business going downhill with a trailer at speeds that would overtax the brakes. Also, you will have regenerative braking once battery capacity drops down near 90%, so this is very much an outlier situation you pose.

 

[hmp10]

RE: bike racks: Fair point.

That does bring up another question for me though - I haven't seen any allusions to roof-mounted racks on Gravity. They definitely weren't in the configurator, nor do I recall much discussion about them in these forums. But I did see a handsome roof rack on an Air at the local showroom. Has anyone seen or heard anything about Gravity roof racks?

I don't know if they're still up, but Lucid did post some promo images of the Gravity carrying a roof clamshell. Remember that the roof rack mounts were standard on the Air and never showed up in an order configurator. I cannot imagine the Gravity won't have them.

 

[hmp10]

I can't imagine a world where I would tow in my Gravity, and I can't imagine it having much if any impact on resale value, so I'm comfortable leaving it off my build. I actually don't really see why towing is considered a big deal in EVs. I assume towing absolutely crushes range, making it practical really only for in-town towing. I guess that works if you're a landscape contractor with a zero-turn on a trailer? or maybe you have a small boat you need to be able to take down to a local slip? Or maybe you want to tow a teardrop camper and are ok stopping to charge a LOT? I have a tough time accepting that even a super-efficient EV with towing is much more than a narrow boutique need.

Agree. Rawlinson himself has said that he thinks EV pickups are really not feasible with current battery technology if they would be used for a significant amount of towing. So I think all this talk about a 6,000-pound towing capacity on the Gravity is more for marketing purposes than real-life use cases except the light-weight towing for short distances that you mentioned.

 

[flarbear]

The 2025 Air will not ship with NACS. It's already shipping with CCS, and that won't change throughout all of next year. Possibly not the next, either. A lot will depend on when the actual Tesla supercharging deal is in place.

Which is what I said. You were saying that the press releaase cannot be right because the Air doesn't support it and I was pointing out that the press release is correct because it only applies to "future vehicles" which is consistent with the Air not getting it.