How Did You First Become Aware of Lucid?

[hmp10]

@borski mentioned on another thread that he first became aware of Lucid when he walked by a showroom and went in to check things out, triggering an interest that grew into his current very interesting relationship with the company and its products.

I thought it might be interesting to poll other members for their "origin stories".

Here's mine:

Back in early 2017 my brother, who is an EV addict, told me that a 1,000-horsepower car with 400 miles of range was in development by a company called Lucid. I was incredulous about the power and range claim and a cross between dismissive and derisive about naming a car company "Lucid". But I couldn't get the power claim out of my mind, and after a few days I began searching for more information.

What I found was intriguing, especially the credentials of the man running the development program, Peter Rawlinson, and the background of Atieva, which I had not known was the sole supplier of battery packs to Formula E racing. So I began taking Lucid seriously. As a Tesla owner, I was also watching the ups and downs of Tesla. Musk tried to take the company private with Saudi funding in mid-2018, but the deal fell apart in August, and the next month Lucid announced it had secured Saudi funding to build a factory and put the Air into production.

Suddenly, things started looking very real with Lucid, and as soon as Air reservations opened in September 2020 I put down a deposit. I have been tracking the ups, downs, ins, and outs of Lucid ever since and this year followed my Air pattern with the Gravity: plopping down a deposit the day orders opened and doing the same again when Gravity Dream orders opened.

And my brother, who started all this and is throwing in the towel on his Tesla, is planning to do the same thing with the Lucid Earth mid-size.

 

[sri]

I came to know about Lucid from a Hyundai sales person back in 2019.

 

[boydracing]

Jan 26, 2015 - got a text from my cousin who had an interview with a start-up and was asking me for advice. He joined Atieva. He showed me a Golf with 4 people that spun its tires all the way down the block. The name changed to Lucid. I then attended their Air showing in Newport Beach (2017) with my cousin and this is where I met Peter Rawlingson. I told him one day I would get a Lucid. I have been a share holder for LCID off and on over the years. Currently now, I have all my hobbies settled, awesome place to live, last action item is to get my long term vehicle.

 

[segbrk]

I had been following Tesla since the original roadster. I'm an efficiency nerd more than a gearhead, so the idea of an attainable high performance EV was always very enticing. I never saw a roadster in person, but I eventually got to ride in a friend's Model S, and I was convinced I'd own one some day. Once they fixed the issues with pieces falling off and whatnot.

I first heard of Lucid around 2016 when the first headlines in Car&Driver, Electrek and so on announced this strange battery company's intent to build a car. The things they had to say sounded good. Too good. So I dismissed it, yet another startup that'll never have a real product under the sun.

From there I saw mention of it occasionally, I knew they had funding, I knew they were building a factory, but I still doubted it. One day I was walking through the Tysons mall and saw a Lucid studio with all kinds of pretty renderings of cars and motors, and I said to my girlfriend: "Look at that, that company spent all their money on rent and CGI, they're never going to make cars." A few months go by and I'm back at that same mall. Now there are cars on the studio floor. I stand corrected. They're pretty, I want one, I start doing more research. I came across Peter's tech talks, and Peter's and Emad's unbridled enthusiasm and nerdiness sold me the rest of the way.

At that point I fully intended to wait for Gravity, because I often need more ground clearance than the Air to get to hikes. Then I started to see Airs on the roads here and there. Immediately eye-catching, spaceship things. Nope, I couldn't wait. I placed an order online for an inventory Touring. Never even went for a test drive or to look at them up close, the first time I sat in a Lucid was when I drove mine out of the Tysons service center.

 

[SaratogaLefty]

So my first encounter with EV cars was the Tesla Roadster. My friend set up a test drive for us and I was very impressed with the acceleration but found it difficult to enter/exit and not very comfortable. Subsequently my friend bought one of the very first Model S Teslas and he got lifetime free charging. Went for a ride with him the day he picked it up in 2012 and again very impressed with the acceleration although he is a terrible driver. As time went by I became less impressed with his model S and continued my love affair with Porsches. In 2018 I bought the Porsche Panamera e-Hybrid (my fourth Porsche) and it was a fabulous car. Decided in 2021 to look at the Taycan and took a test drive. I thought I had a very good negotiated deal with a dealer in the Bay Area so I sold the Panamera but subsequently the Porsche dealer screwed me over. I had seen the Lucid at the Valley Fair Studio, and in April, 2021, I put down a deposit on a Quantum Grey AGT. The Dream Edition was all sold out but I put my name on the waitlist in case someone cancelled their order. Then in October Lucid increased the limited edition run from 500 to 520 (to match the EPA rating) and I got moved up. Took delivery on March 8th, 2022.

 

[Murcie]

I learned about Lucid when the PIF invested in it, after they ditched Tesla and the famous tweet to take it private. I started reading more about, learning how technically superior it will be, and started investing in it since $CCIV days, I just checked my very first stock purchase and it was in January of 2021. Those who were aware of it back then remember the rollercoaster we went through, but I still like the stock lol.
I saw @borski’s post about his first encounter with Lucid, and I thought the time and location were familiar, so I went digging into my photo album, and I realized it was also the same time and place I saw a Lucid in person, in August 2021 at Westfield Valley Fair while visiting family in the Bay Area! They didn’t allow anyone to sit in the car, claiming it’s pre-production, which was disappointing, but I’m glad that the very first Lucid I sat in was my own car when I took delivery 2.5 years later!

 

[doubletwist]

I saw one on the road once, years ago, and thought it looked cool. Even before I ever saw a Rivian. Didn't think much about it after that since I knew I couldn't afford one. Then this year I was looking into finally going electric and the Lucid came up in my search. I still think it looked amazing and started researching it along with the other vehicles I was considering (EQE/EQS, Audi Q6, Genesis GV60,etc). I was hesitant to drive 1+hrs to test drive one (I HATE going up to Plano) but gave in to my curiosity and went to drive one.

Once I got behind the wheel I knew I had to have one. It has some obvious shortcomings compared to the others I looked at, but in driving feel and comfort (with the exception of ingress/egress) it was miles ahead.

 

[bassem]

While working for Tesla back in 2018, I heard about the original model s team launching the Air, I knew that they had some very good ideas on how to create a better ev, the rest was following my passion to be a proud owner of a Lucid Air Touring !

 

[jbawden]

I think what brought it into focus for me was the Jonny Lieberman/Motor Trend stories in 2021. I had heard about it prior, but wasn't paying attention really.

 

[marqie]

Back in 2016, I interviewed for a web developer role at a little known company called Atieva. I knew the company was planning to make an EV but not much more than that. After I accepted the position, I learned what would be the company's new name -- Lucid Motors. My original hiring manager was Zak Edson, who, on my very first day, took me into the design studio to see the Air prototype. As far as first days go, it doesn't get much better than that. Within a few weeks of joining, I helped launch the new Lucid website and coded our very first reservation page. I have been with the company ever since!

 

[thyname]

I saw Lucid several years ago in a Shopping Mall show room (aka "studio"). Major one, indoors (Tysons Corner, Virginia). I kept going back there (almost) every time I went shopping at that mall, admiring the Air. I just could not afford it. Until last month

 

[crareman]

The Colonial Pipeline ramsomware attack in May of 2021 left the East coast very wanting for gasoline. We were supposed to visit our daughter's family in Wilderness, VA (just west of Fredericksburg). We were going to cancell until my son-in-law local to us said "take my Tesla, you don't need gas". We did. A month later the Tesla son-in-law sent me a link to an article about Lucid, I really liked it. Followed Lucid on line, took the hour drive to Tysons Studio, eventually ordered, took delivery November 2022. All my friends said I was nuts, wait a year or two, glad I didn't listen to them.

 

[borski]

This is my favorite thread in years.

 

[CraZ8]

I was at a car event at the Manhattan motor car location July 21 2021. I wandered out to the parking lot and there were two preproduction dreams in eureka gold. I was smitten right there and then. I had two model S back to back for 7 years prior and was primed to get another but was not happy the Tesla still had not had a major restyling. Plus the interior was still cheap looking. I read up on Lucid and put down a deposit

 

[MacBain00]

Heard about Lucid when PIF invested in it but never really looked into them since I wasn't car shopping. I loved my Ford Fusion (2007 and 2017) so why look at cars. Fast forward to Mar 2024, I was in the privileged position to spend around $1K/month on a lease and I wanted an EV that wasn't a Tesla. Lucid was at the top of the list, but I didn't want a GT and the Touring winter heating reviews were not great. I spent the better part of 4 months researching about EVs and then Lucid announced the 2025 Air changes which included the heat pump into the 2025 Touring. Placed my order for the Touring as soon as the website was updated to include the option.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

I heard about Lucid VERY early because I’ve been an EV Geek since buying a Volt back in 2011 and read every article I could find about Lucid. My wife and I actually had two of the first Prii (plural for Prius, LOL) on the East Coast back in the early 2000’s and we’re on the cover of the Style Section of The NY Times for it, LOL.

Anyway, I loved the Lucid tech, was in awe of the range and specs but wasn’t initially crazy about the styling (but that grew on me).

A good friend took the plunge early and tried to convince me to get one back in 2021 but I had a 2018 Tesla M3P and I’ve always been a small car guy, so even though he loved his Air, I never really thought about buying one back then.

Fast forward to my M3P having 70k miles on it, becoming a rattle trap and a political hot potato all at once and so I decided to go test drive the Air back in November last year. The car had me at hello. I wish I realized how much better it was than any other car I’ve owned sooner! But then again, I might not have gotten a 2025 and I am really pleased with the mid-cycle refresh they’ve done!!!

 

[Domo35]

First introduced to Lucid at Car Week in Carmel, CA in 2017. A prototype with reclining back seats, was showcased on the streets. Unfortunately, only to look at and not sit in (wish I had more photos of this beauty). Purchased Tesla Model 3 Performance in 2018. A few years later, got in on the Lucid SPAC, then stock, then decided I wanted something different than the Model 3 and purchased 2022 GT.

 

[Sid432]

As an investor, I became aware of Lucid Motors through my extensive investment in CCIV. Despite not being familiar with the company prior, I conducted some research and discovered that the Lucid Air’s range was approximately 519 miles. I subsequently visited the studio to inspect the vehicle in person and place a deposit for the Air Pure model. However, I ultimately decided to upgrade to the Touring model, which I believe is the best car I have ever driven.

 

[Lester Atlas]

My car broke down in the middle of nowhere and we had to have a wrecker come get us. As we were all riding the 2 hours home in the cab of the truck I mentioned that this was exactly why I was switching from gas to electric, so I wouldn't have these sorts of problems. The driver asked what I was getting. I told him I was pulling the trigger next week on a Tesla Model S. He asked if I had looked at the lucid, and then proceeded to tell me how amazing Lucid was and that they had all these deals that made the car damn near as cheap as a Tesla. When I got home, I researched Lucid, and then flew to LA the following week to test drive one since there are no dealerships or owners in Idaho. Test drive = HOOKED. That was 2 months ago. I now have a '25 AGT stealth parked in my garage!

 

[borski]

For anyone wondering if in-person events work, this thread is a pretty good testament to the fact that they do. So many of us discovered the brand and the car simply by seeing it. Keep it coming! I’ll post my full story a bit later when I’m at a computer.