Living with the Lucid Gravity: A Tesla Owner’s Journey

[borski]

I still couldn’t figure out the profile issue. As I mentioned above, even the sales rep told me this feature doesn’t exist right now. When I got home I tried again, but I couldn’t find where or how to set it up. If you know, I’d appreciate it if you could explain. It seems the Lucid App doesn’t support this for the Gravity yet.

Can you be more specific about your question? Which “profile issue”? (I’m not being dismissive; just want to make sure we’re not crossing wires)

About the soft reset — I didn’t mean to say it wasn’t in the user manual at all. Of course, it must be written there. What I meant is that when I go into the user manual section in the Lucid App, there’s no search function. I went through the sections one by one but couldn’t find it. Since I had just met the sales rep that day, it was easier for me to just call him. Thanks a lot for also sharing the link.

Fair point; it’s not super discoverable.

Thank you for explaining the screen brightness adjustment. I’ll try that.

That quick access controls screen is important to know how to access, generally.

Regarding navigation, I read your comment, but yesterday I tried multiple addresses — my home, office, another home, and a location in San Diego very close to the freeway. Unfortunately, in none of them did it guide me properly. I’m sorry, but that’s my experience. Are you perhaps using an Air with CarPlay or Android Auto?

Heh, I have both a gravity DE and an Air DE. I’m very familiar with the nav on both. I totally respect your experience with it; others have had it too. It just really seems to vary based on where you are. Here in the Bay Area, for my needs, I haven’t seen it be wonky in years. But @DeaneG lives a few blocks from me and has nothing but problems; we simply go different places.

I haven’t seen any “facial recognition” feature. If it does exist, no one has told me about it. Maybe this is something that’s currently on the Air but not on the Gravity? Because I went through all the settings yesterday and couldn’t find that option.

TBH I don’t remember; I’ll double check later today when I’m in the G instead of the A.

I’ll definitely record a video of the passenger airbag issue. I’ll do that.

Yeah, this would be super helpful. If they are too sensitive, that’s worth knowing.

Other than the frunk button issue, I’ll probably gather the rest of the problems together and take them all to service at once, so for now I’ll wait before going in.

That would be my plan too.

I’ll also mention the rubbing issue to service and have them fix it.

Your comments were excellent... thank you so much.

Happy to help. Enjoy the car!

 

[pezpunk]

On August 9, 2025, I placed my order for the Gravity Grand Touring in California. Today, September 15, I finally took delivery.

pretty rich using the word "finally" when tons of people who ordered *last year* are still waiting for their car.

A car without CarPlay in this day and age is unacceptable.

Teslas don't have CarPlay.

 

[Brian_N]

Lucid Gravity Day 2 – Experiencing Comfort on the Road​

In my previous write-up, I shared the confusion and frustrations a longtime Tesla owner might face on the very first day with the Lucid Gravity. Today, I want to focus on something completely different: the comfort of driving this vehicle.

I’ve owned and driven many high-end gas-powered cars over the years : Mercedes S600, Mercedes Maybach S-Class, Mercedes G-Wagon, Cadillac Escalade, and Maserati Quattroporte. I believe I have at least a fair sense of what true comfort is and what it is not.

14. American cars traditionally lack the refinement of German engineering. Even luxury American vehicles rarely match the quality of their German counterparts. In German cars, you feel it from the very start — the way the door closes, the seatbelt clicks, and the gear shifts into Drive.
The Lucid gave me that same feeling yesterday. Quality is visible everywhere you look. Coming straight from Tesla, which suffers from inconsistent build quality, stepping into the Lucid felt like night and day. It reminded me of German craftsmanship. In fact, I noticed in some Lucid team interviews on YouTube that a few of their engineers have German accents , which makes perfect sense.
I had a similar first impression when I bought the Rivian R1T. It felt premium at first, but problems quickly appeared: cabin noise from the electric motor, awkward door handles, and slow phone-unlock responsiveness. I eventually sold it and returned to Tesla.

15. Why I kept coming back to tesla? What I always appreciated about Tesla was the charging network and the convenience of essentially maintenance-free ownership. Driving a Tesla feels as simple as hopping into a golf cart , you press the pedal and go. But over time, the lack of noise insulation, uncomfortable seats, and cheap interior materials became harder to ignore. I began to miss true luxury again, which is why I gave Lucid another chance.

I’ve lived in Silicon Valley and was among the first to test the Lucid years ago. I’ve followed their development closely. This time, I decided it was worth taking the leap.

16. First Long Trip – Orange County to San Diego...... Yesterday, after taking delivery, I immediately went on a long drive with family. There were four of us in the car, including relatives over 70 years old. We cruised at around 80 mph on Route 5, and they were speaking softly in the back seat. Amazingly, I could hear every word. The cabin was whisper-quiet.
In our Tesla Model Y, those same family members usually struggled to hear us in the front seats. Not in the Gravity.
The rear doors opening at 90 degrees made it easy for them to get in and out, which they truly appreciated.

17. Behind the Wheel ...wowww.... from the driver’s seat, the experience was equally impressive. The steering was smooth, the ride had no harsh vibrations, and road noise was almost nonexistent. I finished the trip without any fatigue.

18. Range has always been a major concern with EVs. On a round trip from Orange County to San Diego and back, I would normally need to plug in my Tesla that same night at home for next day. With the Gravity, I started with a full charge and still had 195 miles of range left when I got home. That is incredible.

The Rivian R1T, by comparison, had a similar range to Tesla but took nearly twice as long to charge because of its massive battery. I haven’t yet tested a full 5% to 100% charge on my Gravity at home (40 amp), but I’m confident it will be much better than Rivian.

19. I love the automatic sunshades in the back , very practical and elegant. The trunk space is also extremely well designed. With the third row folded, the cargo area is large and easy to use. In my old Tesla Model X Plaid (6-seat configuration), I often had items in the trunk slide forward into the second and even first rows. The Gravity has clearly been designed with much more attention to detail. Even small touches like the magnetic side covers in the trunk show thoughtfulness and quality.

20. Returning to the Tesla after Gravity Today I quickly drove our Model Y to the grocery store. After spending yesterday in the Gravity, the difference was shocking. The noisy cabin, the cheap materials ... it already feels like stepping backward. Going back to Tesla after the Gravity is going to be tough.

This post is not about problems, but about comfort. My next write-up will not be about comfort again , it will focus on new issues I’ve noticed.
Please leave your comments with the numbers of the points you’re responding to, so I know exactly which part you’re addressing.

Should I keep going? If you want me to continue documenting, let me know , I’ll keep writing.

 

[Brian_N]

pretty rich using the word "finally" when tons of people who ordered *last year* are still waiting for their car.



Teslas don't have CarPlay.

I didn’t place the order online; I placed it at the store. The sales representative offered me one of the models that had been produced most recently and had not yet been assigned to anyone. Because of this, I couldn’t request some specific features, and there were also some options I didn’t want anyway. I chose the one that suited me best among the unassigned models. I originally wanted a white interior, but I had to take another color. I was promised delivery in September, and that’s exactly what happened.


If you want very specific features, that’s a different story. But if you’re flexible, you can talk to a sales representative, adjust the specs, and get your car delivered much sooner.

 

[HC_79]

Regarding navigation, I read your comment, but yesterday I tried multiple addresses — my home, office, another home, and a location in San Diego very close to the freeway. Unfortunately, in none of them did it guide me properly. I’m sorry, but that’s my experience. Are you perhaps using an Air with CarPlay or Android Auto?

It's strange you're having issues with the navigation as I use it almost daily with no issues and am in SoCal also. In the early days, it used to be really weird with its routing and would often ignore when it wanted me to re-route. Now when it's telling me to re-route its for a valid reason which is usually due to traffic or road closure. I've often found when checking it against Google Maps and Apple Maps it's doing the same routing.

HERE maps (which is who Lucid is using) are continually improving so hopefully over time the routing gets better for you but can honestly say from driving around LA all the way up to SF I haven't had any concerns \ issues with the built in navigation

 

[gaskiller]

Most of the requests to Lucid seem to fall on deaf ears. Tesla is so far ahead of the game it’s not even a fair comparison. I’ve been asking for black carpeted floor mats for three years so they wont show parking lot grime so bad. Seems goofy to have $150,000 invested in a car with rubber floor mats suited for a pickup truck from the 60’s.

When I ordered my Air Grand Touring in 2022, I was told it would have self driving. Jokes on me cause they never said “when”. As soon as Tesla freshens up their body style on the S model I’m switching back and going with a lease. This will protect me from falling resale values if Tesla figures out how to make a new one go 1,000 miles on a charge.

When I bought my Model 3 in 2018 Elon said Tesla robotaxi will take you cross country in 1 year, so, I would suggest your gripe against Lucid is something to be taken lightly.

 

[TonyLieske]

I am enjoying the write ups. For me it is interesting to hear different perspectives, even if they aren't always positive or if they don't match my perspective.

 

[Brian_N]

I am enjoying the write ups. For me it is interesting to hear different perspectives, even if they aren't always positive or if they don't match my perspective.

I’ll do my best. I may not be able to write every day, but I’ll definitely try to post something here from time to time.

 

[StarkyLuv]

Unacceptable? Yet all the Tesla’s and Rivian you owned don’t have it

Right?

 

[Blue Lectroid]

Yes, you’re absolutely right . I didn’t include the driving part. But I just got the car, only one day has passed. What I wrote were my first discomforts when switching from Tesla to Lucid. Now it’s time for what you mentioned , the driving part. I’ll write a post about that right away.

I personally do not understand approaching the world from the perspective of getting something as fabulous as a new Gravity — something precious few of us will ever have the privilege of driving, let alone owning — and then viewing it through the lens of “what do I not like as much about this as what I just got rid of?”

To me that is just a very depressing / deflating approach to life. I’d much rather spend time reveling in what I love about new things…

 

[Brian_N]

I personally do not understand approaching the world from the perspective of getting something as fabulous as a new Gravity — something precious few of us will ever have the privilege of driving, let alone owning — and then viewing it through the lens of “what do I not like as much about this as what I just got rid of?”

To me that is just a very depressing / deflating approach to life. I’d much rather spend time reveling in what I love about new things…

You’re right, I had never thought about it that way. I actually touched on the point you mentioned in my second write-up—you may have seen it.


I’m a technology enthusiast, and I tend to adapt to new things very quickly. Whenever I want a new tech product, I can get used to it easily. The same goes for cars: once I get into the type of car I want, I can drive it right away without any problem.


When I first started driving Tesla, I often complained, “Why don’t other car brands allow full control from the phone yet?” Later, we bought my brother a Kia Sportage Plug-in. The car was supposedly controllable via the Kia App, but only after purchasing did we find out it required a subscription—they were charging monthly fees.


That’s why expecting some of the experiences I had with Tesla to also be present in Lucid feels very natural to me. After all, Lucid is also an American company, it also prioritizes technology, and it is fully electric. On top of that, most Lucid owners are former Tesla drivers.


Now that the Gravity comes with Tesla plug compatibility, Tesla drivers can easily picture how they’ll charge the car. For this reason, I believe the number of people switching from Tesla to Lucid will increase significantly going forward.


If Lucid’s biggest new customer group truly is Tesla drivers—and it seems to be the case—then it’s essential for Lucid to also include the most basic, most widely used features that Tesla offers. I don’t want to be misunderstood: I would love to see Lucid surpass Tesla in many areas as soon as possible. But as a former Tesla driver, I also enjoy sharing what I felt when switching over to the Gravity.

 

[thyname]

You’re right, I had never thought about it that way. I actually touched on the point you mentioned in my second write-up—you may have seen it.


I’m a technology enthusiast, and I tend to adapt to new things very quickly. Whenever I want a new tech product, I can get used to it easily. The same goes for cars: once I get into the type of car I want, I can drive it right away without any problem.


When I first started driving Tesla, I often complained, “Why don’t other car brands allow full control from the phone yet?” Later, we bought my brother a Kia Sportage Plug-in. The car was supposedly controllable via the Kia App, but only after purchasing did we find out it required a subscription—they were charging monthly fees.


That’s why expecting some of the experiences I had with Tesla to also be present in Lucid feels very natural to me. After all, Lucid is also an American company, it also prioritizes technology, and it is fully electric. On top of that, most Lucid owners are former Tesla drivers.


Now that the Gravity comes with Tesla plug compatibility, Tesla drivers can easily picture how they’ll charge the car. For this reason, I believe the number of people switching from Tesla to Lucid will increase significantly going forward.


If Lucid’s biggest new customer group truly is Tesla drivers—and it seems to be the case—then it’s essential for Lucid to also include the most basic, most widely used features that Tesla offers. I don’t want to be misunderstood: I would love to see Lucid surpass Tesla in many areas as soon as possible. But as a former Tesla driver, I also enjoy sharing what I felt when switching over to the Gravity.

I understand your logic. I truly do. I am, after all, and as you said, a former Tesla owner myself. Model Y Performance followed by Model X Long range, prior to getting my Lucid Air Touring seven months ago. As a computer on wheels, nothing comes close to a Tesla, as simple as that. At least not yet. I am cognizant of that. At the end of the day, it is a car , and driving matters. As well as everything else other than software (quality of interior, space, comfort, etc etc). No ?

Whenever I want a new tech product, I can get used to it easily.

Is it SOLELY a tech product though ? I think it’s a car. Then a tech product.

After all, Lucid is also an American company

So are the big three. Models: Ford, Lincoln, GMC, Chevy, Buick, Hummer, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Cadillac (and some others I may forget)

 

[borski]

You’re right, I had never thought about it that way. I actually touched on the point you mentioned in my second write-up—you may have seen it.


I’m a technology enthusiast, and I tend to adapt to new things very quickly. Whenever I want a new tech product, I can get used to it easily. The same goes for cars: once I get into the type of car I want, I can drive it right away without any problem.


When I first started driving Tesla, I often complained, “Why don’t other car brands allow full control from the phone yet?” Later, we bought my brother a Kia Sportage Plug-in. The car was supposedly controllable via the Kia App, but only after purchasing did we find out it required a subscription—they were charging monthly fees.


That’s why expecting some of the experiences I had with Tesla to also be present in Lucid feels very natural to me. After all, Lucid is also an American company, it also prioritizes technology, and it is fully electric. On top of that, most Lucid owners are former Tesla drivers.


Now that the Gravity comes with Tesla plug compatibility, Tesla drivers can easily picture how they’ll charge the car. For this reason, I believe the number of people switching from Tesla to Lucid will increase significantly going forward.


If Lucid’s biggest new customer group truly is Tesla drivers—and it seems to be the case—then it’s essential for Lucid to also include the most basic, most widely used features that Tesla offers. I don’t want to be misunderstood: I would love to see Lucid surpass Tesla in many areas as soon as possible. But as a former Tesla driver, I also enjoy sharing what I felt when switching over to the Gravity.

A suggestion: spend a week with the car, and then analyze. Approach it without comparison, as you’ll find things that are unlike your Tesla, but you may not give them due credit until you’ve spent time with them.

So by all means, do whatever you want to do, but it is hard to both enjoy and analyze simultaneously. I’d recommend enjoying, and then analyze as a *reflection*, rather than in real-time.

Just my $.02

 

[johnse]

The lack of automatic screen dimming is irritating.

I frequently get into my 2018 Model X, at night, to a Dark-mode dash at 100% brightness. Then I need to manually dim it to 25-40% depending on my desires. Other times it remembers where it was set last time I drove at night. I'm relating this because there are lots of quirks in Tesla software as well.

Regarding navigation, I read your comment, but yesterday I tried multiple addresses — my home, office, another home, and a location in San Diego very close to the freeway. Unfortunately, in none of them did it guide me properly.

I don't have mine yet, but others have related that navigating to an address tends to work better than to a named point of interest. I'm curious which you were using on these tests?

 

[allenmhc]

I understand your logic. I truly do. I am, after all, and as you said, a former Tesla owner myself. Model Y Performance followed by Model X Long range, prior to getting my Lucid Air Touring seven months ago. As a computer on wheels, nothing comes close to a Tesla, as simple as that. At least not yet. I am cognizant of that. At the end of the day, it is a car , and driving matters. As well as everything else other than software (quality of interior, space, comfort, etc etc). No ?


Is it SOLELY a tech product though ? I think it’s a car. Then a tech product.




So are the big three. Models: Ford, Lincoln, GMC, Chevy, Buick, Hummer, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Cadillac (and some others I may forget)

I do think that a part of the dynamic here is that Tesla tapped into a market that didn't previously exist before—the car-as-a-phone customer who values the software niceties and conveniences of frequent refreshes and updates and even Easter Eggs over other aspects of the car. Tesla does this better than anybody, and the buyers who value that (and I have a Tesla Model X myself, my wife a 1st-gen Model 3 fresh from their Fremont factory back in the day) can justify overlooking some of the their cars' flaws.

So I don't really see any domestic car manufacturers out-Tesla'ing Tesla in that regard, and I don't think anybody is truly trying that hard beyond enabling OTA updates (e.g., nobody is building fart apps into their infotainment systems). In fact, the one segment that has competed and is winning via software is the Chinese EV manufacturers—who developed their expertise via Tesla's Chinese Gigafactory and sharing of their manufacturing processes and systems (read Apple in China for the fascinating backstory).

 

[Xminus6]

As someone who has owned 4 Teslas I don’t think it’s fair to compare the state of Tesla now to the state of the Gravity as a brand new vehicle platform. Plus, I’ve had plenty of issues with my Teslas over the years but I’ve always found the positives to outweigh the negatives.

Falcon Wing Doors were great when my kids were in car seats and I had to lift them out of the car in our garage as a guy over 6 feet tall. But they were also a huge inconvenience in MANY ways over the years. Won’t open fully in underground parking lots with tons of room. WILL open into poles holding parking signs when parallel parked. Would refuse to completely open because the car was parked in the sun too long.

Self-presenting and opening driver door that would fight against you because it knew better how to let you out of the car and have the door literally push you back into the car.

The Y and 3 were generally sorted better but have plenty of their own issues to work though. I’ve had the screens need to be replaced on 3 of the 4 Teslas I’ve owned because the edges of the screen start to delaminate from the touch layer and cause yellowing/fading.

Yes, Tesla’s software right now is in a pretty good state but it took over a decade of my own ownership to get there frankly.

 

[slausa]

Yes, black carpeted floor mats is definitely the reason you should drive a Tesla.

Hahahaha, fair… the main thing I’d like to have with the Tesla is the Full Self Driving feature. I also liked the Google Earth interface and the way it let you pick and choose your audio. Plus the way the speakerphone actually worked where you could be heard (without it being over your right shoulder in the center of the headboard).

 

[slausa]

always cracks me up when i see guys like this... you wonder if they realize how they look for what they are saying.

"so far ahead of the game" -> "when they figure out how to get it to go 1k miles"..... and yet lucid is leading the mileage game?

comments about floor mats, but build quality is still an issue on my last model x purchased 2 yrs ago, so there is that.....

this whole thread has me laughing at how hard some are coping trying to defend tesla, when most of us have had to deal with both and are more than well aware of the differences and improvements that lucid has over tesla. Lucid is clearly what tesla could have been had they NOT had musk as the CEO, changing design to his whims. As such many of us appreciate where Lucid is in the short time frame they have been in the car market compared to where tesla was at that same point in time.

My point about the black floor mats was that the company doesn’t listen to the owners. It’s an easy fix. My main attraction with the Lucid was the range. In Arkansas, and surrounding southern states there are very few charging stations so range is critical.

 

[Lucidicrous]

When a Lucid 5 seater sedan can compete with Porsche “Pro GT3” at Nürburgring track, Air qualifies to be a supercar IMO. I think Lucid is capable of building the world’s fastest tracking car with a 2 seater quad electric motors.

In a way, it’s remarkable to compare Lucid to Tesla versus Porsche, Ferrari, Bugatti…

 

[borski]

My point about the black floor mats was that the company doesn’t listen to the owners. It’s an easy fix. My main attraction with the Lucid was the range. In Arkansas, and surrounding southern states there are very few charging stations so range is critical.

They do. It’s entirely possible not enough owners wanted them. There are plenty of third party mat companies, too.

You’re welcome to like your Tesla, lol, but floor mats are not the example you want them to be.

Tesla won’t install lidar or ultrasound on your Model 3 either, despite *many* owners wanting parking sensors back, at a minimum. That’s a real example of not listening to your customer base