Ha! I was misunderstood on those points, as well. I need to work on my writing style!
No, you don't need to work on your writing style. I need to work on my reading skills. As I reread your post you did, in fact, say a mid-size crossover should be a second product, not a first.
But I find it interesting that Lucid is not the only automaker that has sequenced its model lineup with a sedan first followed by a larger SUV: Tesla (which followed with the Model X); Mercedes which launched the EQS Sedan before the EQS SUV; Porsche whose EV sedan came before its EV Tourismo crossover; Genesis; Chevrolet;
et al.
I don't know their reasons, but I do know that Lucid wanted to put its technology stake in the ground and anchor its reputation around hitting the market with the longest-range EV on the market, regardless of body style. That was much more likely to succeed with a sedan than with an SUV.
There's another consideration here, albeit one from hindsight. Rawlinson said that it was better to start with a low-volume vehicle for two reasons: capital investment required for mass production is too large for a startup to handle, and new manufacturing processes need to be worked out with the lower line rates of lower-volume products.
It's not exactly a manufacturing process, but we should never forget the absolute disaster that was the first year of Lucid's software. There were far, far too many auto journalists (and owners) who could not get doors to open, who found screen responses balky, who got random warnings,
etc. These stories filled the auto press, dominated many YouTube comment sections, and still get mentioned today by the likes of "Edmunds". Even the two Lucid forums were swamped with tales of software malfunctions. I, myself, at one point considered getting rid of a car that I otherwise thought the best vehicle I ever owned. Lucid's reputation was only saved, in my view, by the astonishing range figures the Air put on the board and the miracles of space engineering it pulled off.
If Lucid had begun with a bigger-selling SUV that could not post quite the range figures of the Air, the software fiasco might well have killed the brand at birth. Look no further than what is happening to Fisker.