My philosophical view of Lucid

[Ampere]

I've been reading this forum for almost four years and driving a Lucid Air Touring for going on three years. I'm one of the lucky ones who has endured no major flaws with my Lucid and reasonably good service from the Goose Island crew in Chicago. Some of the horror stories I see on this forum make me cringe. At the same time I remember that dissatisfied people usually post more than happy people.
Anyone buying a Lucid should know going in that he/she is dealing with a new company still feeling its way into the market. The same purchaser also must realize that Lucid is a financially insecure operation that needs to economize wherever possible. It's also obvious that management is in turmoil. I am a little distressed that six months after I bought my Touring Lucid lowered the price by $15K killing any resale value.

It's obvious that most contributors to this forum want Lucid to succeed. However, should the Saudis, for whatever reason, lose interest in the company, it will be remembered like Tucker Automotive. If Lucid should fail, and that does remain a possibility, the resale value of every Lucid would hit rock bottom. Even if you wished to retain your Lucid, spare parts would be scarce and software upgrades would cease. I truly doubt that any of the major automakers would buy or absorb Lucid, other than perhaps, picking up its production facilities for a song.

I am trading my Lucid for a smaller EV from a long established company. I still enjoy my Air Touring, but it is more car than I want. It does incorporate some peculiarities that annoy me, but then, no car is perfect.

What truly terrifies me is reading of the repair nightmares shared with this forum. While I have a flawless driving record, excrement happens. One month after buying a new Honda Accord hybrid a piece of sheet metal came flying across the Dan Ryan Expy. in Chicago and ripped up my hood and left headlight. Repair was fast and easy and my insurance gladly paid the $2K. If the same thing were to happen to my Lucid I'd probably be without a car for two months and the insurance company would fight paying $25K for the repair. Not to mention I'd probably have to get the car to Goose Island somehow, at great expense, since I live in central Illinois.

Owning a Lucid is like being a member of a club. There's a unique thrill to driving, what at this time, is a bespoke vehicle. I'd rather just blend into the crowd.

 

[gaskiller]

I've been reading this forum for almost four years and driving a Lucid Air Touring for going on three years. I'm one of the lucky ones who has endured no major flaws with my Lucid and reasonably good service from the Goose Island crew in Chicago. Some of the horror stories I see on this forum make me cringe. At the same time I remember that dissatisfied people usually post more than happy people.
Anyone buying a Lucid should know going in that he/she is dealing with a new company still feeling its way into the market. The same purchaser also must realize that Lucid is a financially insecure operation that needs to economize wherever possible. It's also obvious that management is in turmoil. I am a little distressed that six months after I bought my Touring Lucid lowered the price by $15K killing any resale value.

It's obvious that most contributors to this forum want Lucid to succeed. However, should the Saudis, for whatever reason, lose interest in the company, it will be remembered like Tucker Automotive. If Lucid should fail, and that does remain a possibility, the resale value of every Lucid would hit rock bottom. Even if you wished to retain your Lucid, spare parts would be scarce and software upgrades would cease. I truly doubt that any of the major automakers would buy or absorb Lucid, other than perhaps, picking up its production facilities for a song.

I am trading my Lucid for a smaller EV from a long established company. I still enjoy my Air Touring, but it is more car than I want. It does incorporate some peculiarities that annoy me, but then, no car is perfect.

What truly terrifies me is reading of the repair nightmares shared with this forum. While I have a flawless driving record, excrement happens. One month after buying a new Honda Accord hybrid a piece of sheet metal came flying across the Dan Ryan Expy. in Chicago and ripped up my hood and left headlight. Repair was fast and easy and my insurance gladly paid the $2K. If the same thing were to happen to my Lucid I'd probably be without a car for two months and the insurance company would fight paying $25K for the repair. Not to mention I'd probably have to get the car to Goose Island somehow, at great expense, since I live in central Illinois.

Owning a Lucid is like being a member of a club. There's a unique thrill to driving, what at this time, is a bespoke vehicle. I'd rather just blend into the crowd.

I have no doubt, Lucid will not go under. Saudi using Lucid to build an auto industry in their country.

Agree, accident repairs will be an issue, but these should only improve as the company grows.

I’m guessing you bought a Touring for $100-115 MSRP and now selling for 60k or even less? I’m in this situation if I were to sell. But I never will since the depreciation is too much and I enjoy the car better than anything else I ever bought! Sell and by what? Another Lucid in my case. No point taking a 60k loss to buy another mediocre non-Lucid EV which doesn’t drive as well.

If insurance claims is concerning, insure with Chubb or Pure insurance. They take very good care of you and you don’t get the usual insurance company hassles. This way you can still enjoy driving Lucid and have peace.

 

[lucidtouringman]

I have no doubt, Lucid will not go under. Saudi using Lucid to build an auto industry in their country.

Agree, accident repairs will be an issue, but these should only improve as the company grows.

I’m guessing you bought a Touring for $100-115 MSRP and now selling for 60k or even less? I’m in this situation if I were to sell. But I never will since the depreciation is too much and I enjoy the car better than anything else I ever bought! Sell and by what? Another Lucid in my case. No point taking a 60k loss to buy another mediocre non-Lucid EV which doesn’t drive as well.

If insurance claims is concerning, insure with Chubb or Pure insurance. They take very good care of you and you don’t get the usual insurance company hassles. This way you can still enjoy driving Lucid and have peace.

Very close to how I think about my AT...I'm gonna hold for a long time..enjoy the ride till I can..pay for full coverage insurance throughout and sell after 7 to 8 years for bottom b dollar..then get a mid sized SUV..buying a brand new car was never due to it being a sound financial decision but one of splurge and experiencing what I knew was an excellent ride...lucid is the cherry on top...not the cake ..enjoy it!

 

[PetevB]

I've been reading this forum for almost four years and driving a Lucid Air Touring for going on three years. I'm one of the lucky ones who has endured no major flaws with my Lucid and reasonably good service from the Goose Island crew in Chicago. Some of the horror stories I see on this forum make me cringe. At the same time I remember that dissatisfied people usually post more than happy people.

I am or have been a member of a dozen car forums over the years- multiple Porsche forums, BWM, VW, Audi, Genesis, Tesla, Subaru, Ferrari, etc. No other forum comes close to the percentage and number of issues reported here.

I have no doubt, Lucid will not go under. Saudi using Lucid to build an auto industry in their country.

Betting on Saudi money is taking a bet on both the political stability of the current regime and that gas prices will not fall for an extended period for whatever reason. If either of those happen that taps will be turned off. I work closely with Saudi investors who are capricious depending on the current price of gas; every time this is mentioned here I cringe a bit.

If Lucid should fail, and that does remain a possibility, the resale value of every Lucid would hit rock bottom. Even if you wished to retain your Lucid, spare parts would be scarce and software upgrades would cease. I truly doubt that any of the major automakers would buy or absorb Lucid, other than perhaps, picking up its production facilities for a song.

Unlike say Fisker, Lucid has assets, technology, facilities, and personnel, that are attractive to other automakers. In the past most US car companies that failed (every legacy auto maker in the US except Ford) either re-structured in bankruptcy or were absorbed (Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln, Dodge, etc). So I see that as a likely outcome, and as part of any deal like that ongoing parts support would be negotiated. So there are other outs. That said I would not buy a Lucid, or at least not a new one, but instead lease to protect against the depreciation risk.

 

[L-Dude]

I've been reading this forum for almost four years and driving a Lucid Air Touring for going on three years. I'm one of the lucky ones who has endured no major flaws with my Lucid and reasonably good service from the Goose Island crew in Chicago. Some of the horror stories I see on this forum make me cringe. At the same time I remember that dissatisfied people usually post more than happy people.
Anyone buying a Lucid should know going in that he/she is dealing with a new company still feeling its way into the market. The same purchaser also must realize that Lucid is a financially insecure operation that needs to economize wherever possible. It's also obvious that management is in turmoil. I am a little distressed that six months after I bought my Touring Lucid lowered the price by $15K killing any resale value.

It's obvious that most contributors to this forum want Lucid to succeed. However, should the Saudis, for whatever reason, lose interest in the company, it will be remembered like Tucker Automotive. If Lucid should fail, and that does remain a possibility, the resale value of every Lucid would hit rock bottom. Even if you wished to retain your Lucid, spare parts would be scarce and software upgrades would cease. I truly doubt that any of the major automakers would buy or absorb Lucid, other than perhaps, picking up its production facilities for a song.

I am trading my Lucid for a smaller EV from a long established company. I still enjoy my Air Touring, but it is more car than I want. It does incorporate some peculiarities that annoy me, but then, no car is perfect.

What truly terrifies me is reading of the repair nightmares shared with this forum. While I have a flawless driving record, excrement happens. One month after buying a new Honda Accord hybrid a piece of sheet metal came flying across the Dan Ryan Expy. in Chicago and ripped up my hood and left headlight. Repair was fast and easy and my insurance gladly paid the $2K. If the same thing were to happen to my Lucid I'd probably be without a car for two months and the insurance company would fight paying $25K for the repair. Not to mention I'd probably have to get the car to Goose Island somehow, at great expense, since I live in central Illinois.

Owning a Lucid is like being a member of a club. There's a unique thrill to driving, what at this time, is a bespoke vehicle. I'd rather just blend into the crowd.

Very fair and rational point of view IMO. Good luck with the new car.

 

[gaskiller]

I am or have been a member of a dozen car forums over the years- multiple Porsche forums, BWM, VW, Audi, Genesis, Tesla, Subaru, Ferrari, etc. No other forum comes close to the percentage and number of issues reported here.

Betting on Saudi money is taking a bet on both the political stability of the current regime and that gas prices will not fall for an extended period for whatever reason. If either of those happen that taps will be turned off. I work closely with Saudi investors who are capricious depending on the current price of gas; every time this is mentioned here I cringe a bit.

Unlike say Fisker, Lucid has assets, technology, facilities, and personnel, that are attractive to other automakers. In the past most US car companies that failed (every legacy auto maker in the US except Ford) either re-structured in bankruptcy or were absorbed (Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln, Dodge, etc). So I see that as a likely outcome, and as part of any deal like that ongoing parts support would be negotiated. So there are other outs. That said I would not buy a Lucid, or at least not a new one, but instead lease to protect against the depreciation risk.

Disagree on few of your points here.

Yes, more issues with Lucid than an established German car, but mostly software that can be addressed. In fact, My 2023 Air software is 95% perfect. Few minor issues that crop up now and again but they go away pretty quickly with the updates. And posters usually post negative, not positives. Its not a reflection of the true state of things. Percentage of Lucid buyers who post significantly outsrips number of Porche/BMW/Merc owners who post. Lucid buyers tend to be tech driven and migrate to forums more than a typical German car buyer. So its not apples and apples.

EV is the future, guess why EV sales exploded in China and Europe despite ICE cars selling in the same price range? Saudi Gov know this. They are diversifying away from oil. They saw this transition to EV as an opportunity to kick start a car industry in their country. Established ICE manufactures had more than a century to perfect the internal combustion engine. There is no way Saudi would be able to compete with them with ICE. But EV levels the playing field. Everyone starting from scratch. Those who innovate will succeed and Saudi are taking this once in a century opportunity to start automobile manufacturing. They need jobs for their citizens. Think they will just drop all this and walk away? NO WAY! And its nothing to do with gas prices. PIF ownd 55% of Lucid. They have 1 trillion dollar fund to invest. A few bilion is peanuts and very well worth it to create an industry in their country.

The spending you are talking about is NEOM and those other fancy projects- 500 billion! They only spent a few billion on Lucid. Like I said, its peanuts. ROI makes sense with Lucid.

Don't think of Lucid as just another US manufacturer because they are not- as explained above.

And just to add, Lucid can leverage the Saudi supercomputer for autonomy R and D....

From AI- Saudi Arabia's Shaheen III, housed at KAUST, is a top-tier system, ranking #1 in the Middle East and #18 globally as of late 2025, built by HPE with NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips, offering massive AI/HPC power for national priorities

 

[PetevB]

Disagree on few of your points here.

Yes, more issues with Lucid than an established German car, but mostly software that can be addressed. In fact, My 2023 Air software is 95% perfect. Few minor issues that crop up now and again but they go away pretty quickly with the updates. And posters usually post negative, not positives. It’s not a reflection of the true state of things. Percentage of Lucid buyers who post significantly outsrips number of Porche/BMW/Merc owners who post. Lucid buyers tend to be tech driven and migrate to forums more than a typical German car buyer. So it’s not apples and apples.

To be very blunt if you actually think Lucid and other brands have similar numbers of issues and this is about more people posting I think you’re not being objective. At all. You think someone who just bought a $150K Porsche isn’t going to post when their trunk won’t close and the vehicle needs to be towed? These guys go nuts over the slightest glitches. Stranded makes headlines. By every subjective and objective measure Lucids are outliers in a bad way. BMW i4 got an 82 on Consumer Reports reliability ranking. The Lucid Air got a 7! These are not just not the same, they are not remotely similar.

I see a number of people who are relentlessly positive about their brands on different forums. I had some moron on a Genesis forum argue till was blue in the face that the GV70 had double wishbone front suspension. With zero evidence, while I, as an engineer and owner of a GV70 at the time, couldn’t convince him otherwise.

You’re welcome to your opinions, but this rabid defense of the indefensible is IMHO a bad look. Similarly your certain proclamations about PIF. I mean maybe you also have more than $30M of investment in a cleantech company you founded from Saudi, and a member of the board you speak to regularly about such things. Or some other inside knowledge. Regardless you’re welcome to your opinion, I’d simply ask yourself if it’s really as well informed as you clearly believe it is. And if you’re capable of being objective at this point.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

 

[doubletwist]

BMW i4 got an 82 on Consumer Reports reliability ranking. The Lucid Air got a 7!

I could be wrong but wasn't a lot of that due to CR counting OTA updates, even if they were primarily adding features and new functionality?

I don't think BMW is exactly known for doing much of that.

 

[PetevB]

I could be wrong but wasn't a lot of that due to CR counting OTA updates, even if they were primarily adding features and new functionality?

I don't think BMW is exactly known for doing much of that.

CR is surveying its readers for problems like those reported here. Owner reported, last 12 months, 20 categories, highly weighted for severity (immobilizing). Problems exactly like “my frunk won’t stay closed so my car needs a flat bed”. BMW isn’t exactly known for much of that either.

 

[borski]

CR is surveying its readers for problems like those reported here. Owner reported, last 12 months, 20 categories, highly weighted for severity (immobilizing). Problems exactly like “my frunk won’t stay closed so my car needs a flat bed”. BMW isn’t exactly known for much of that either.

CR has a very, very small sample size of owners for the Lucid Air.

 

[PetevB]

CR has a very, very small sample size of owners for the Lucid Air.

Undoubtedly true. Because Lucid simply doesn’t sell many cars.

Larger sample size? Let’s look at the NHTSA complaint database…

Lucid Air:
2022- 23 complaints / 1949 cars sold in the US
2023- 23 complaints / 3142 cars
2024- 7 complaints / 3449 cars

BMW i4:
2022- 9 complaints / 9626 cars
2023- 0 complaints / 22583 cars
2024- 0 complaints / 23403 cars

So the NHTSA got one complaint for every 6179 i4s sold, vs one complaint for every 161 Lucid Airs sold. 38 times higher… I’m not sure increasing sample size helped.

 

[Daniel2022AT]

Early adopters know the risks and are willing to take the exposure for the once in a lifetime thrill of driving a transformational product. I have had zero problems with my 2023 AT. I sold it after crashing. Now, I have an Audi Q8 etron that has glitchy software worse than Lucid. Yes the risks the OP stated are real and have non-zero probability. Lots of scenarios. Several automotive retail companies would buy the software and for a fee provide OTA updates. Like the DeLorean values eventually go up maybe substantially. Cheer up, life is not that gloomy.

 

[gaskiller]

To be very blunt if you actually think Lucid and other brands have similar numbers of issues and this is about more people posting I think you’re not being objective. At all. You think someone who just bought a $150K Porsche isn’t going to post when their trunk won’t close and the vehicle needs to be towed? These guys go nuts over the slightest glitches. Stranded makes headlines. By every subjective and objective measure Lucids are outliers in a bad way. BMW i4 got an 82 on Consumer Reports reliability ranking. The Lucid Air got a 7! These are not just not the same, they are not remotely similar.

I see a number of people who are relentlessly positive about their brands on different forums. I had some moron on a Genesis forum argue till was blue in the face that the GV70 had double wishbone front suspension. With zero evidence, while I, as an engineer and owner of a GV70 at the time, couldn’t convince him otherwise.

You’re welcome to your opinions, but this rabid defense of the indefensible is IMHO a bad look. Similarly your certain proclamations about PIF. I mean maybe you also have more than $30M of investment in a cleantech company you founded from Saudi, and a member of the board you speak to regularly about such things. Or some other inside knowledge. Regardless you’re welcome to your opinion, I’d simply ask yourself if it’s really as well informed as you clearly believe it is. And if you’re capable of being objective at this

Saudi won’t give away Lucid.

Lucid is a brand new company, not a 50-100 year old company making cars. These issues are expected. If you are surprised they have minor repairs , then your expectations are unrealistic.

 

[PetevB]

Early adopters know the risks and are willing to take the exposure for the once in a lifetime thrill of driving a transformational product.

Now we’re getting somewhere. Over four years after their first cars shipped Lucid’s still for early adopters. Unfortunately the Gravity’s supposed to sell in mainstream volumes and is targeting mainstream buyers. And there’s the disconnect- the mainstream won’t put up with the issues early adopters will.

Saudi won’t give away Lucid.

And repeating something doesn’t make it fact. Any personal experience you have to add? Or is your argument limited to what the stock pumpers are churning out?

 

[gaskiller]

Now we’re getting somewhere. Over four years after their first cars shipped Lucid’s still for early adopters. Unfortunately the Gravity’s supposed to sell in mainstream volumes and is targeting mainstream buyers. And there’s the disconnect- the mainstream won’t put up with the issues early adopters will.

And repeating something doesn’t make it fact. Any personal experience you have to add? Or is your argument limited to what the stock pumpers are churning out?

Dude, it's not my fault you don't see reason. I explained why they will never sell or give up on Lucid- jobs for their citizens!

Regarding Gravity, they are improving software. I'm sure it will be as perfect as my Air software in 3-6 months.

Personal experience?- YES, best car I ever bought, despite the initial gremlins, which have been fixed by Lucid service ( which has been exemplary). If we buy another vehicle, it will ALWAYS be a Lucid. There!!!!

 

[PetevB]

I haven’t shorted any stock, I’m hoping Lucid succeeds. I’m hoping they are work through the issues that resulted in the statistics above, which are honestly worse than I’d expected, so that my wife, who is the opposite of an early adopter, won’t be pissed if and when we get one. And I think the first step in addressing a problem is admitting there is one.

I’m not triggered by you either. I am a bit reactive to thoughtless, repetitive posts by people who ”know” when they don’t. Perhaps why you perceive it that way.

 

[HC_79]

I haven’t shorted any stock, I’m hoping Lucid succeeds. I’m hoping they are work through the issues that resulted in the statistics above, which are honestly worse than I’d expected, so that my wife, who is the opposite of an early adopter, won’t be pissed if and when we get one. And I think the first step in addressing a problem is admitting there is one.

I’m not triggered by you either. I am a bit reactive to thoughtless, repetitive posts by people who ”know” when they don’t. Perhaps why you perceive it that way.

I think what a lot of the early adopters are failing to understand is exactly what you mention. The last owners event in San Diego should’ve been an event Lucid was paying VERY close attention to. The amount of owners who said “I’d never let my wife drive it because of the issues” or “my wife won’t drive it because you never know what experience you’re going to get” were surprisingly common comments and for Lucid, that should be extremely concerning. Especially for Gravity.

 

[TahoeMichael]

I think what a lot of the early adopters are failing to understand is exactly what you mention. The last owners event in San Diego should’ve been an event Lucid was paying VERY close attention to. The amount of owners who said “I’d never let my wife drive it because of the issues” or “my wife won’t drive it because you never know what experience you’re going to get” were surprisingly common comments and for Lucid, that should be extremely concerning. Especially for Gravity.

Plus, I think it's clear that Lucid's strategy is not to be a niche player that only targets early adopters. So while some here want to dismiss the concerns of people with a lower tolerance for glitches, Lucid itself seems to recognize that they need to do better.

I've paid a lot more attention to the Gravity threads than the Air threads, as I'm here to try and justify a Gravity purchase for myself. The Gravity has the foundation of a truly great vehicle. But it's telling that while the Gravity owners here are generally enthusiastic about the vehicle, most of them are pretty clear about the numerous faults. Lucid has made some progress addressing them, but there's more to do.