Open letter to Lucid after 7 months of ownership

[BS8899]

Just give it some time. Lots has improved since 1.0.4 and now their focus is on Gravity. The comparison to Rivian isn't exactly the same as these are two completely different vehicles and the R1T and R1S are very similar in what they need software wise compared to the Air vs Gravity.

Bear in mind that UX 1 was 3 years ago. I never experienced it. My AGT, acquired in Oct 2022, had UX 2 on it. I was constantly reminded by other forum members that "Lucid has made great advances. You should have seen UX 1.0". I am glad I never had the pleasure of experiencing UX 1.0.

My concerns are as follows:
> Aside from bugs, Lucid's SW suite is significantly behind the competition. Say what you will about Rivian's SW, but it works!
> I stated a few times that the current DD capability is no better than my 2017 Lexus RX450. That's a 8-10 year old benchmark! Also, go read the OoS review on DDP. iS it really ahead of competition?
> I chose Lucid over Tesla because I was leery over Telsa's exaggerated claims. I thought Lucid's approach sounded more realistic. 2-1/2 years hence, Lucid has not kept pace withe the industry.
> LIDAR was positioned as a game-changer. Where is LIDAR (aside from the rain warning)?

Lucid is behind competition when it comes to SW, bugs, and features. Lucid is a leader in its compact and powerful power train. In terms of efficiency and range, Lucid is amongst the best, but in real-life, Lucid is not as far ahead of competition as their claims. The persistent surprises expressed by owners in this forum on efficiency and range should be concerning. Lucid's pricing position itself as a significant premium over the competition. Lucid has to deliver on all fronts to keep the poll position!

 

[sri]

Bear in mind that UX 1 was 3 years ago. I never experienced it. My AGT, acquired in Oct 2022, had UX 2 on it. I was constantly reminded by other forum members that "Lucid has made great advances. You should have seen UX 1.0". I am glad I never had the pleasure of experiencing UX 1.0.

My concerns are as follows:
> Aside from bugs, Lucid's SW suite is significantly behind the competition. Say what you will about Rivian's SW, but it works!
> I stated a few times that the current DD capability is no better than my 2017 Lexus RX450. That's a 8-10 year old benchmark! Also, go read the OoS review on DDP. iS it really ahead of competition?
> I chose Lucid over Tesla because I was leery over Telsa's exaggerated claims. I thought Lucid's approach sounded more realistic. 2-1/2 years hence, Lucid has not kept pace withe the industry.
> LIDAR was positioned as a game-changer. Where is LIDAR (aside from the rain warning)?

Lucid is behind competition when it comes to SW, bugs, and features. Lucid is a leader in its compact and powerful power train. In terms of efficiency and range, Lucid is amongst the best, but in real-life, Lucid is not as far ahead of competition as their claims. The persistent surprises expressed by owners in this forum on efficiency and range should be concerning. Lucid's pricing position itself as a significant premium over the competition. Lucid has to deliver on all fronts to keep the poll position!

Especially on a Compromise Nothing campaign, you are indirectly saying owners to Compromise on software until you deliver

 

[HC_79]

Especially on a Compromise Nothing campaign, you are indirectly saying owners to Compromise on software until you deliver

Yeah….. the Compromise Nothing could come back to bite them in the ass. I’m just waiting for some issue to happen and then we see a snarky comment from Lord Farquaad on X and all his loyal followers pile on.

I get it and actually think it’s a good marketing campaign but like you point out, it can be used against them.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

Your ownership experience with Lucid has been like 3 weeks with a brand new car, hopefully with every system updated.

And I have a good friend who owns a ‘22 that I am also very familiar with and he feels the same way about his…loves it and loves the software. Feels it’s the best car he’s ever driven and I agree. After the upgrade from the 1.0 version software he has been thrilled with the car.

 

[Justmurr]

Im new here. I drive a nice Tesla Model S but Lucid has had me interested since the refresh 2025s…. I’m a bit of an EV nerd (I’m here right) so I’ve been on other forums and seen enough reviews, videos, etc. over the years to know what my obvious “comprises” will be if I decide to move away from my Tesla into the Lucid:
(1) Software being potentially glitchy / not (yet) being actively updated & all the things mentioned from OG post
(2) DreamDrive being so completely different and inferior (IMO) to what Tesla FSD is doing nowadays
So here I am… a current and long-standing Tesla customer ready to be snatched away… if it weren’t for these darned compromises. So while I’m hopeful, intrigued and yes, still interested… for me… it is not yet …Compromise Nothing.
All that said, these are fixable compromises

 

[roKapl99]

For the non-enthusiast customer, probably 98% of buyers, it's the software and features that sells the car. I agree with Marsarbu, unless Lucid can get the bugs out, the company will fail. I have had minimal issues with my Pure in 1.5 years but I would never recommend this car to anyone. Too many "workarounds" and usability issues, keys that are flaky, audio issues, carplay issues, Ap connection issues, waiting a minute or two to switch profiles..... Love driving the car but I have always been an enthusiast and willing to put up with more than most but I still curse at this car when the audio does not come back on after a call. I attribute the situation to Rawlson being an automotive engineer - that's where the focus is and he has done a brilliant job. Tesla, run by a software guy is the opposite.

My experience based on non-enthusiast friends is that they buy a car based on comfort and appearance. In general, they ignore the software features, which confuses them. Wipers, Audio and climate control tend to be the only amenities they use. I agree that communication and transparency is lacking, more than lacking, almost non-existant. But, there always a but, but the car is a great car to drive, looks great and gets lots of oos and ahs from people who see it.
Patience, the software will improve. Look how long it took Microsoft to go from ms/dos to a really functional version of windows: about 15 years. Same with Apple and there desktop OS. Patience please.

 

[HC_79]

Look how long it took Microsoft to go from ms/dos to a really functional version of windows: about 15 years. Same with Apple and there desktop OS. Patience please

You lost me at functional

 

[roKapl99]

You lost me at functional

Microsoft first had a Windows version which was an interface ontop of ms/dos. The first really functional GUI windows OS was when they released Windows/NT.

 

[roKapl99]

Microsoft first had a Windows version which was an interface ontop of ms/dos. The first really functional GUI windows OS was when they released Windows/NT.

Google Search

 

[hydbob]

Bear in mind that UX 1 was 3 years ago. I never experienced it. My AGT, acquired in Oct 2022, had UX 2 on it. I was constantly reminded by other forum members that "Lucid has made great advances. You should have seen UX 1.0". I am glad I never had the pleasure of experiencing UX 1.0.

My concerns are as follows:
> Aside from bugs, Lucid's SW suite is significantly behind the competition. Say what you will about Rivian's SW, but it works!
> I stated a few times that the current DD capability is no better than my 2017 Lexus RX450. That's a 8-10 year old benchmark! Also, go read the OoS review on DDP. iS it really ahead of competition?
> I chose Lucid over Tesla because I was leery over Telsa's exaggerated claims. I thought Lucid's approach sounded more realistic. 2-1/2 years hence, Lucid has not kept pace withe the industry.
> LIDAR was positioned as a game-changer. Where is LIDAR (aside from the rain warning)?

Lucid is behind competition when it comes to SW, bugs, and features. Lucid is a leader in its compact and powerful power train. In terms of efficiency and range, Lucid is amongst the best, but in real-life, Lucid is not as far ahead of competition as their claims. The persistent surprises expressed by owners in this forum on efficiency and range should be concerning. Lucid's pricing position itself as a significant premium over the competition. Lucid has to deliver on all fronts to keep the poll position!

What I really gather from this thread are that expectations are completely different from different folks and that this whole software is abysmal group are expecting mature software from a company who has been delivering cars for 3 years. I ain't no software guy like many here, but there is a lot more to the software than the customer facing issues people are having. All the software behind the great drive and tuning seems to be forgotten as being a part of the vehicle as well.

 

[Blue Lectroid]

What I really gather from this thread are that expectations are completely different from different folks and that this whole software is abysmal group are expecting mature software from a company who has been delivering cars for 3 years. I ain't no software guy like many here, but there is a lot more to the software than the customer facing issues people are having. All the software behind the great drive and tuning seems to be forgotten as being a part of the vehicle as well.

This is such an important point. The work that Lucid did with software (under the hood, so to speak) has delivered a drive that is almost universally acclaimed as being best in class. Do folks who doubt the UX really think that this same team is going to be unable to update the UX? Come on.

Everything from efficiency to handling to acceleration curves to braking balance and on and on are all controlled by…software.

Peter Rawlinson has promised another major step forward in the interface / UX this year. I wouldn’t bet against there being another major leap forward.

That said, I looked at buying a Lucid ever since they were announced as a replacement for my 2018 Tesla M3P as I felt (and still do) that Tesla’s development priorities are very different than what interests me. I want to drive my car and when a Company’s CEO envisions a world where my car will make all the decisions for me that just portends a suite of software moving further and further from what I want.

The only mistake I made in the transition from Tesla to Lucid? Waiting too long. I would wager a guess that most folks on the fence have never actually driven a Lucid. And that’s a shame…life’s short and the ride is sublime…

 

[Electrified]

I may as well contribute to this thread, more wine anyone?

 

[Blue Lectroid]

That bottle is too small for this thread! LOL

 

[Ktw13]

Rivian and Tesla doesn't have Apple Carplay nor Android Auto right?

I feel integrating these two system might be a big job and often introduces bug that might not be Lucids problem but they have to cope.

People complain about Tidal on Air, the interface on phone app and Android Auto in my Mercedes of Tidal is finicky too. Maybe that's why other brand exclude it.

Some hardware provided by third party might not be spec correctly that update of SW reveals the discrepancy.

I am sure Lucid is aware of that.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Lucid's pricing position itself as a significant premium over the competition. Lucid has to deliver on all fronts to keep the poll position!

I don't think I agree. I think the Lucid Air in its more basic form is in competition to the BMW I5, the Mercedes EQE, etc. While it originally was priced above the competition, I think it is now absolutely competitive in price with those luxury marques. In its more expansive form (AT, Sapphire) it is again competitive with its competition: the Porsche Taycan, etc.

But as a new entrant, it has to be better than its competition or less expensive than its competition.

 

[BS8899]

I don't think I agree. I think the Lucid Air in its more basic form is in competition to the BMW I5, the Mercedes EQE, etc. While it originally was priced above the competition, I think it is now absolutely competitive in price with those luxury marques. In its more expansive form (AT, Sapphire) it is again competitive with its competition: the Porsche Taycan, etc.

But as a new entrant, it has to be better than its competition or less expensive than its competition.

Well, YES and NO....Lucid "lowered" their base pricing (e.g., on the Air AGT and other trims) but made many thigs "optional" (360 camera, travel charger, DDP, etc.).


As an example, if you look at the Gravity pricing, the entry trim (2 row, no tow pkg, etc.) is below $100k. By the time you added the options, it is pushing $125k.

Air Pure/Touring have decent price points, but these trims have many options stripped out.

As long as we compare apples-to-apples, that's what counts.

 

[Batteryman]

Lucid has like 17 customers. Of course the service experience is better and more personal. Rivian was like that in the early days when I got my car. After they sold another 20x the number of cars, the service responsiveness went down the drain. Same with Tesla. I don’t actually think service is an issue with Lucid at all. (At least not yet).

Just as OP said, it all comes back to software. It’s not even adding new features. There’s no much random instability. If you try to play music while you’re at home connected to WiFi and you leave within a certain amount of time, too fast, you’ll just randomly lose connectivity for like 10 minutes. No internet maps, nada. Or the screen will black out for no reason, or the touch elements will stop responding. And then randomly it’ll come back after a leisurely amount of time. Once you’ve owned your car for a few months I think you’ll start to get a feel for all the things you had taken for granted in a Tesla that will start to become annoyances once again. But If not, good for you! I still think the vast majority of potential buyers won’t put up with all the UX glitches and issues.

I wish people on this form will stop constantly complaining about mundane things….tell Lucid customer service in your feedback. And we all know Lucid knows….no need to constantly bring up software. Lucid is working on it…..Peter said that himself. Go enjoy the car. This constant moan is getting irritating.

 

[BS8899]

I wish people on this form will stop constantly complaining about mundane things….tell Lucid customer service in your feedback. And we all know Lucid knows….no need to constantly bring up software. Lucid is working on it…..Peter said that himself. Go enjoy the car. This constant moan is getting irritating.

SW has been the Archies's Heel for Lucid. And yes, Rawlinson admitted that much. He says he is going to take personal charge to correct. That was more than 4 month ago.

To date, there has not been updates, roadmaps, and schedule to address these issues. The "radio-silence" is the issue.

Some SW issues are much more important than others. For example, "I can't get into my car" is important. "I don't like color of an icon on my display" is not.

If SW quality is indeed important enough to deserve the CEO's personal attention, Lucid should communicate a list of the key SW issues, plans to address these issues, including items they simply don't deem important to address, and provide regular updates.

As many owners have noted, there has been no communications from Lucid, period!

 

[msaunders9430]

You said it yourself in your first paragraph… this is nothing new to Lucid. The question is…does management and the money bag holders think investing in UX and software is worth it compared to say discounting cars and shipping as many as they can out the door. From the looks of it, I would say no.

The purpose of an open letter or posted online is to bring buzz and attention from a large group to enact change. Make enough noise, go viral, force management to respond, even if they’d rather dig their head in the sand. As I said in a previous post, many of the issues, enhancements, ideas that Rivian gets and applies to their software updates comes from Reddit and forum posts!

Emailing the CEO…I guarantee that’s going straight into spam/trash.

If your answer to your question about management thinking it's worthwhile to invest in UX and software is no, you should probably sell you Air and leave this forum. Obviously, your choice. I know if I felt that way, I would still be on this forum or have an Air. That's just me. We're all individuals.

"The purpose of an open letter or posted online is to bring buzz and attention from a large group to enact change. Make enough noise, go viral, force management to respond, even if they’d rather dig their head in the sand."

Based on the above stated definition of an open letter, the OP could have saved themselves some time and energy. However, perhaps it was cathartic for them.

This forum has been in existence for almost 5 years!

• Bring buzz and attention from a large group to enact change - The issues/concerns stated by the OP are already known by Lucid. I don't see a single issue mentioned in the post that has not already been posted by some other member, including members who have a long term relationship with Lucid officials. Lucid knows and is working on improving their product. It's their job!!!
• Make noise, go viral, force management - If you want to bust in the room and ask for answers, you'll probably see a room full of people working and asking "what do you need, we're kinda working here". Go viral? Nothing new in the letter that hasn't already been said in another post. No media/press here to take this on air.
• They'd rather did their head in the sand - No. Probably busy working and not spending all day going through posts on this forum about issues they are already aware of.

An email doesn't have to just go to the CEO. There are other company officials who could receive the email. It's been done by other forum members who wanted a reply. There is a Lucid employee on this forum. However, I'm pretty sure they are busy doing their job which probably isn't responding to every issue posted by a member. There are other employees who can respond if a response is desired.

 

[Katori]

On behalf of all the Lucid owners who don't post about not having key fob / software issues;

I don't have software or key fob issues.

I’m not quite in your camp but close. I very rarely have such issues. Definitely not enough to detract from such a great car.