Open letter to Lucid after 7 months of ownership

[varneytjv172]

An

Your software keeps me from ordering my next Lucid or recommend it to anyone that is not an enthusiast. I understand that no software is perfect at any time, but the issues I and others are having, combined with a lack of fixes, lack of communication, lack of transparency, and a habit of consistently introducing new bugs with each new release, makes me say "no" to my next car being a Lucid. More than that, it makes me recommend against buying a Lucid to everyone that is asking and it's not an enthusiast.

Don't be fooled by the great support, feedback, and leniency that most of the people on this forum have. They are enthusiasts, willing to overlook most issues, because they love the other aspects of the car/brand or lucked out with a problem-free car. But the market that Lucid wants to conquer, that Lucid NEEDS in order to SURIVE, is not made of enthusiasts. It's made of average people that will NOT put up with all the issues that I and others have. Especially when you're paying an average of $90k. Once you get on the radar, you will be eviscerated and it will be very hard to recover from that.

I get it that you cannot get your software right, or at least not in the near future. But at a minimum you need more transparency, more communication, so people know what to expect. Keeping them in the dark will only increase the frustration. Most people here are adults, they can handle bad news. They already chose to take a risk buying your car, so they never expected perfection. Don't drive them away. Be honest with them, and they will understand your pains, make them believers.

Continuing with this strategy will work against you. It's math. A brand enthusiast will recommend Lucid to 10 other people. As it happens in life, all 10 will consider, but only 1 will buy. Now think of an unhappy owner. They will recommend against buying a Lucid to 10 people. Most probably that 10 out of 10 will not buy. Moreover, as people love to exaggerate and complain even though they never experienced a Lucid, they will start recommend against it while sipping on their Chardonnay at the next party in San Diego - just to show how knowledgeable and trendy they are. You have an snowball effect, that might or not be fair, but bad news spreads like fire nowadays. In my 7 months with Lucid, I already had 2 acquittances coming out of nowhere, looking at me like I was crazy for driving a Lucid, based on the "feedback" they got from a third cousin of an uncle of a step brother that had issues with their Lucid. Imagine how many times they said that to others.

I don't pretend to have solutions for the pickle you are in. I'm just providing feedback and (unsolicited) opinion, as someone that can hold two thoughts in their head at the same time: 1) I love the Lucid brand, and my AGT; 2) I cannot recommend it to the non-enthusiast crowd that we're hosting one a month. Moreover, if they are asking, I would recommend against it, because I don't think they will be willing to put up with the issues I dealing with.

I am leading my 5th engineering group, in just as many companies, and I know how tough it is to get it right, especially on a time and budget crunch. As an Executive, the buck stops with me, regardless who screwed up or what happened. The board, or the CEO doesn't care, that's why they are paying me, they want solutions. The only thing that helped, even when I did not have a solid solution for a given issue, was transparency and communication. People will still hate the issue, but they will understand what's behind it, the constraints that I am dealing with. That builds trust. And sometimes trust acts like an investment that keeps you solvent, until you can fix the core issues.

I hope that your current strategy will work and I will be proven wrong, as just another rambling mouth. I would love nothing more than this brand to succeed. Break a leg

"An open letter to Lucid"?
How many Lucid executives are going to read this ? It's really aimed at other members of this forum and another person Lucid bashing. There are many of those and do we really need another?
Perhaps you should put this post in an envelope and mail it to corporate.
I did my research before I bought my Lucid, was aware of the potential shortcomings and knowing them went ahead and bought it anyway. If i have any problems with it then its my bad. I wont come on here slagging off its issues.
This post may rub some people up the wrong way but complainers should have been aware that this car is not perfect just like many others.
Rant finished.

 

[msaunders9430]

I am not new to EVs though I am new to Lucid. Or at least I will be when my '23 AGT finally arrives. I've read a lot of the issues and concerns voiced in this thread, though I must concede that reading 16 pages while providing visual and moral support to the Bills as they try to close out the Wild Card game against the Jaguars wasn't meant to happen.

We've had two Chevrolet Volts (one of each generation), and currently have a '23 Tesla Model Y, and a '24 Equinox EV.I'm very familiar with GM's Ultium platform. What Lucid owners are seeing is not unique to Lucid. It is just unique in the sense that you are experiencing them with Lucid and may not be aware of issues with what's going on with the other brands. I chose to go out on a limb and make the deal on the '23 AGT because

1. Most of the issues I saw complaints around from early owners and reviewers appear to have been resolved or at least greatly improved via software upgrades.
2. Most reviews of '24 - '26 Air models focus more on the capability and less on the occasional quirk / malady.
3. Even though the original owner may not have appreciated paying $140k+ for a car with some issues, I have zero qualms with riding their depreciation down and paying less than 40% sticker price for a vehicle that is arguably better today than it was on Day 1, even if there are some mitigations.

Of course, we'll see how patient I am with quirks as I receive and experience the car in real time.

Here are some of the things that get complained about on the Tesla forums:

• Phantom braking
• 12V battery dying inexplicably
• Panel gaps
• Lack of 360 camera
• Not getting anyway near claimed range
• FSD...some love it and will defend it 'til the bitter end. Some are very skeptical and refuse to drink the koolaid (I'm squarely planted in the second group)

Here are issues we've actually experienced with our Tesla:

• FSD has tried to kill me. Although, in fairness I will say it was because I unwisely used it with a hitch-mounted bike carrier that apparently interfered with camera operation. Thing is, the system did not tell me that the camera views were degraded and allowed the system to pretend to work instead of locking it out.
• Not getting anywhere near the range in most situations. I CAN achieve stated range, but I'd probably hear a lot of honking horns and/or see a lot one-finger waves.
• Sometimes the system switches to my profile when I get in the car, sometimes it stays on my wife's profile and I have to manually switch it (she's the primary driver).

Here are some of the things that get complained about on the Equinox EV forum:

• Charge port door says it's open when it isn't.
• Doors unlock even when you don't want them to.
• When Bluetooth streaming is interrupted by a phone call it will often not go back to the Bluetooth source when call ends.
• Sometimes the vehicle ignores charge limits and charges to 90% or higher overnight when set at 80%.
• Remote start doesn't always work, whether from the app or the key fob.
• Proximity tailgate opening is too sensitive / not sensitive enough.
• Infotainment screen goes braindead.

Here are my issues with Equinox EV (I'm the primary driver):

• Remote start works everywhere EXCEPT when I'm plugged in at home. Exactly when I would most want it to work, of course.
• Doors unlock even when I don't want them to (when I'm mowing the lawn and the keys are in my pocket). Sounds like Lucid owners would LOVE to have this problem
• When Bluetooth streaming is interrupted by a phone call it will often not go back to the Bluetooth source when call ends.
• In very cold weather charge port door says it's open when it isn't.
• Bad panel gap on driver's side of tailgate.

And it's not just EVs or software defined vehicles. A Camaro I've owned since 2017 has had an issue with the battery where if the vehicle goes 3 or more days without being started it would be brain-dead. I spent years putting it on a battery tender before Chevrolet eventually figured it out.

Thanks for the perspective.
Similar to posts from forum members who own other EVs and are members of other forums.
Those posts are on pages 9 and 10 of the 16 pages.
You probably haven't gotten to them yet. Kidding.

It sounds like you're also a more tolerant car owner with an optimistic perspective.
Another person with the same ownership history as you, especially the EVs, but a not so optimistic perspective, might say they are done with EV ownership.
Several human traits in play regardless of the car brand.
Not a criticism of anyone, just a reality of life in general.

BTW, if the Bills don't make it to the Super Bowl, we know it's because you were busy on this forum, not the Broncos or Patriots (can't blame the Chiefs this year).

 

[socktucker]

Turns out you only need 4 million followers on YouTube for them to take you seriously.