Plaid Owner, What Would Lucid Be Like?

[Crued]

Hi. This is not a performance discussion, but an overall vehicle discussion.

I love my S Plaid, but it has it's Telsa specific issues like creeky lousy interior and such. It's small for me as I'm non-small, and I have to get in it like a walrus on a rubber raft in the ocean. It's super fun to drive, and a rocket on wheels. It has the best charging infrastructure. I secretly wish I bought an X Plaid.

There is a '22 Lucid Dream Ed available locally and I find very appealing. Anybody who's been in/owned/experienced both... What would I miss about my Tesla and what would I enjoy with the Lucid (I think interior quality can be skipped as that's a given). I'm specifically looking for what is Lucid's driving assist like, how is the auto cruise, the NAV, the electronics, etc etc etc. What should I look out for on a used Lucid?

Thanks in advance.

 

[hydbob]

Search results for query: Plaid

lucidowners.com

 

[DeaneG]

.... I'm specifically looking for what is Lucid's driving assist like, how is the auto cruise, the NAV, the electronics, etc etc etc. What should I look out for on a used Lucid?

Lucid's driving quality is its strong point at the present time, not its software, which is functional. I'm expecting it to significantly improve over the coming year.
Auto Cruise (TACC and lanekeeping) works quite well in most circumstances.

Lightly-used Air Dream Edition or Grand Touring cars are some of the great bargains of the current EV market.

 

[xponents]

@blueice89 @koflo have very good knowledge about this, and both of them have differing viewpoints which should be good! Koflo specifically has a used DE as well.

 

[Bus Driver]

You thought getting in and out of a Model S was difficult? Wait ‘til you try getting in and out of a Lucid Air.

My partner is a man “of size”, though currently on a crusade to make himself “less of size”. He’s slowly and gradually succeeding, but I digress.

My partner loathes, just loathes, my Lucid, except when I have him drive it. His biggest problem with it is getting in and out. The car is very low slung, and my partner is long-waisted. Watching him wedge himself into the front seat, and prying himself out again is an exercise in witnessing self-harm. He grabs the roof railing from the inside, bends down, then grunts, hisses like a goanna, swears, and turns red in the face; he crams his neck under the roof, does a half turn, plops down in the seat, swings his legs in, then slams the door. He absolutely hates it.

Consequently, when my partner and I go running around, and we choose to take one of my cars, I leave my Lucid Air at home. We use my 2018-build Tesla Model X100D instead. Which, as you would expect, creaks, rattles and roars with a cacophony of road and wind noise that only a Tesla can. My partner is far happier in that. I’m not.

I think other posters will chime in with responses more germaine to your question.

 

[Crued]

My partner loathes, just loathes, my Lucid, except when I have him drive it. His biggest problem with it is getting in and out. The car is very low slung, and my partner is long-waisted. Watching him wedge himself into the front seat, and prying himself out again is an exercise in witnessing self-harm. He grabs the roof railing from the inside, bends down, then grunts, hisses like a goanna, swears, and turns red in the face; he crams his neck under the roof, does a half turn, plops down in the seat, swings his legs in, then slams the door. He absolutely hates it.

This is really blasted funny because my mounting method on my Telsa is to go in head first up to my waist and then whilst simultaneously entering and sitting I spin in the air landing in position. My exit sounds very similar, but I use my elbow on the roof pillar/windshield and pry myself out of the car. I mean, it's no big deal, just permanent damage to my shoulder/rotator cuff.

I expected the Lucid to have more room. The issue with the Telsa is the B pillar is far forward and the wheel (yoke) comes out VERY from from the dash because the dash beings where the A pillar starts. It's not really a function of "room" or "volume" it's a result of the positioning of the car's pillars in relation to dash and seating position. Someone under 6 foot and 200lbs has no issue because they can just slip in.

 

[Unmutual]

You thought getting in and out of a Model S was difficult? Wait ‘til you try getting in and out of a Lucid Air.

My partner is a man “of size”, though currently on a crusade to make himself “less of size”. He’s slowly and gradually succeeding, but I digress.

My partner loathes, just loathes, my Lucid, except when I have him drive it. His biggest problem with it is getting in and out. The car is very low slung, and my partner is long-waisted. Watching him wedge himself into the front seat, and prying himself out again is an exercise in witnessing self-harm. He grabs the roof railing from the inside, bends down, then grunts, hisses like a goanna, swears, and turns red in the face; he crams his neck under the roof, does a half turn, plops down in the seat, swings his legs in, then slams the door. He absolutely hates it.

Consequently, when my partner and I go running around, and we choose to take one of my cars, I leave my Lucid Air at home. We use my 2018-build Tesla Model X100D instead. Which, as you would expect, creaks, rattles and roars with a cacophony of road and wind noise that only a Tesla can. My partner is far happier in that. I’m not.

I think other posters will chime in with responses more germaine to your question.

Much fulminating is involved.

 

[momo3605]

I made a video reviewing this exact question. Hopefully it can answer some of your questions!

Model S Plaid vs Vs Air Touring | Lucid Owners - Lucid Motors Forum

I'm specifically looking for what is Lucid's driving assist like, how is the auto cruise, the NAV, the electronics, etc etc etc.

If this is your priority, you'll be a bit disappointed, the NAV is slow and uses HERE maps, the highway assist doesn't really match up to autopilot, and overall the software/electronics have a lot of bugs, from phone key issues, to weird placement of buttons like homelink, and stability (backup camera going black, or touch buttons becoming inoperable and requiring reboot).

But from a hardware perspective, the Lucid drives, handles and feels like a much more premium car. It's also much more roomy inside

 

[Bus Driver]

Much fulminating is involved.

Oh, you have no idea.

 

[Crued]

I made a video reviewing this exact question. Hopefully it can answer some of your questions!

Model S Plaid vs Vs Air Touring | Lucid Owners - Lucid Motors Forum



If this is your priority, you'll be a bit disappointed, the NAV is slow and uses HERE maps, the highway assist doesn't really match up to autopilot, and overall the software/electronics have a lot of bugs, from phone key issues, to weird placement of buttons like homelink, and stability (backup camera going black, or touch buttons becoming inoperable and requiring reboot).

But from a hardware perspective, the Lucid drives, handles and feels like a much more premium car. It's also much bigger

Watching, excellent so far.

I would say for drive assistance, I'm looking from parity on my Genesis G90... not replication of FSD. I would like an improvment in "auto cruise" as Teslas is overly safe and irritating to all heck.

I've read about the bugs, but am really interested in how some of those goofy lock things I've read about haven't been fixed yet.

 

[hydbob]

Watching, excellent so far.

I would say for drive assistance, I'm looking from parity on my Genesis G90... not replication of FSD. I would like an improvment in "auto cruise" as Teslas is overly safe and irritating to all heck.

I've read about the bugs, but am really interested in how some of those goofy lock things I've read about haven't been fixed yet.

Because, as it turns out, no one can make a reliable retractable handle. Though, I've had my car for almost 2.5 years and haven't had a handle replaced.

 

[joec]

Watching, excellent so far.

I would say for drive assistance, I'm looking from parity on my Genesis G90... not replication of FSD. I would like an improvment in "auto cruise" as Teslas is overly safe and irritating to all heck.

I've read about the bugs, but am really interested in how some of those goofy lock things I've read about haven't been fixed yet.

Door locks seem to be largely dependent on a number of factors. Mine have always "just worked" whether I use the fob or the mobile key. Others report they can never get theirs to work. Which phone you use is definitely a factor, if you want to use mobile key exclusively. Certain models of Android phone seem to cause more issues.

If you go with the fob, I think most here would agree you'll have more consistency. Although you'll want to keep an eye on the battery. The fob batteries for the Lucid tend to die after four or five months. Fortunately, it's just a standard coin-sized watch battery. So easy to replace.

For others, it seems to be a bi of a luck of the draw on the antenna in your specific car. Like I said, mine work perfectly every time I walk up to the car. But I'm sure others will chime in here about how they have constant issues.

 

[xponents]

If this is your priority, you'll be a bit disappointed, the NAV is slow and uses HERE maps, the highway assist doesn't really match up to autopilot, and overall the software/electronics have a lot of bugs, from phone key issues, to weird placement of buttons like homelink, and stability (backup camera going black, or touch buttons becoming inoperable and requiring reboot).

But from a hardware perspective, the Lucid drives, handles and feels like a much more premium car. It's also much more roomy inside

Watching, excellent so far.

I would say for drive assistance, I'm looking from parity on my Genesis G90... not replication of FSD. I would like an improvment in "auto cruise" as Teslas is overly safe and irritating to all heck.

I've read about the bugs, but am really interested in how some of those goofy lock things I've read about haven't been fixed yet.

Well, I'd say the Lucid has industry leading ACC and its HA is pretty good (lane centering + acc). However, it does not have city driving like FSD. There are some glitches for the Lucid, but there has been some progress over the last year. Nowadays, some have flawless cars while others have issues.

 

[joec]

Well, I'd say the Lucid has industry leading ACC and its HA is pretty good (lane centering + acc). However, it does not have city driving like FSD. There are some glitches for the Lucid, but there has been some progress over the last year. Nowadays, some have flawless cars while others have issues.

Most of the HA complaints we've had on the forums are no longer happening. We all want it to be more capable, of course, which will come in time. But most of the more "buggy" behavior of mid-last year seems to have been fixed. Some still have issues with sharp curves. But even my Model-Y owning friend who loves his Tesla admitted last week when I drove him to the airport that the Air was remarkably stable in HA, and kept us in the lane well without any "ping-ponging."

 

[momo3605]

I would like an improvment in "auto cruise" as Teslas is overly safe and irritating to all heck.

I didn't think about that, you're talking about since the recent NHTSA "nerf" right? I haven't used autopilot since they added all the increased nags and suspension, but that does sound annoying. HA is at least not that intrusive. And I believe you can turn off camera monitoring, so you just have to jiggle the wheel every few seconds.

 

[Crued]

I didn't think about that, you're talking about since the recent NHTSA "nerf" right? I haven't used autopilot since they added all the increased nags and suspension, but that does sound annoying. HA is at least not that intrusive. And I believe you can turn off camera monitoring, so you just have to jiggle the wheel every few seconds.

No, before, after, always. I have several places around town where the car will attempt to come to a complete stop in the middle of the road because for some reason via its NAV it thinks there's a stop or "something" there, I can see the red line on the display and it's like just driveway entrance. Then there are the "I want to go 45 right now" and it will see a speed sign that says 25 and drop me down to 30 (% based adjustment) so then I spin my right wheel to raise it and it goes up 15, then I spin it down and it goes to 25 and the whole while the car is speeding up and slowing down like I'm 47 Coors Lights into a Friday night.

 

[joec]

No, before, after, always. I have several places around town where the car will attempt to come to a complete stop in the middle of the road because for some reason via its NAV it thinks there's a stop or "something" there, I can see the red line on the display and it's like just driveway entrance. Then there are the "I want to go 45 right now" and it will see a speed sign that says 25 and drop me down to 30 (% based adjustment) so then I spin my right wheel to raise it and it goes up 15, then I spin it down and it goes to 25 and the whole while the car is speeding up and slowing down like I'm 47 Coors Lights into a Friday night.

This drove me absolutely bonkers with my Tesla. So much so, I had to stop using FSD and Autopilot altogether. I ended up doing long road trips with a massive ache in my right foot after eight hours of driving with no cruise control I could trust.

I used to try it once every update just to see if it was getting any better. And every time I'd laugh as the car would brake in the midle of the road for no reason whatsoever, or slow down so abruptly when speed limits changed it might as well have been stopping cold. "Guess this update isn't going to do it."

 

[joec]

My Lucid, meanwhile, hasn't phantom braked once. No doubt, it's a less feature-packed system. But the features that are there work. And the car just drives much more smoothly in general. If someone pulls in front of me into my lane, it slows down smoothly, rather than panicking.

It's also nice not having to override the car wanting to change to the left lane 500 feet before a right lane exit. Honestly, I don't care if Lucid ever adds automatic lane changing to their HA. The Tesla was endlessly wanting to change lanes for no good reason.

 

[koflo]

@blueice89 @koflo have very good knowledge about this, and both of them have differing viewpoints which should be good! Koflo specifically has a used DE as well.

Thanks for the tag in!

Yeah I transitioned from a MSP with FSD to a Lucid Air DE-P. I tended to lean into and maximized the software features and functions of the MSP so take my (maybe overcritical) thoughts with a grain of salt as others here may not fully agree with me. With that being said the TLDR is that the MSP is the best EV I have owned but not the best car. The packaging of what Tesla offers is really hard to beat at times. The Lucid Air is the best car I have owned and its not all that close but not the best EV. I'll elaborate more below and break down the categories I can think of:

Straight Line Performance and Acceleration:
Well this is where Tesla shines in terms of performance. I don't think I have to explain the mind numbing experience that is the Tesla Acceleration. The Lucid kicks but the calibration of the MSP's pedal is touchy so when you press your foot down you get the jolting, mind numbing experience. The Lucid DE-P can do this but conditions have to be ideal as there is no battery warm up time like the Plaid has with its Drag Strip mode and at the end of the day it still will be slower by just a hair. Not to mention, the Plaid sits on bags so it can lower its stance for launches. The Lucid has little wiggle room on lowering thus probably could do better if it had both a dedicated drag strip mode and a way to lower the front end slightly.

Another thing I will mention is that the Plaid has 3 motors, 2 in the back and 1 in the front. When you launch a vehicle the weight distribution shifts to the back of the car thus you depend on your back motors more to propel you forward. The Lucid DE-P only has 2 motors, 1 in back and 1 in front thus you lose a little more HP launching it then you would the Plaid (in theory).

Last thing I will mention here that is a positive for the Air is that the Plaid never felt great during these launches. The chasis doesn't seemed tuned to handle those types of launches thus it felt a little wobbly when launching like that. I didn't feel as in control as I do with the Lucid. The Lucid feels extremely planted and the brakes are much improved so slowing down quickly is much easier on the Air.

Overall the plaid wins this category but its close.
1 - 0 Plaid

Handling Performance, Comfort, and Ride Quality:
This is where the Plaid loses a lot of credibility. As I mentioned above, going fast in the Plaid was easy but doing it around bends felt very sloppy. I also was under the impression that since the Model S was on air suspension that the ride could be adjusted to feel cloud like and that I could tune it in software to stiffen up when I wanted to. In theory that's how it should be as the software is capable but in general the Plaid is a rough ride IMO, much rougher than the Air. I will give the Plaid points for allowing you to tinker with your suspension, ride height, and wheel stiffness as I think thats just a cool feature for EV nerds like myself. Lastly, seat comfort on the Plaid was pretty good but the amount of adjustments you can do is lacking for its price point. The seat never really hugged me like I wanted them to. They want to be a bucket seat so bad but aren't good at it.

The air handles extremely well. Highway off ramp curves that I was nervous to take going 50 in the Plaid, I take going 70 in the Lucid without any issues. Extremely curvy roads are cake in this car. This is the biggest pro of the car thus why I say its the best car I have owned. Realistically I think only the Taycan competes in the EV space with the handling here. Comfort wise, the air is extremely comfortable. It eats bumps like they aren't there and that is even on its roughest ride settings. You do not have all the nerdy nobs and dials here to adjust the dampers or the stiffness of the wheel. You have 3 presets that you can swap through and thats it. The good thing is that these profiles are pretty solid so I cant complain. my only complaint is that you have to switch profiles every time you get into the car unlike the Tesla that remembers your profiles. The seats on the air have thigh adjustment, head cushion adjustments, and side bolster adjustments that make the seats hug you much better. Without getting into the materials too much, the air's seats are also softer in my opinion plus you get massaging included! I always joke that there's no car that allows you to go 0-60 in 2.5 seconds while getting a massage!

Overall Air wins this hands down and its not close.
1 - 1 Tied

Dream Drive vs Autopilot (and FSD):
Dream Drive Pro is not all that pro yet. You get what autopilot does but have to pay for it (although at this time its mostly handed out for free). I would say autopilot is still better, especially with tricky situations like merge lanes on the highway. The Tesla handles these a little more smoothly. The Air seems to freak out a little bit and isn't confidence inspiring many times. At this time, Lucid really doesn't have a product that competes with FSD even if FSD isn't always the most reliable.

Tesla wins
2-1 Plaid

Tech and Software:
This is Tesla's bread and butter. As I have alluded to throughout this post, Teslas software is very good. Some people here will say that the UI is not as intuitive as the airs and I do agree that the Tesla Interface is a little more busy however, the amount of options and features that Tesla allows you to tinker with is pretty incredible. The fluidity of that screen is unmatched by any vendor. Google maps is native. Not only the amount of music streaming services but also the quality of the integration is much better on the Tesla side. The car just works from a software front and in my 3 years of Tesla ownership, I can't say I was ever disappointed in its software stability. You could also talk about the amount of fun apps and streaming services you get here but I dont think people use those much. Still would rather have them then not. The phone app as well is much better on the Tesla side, I cant even turn on my heated seats via the mobile app on the Lucid. Lastly, touches like dog mode or built in dash cam footage or sentry mode are all things that I do miss. Cameras are just better as well.

Unfortunately for Lucid, this is its biggest weakness. The software is stable enough and the screens are fluid enough but not close to Teslas infotainment in my opinion. Here maps is the default which isn't great, integration with music streaming services is kind of weak The UI is definitely intuitive but the reality is that part of it is because the feature set offered is pretty underwhelming. If you are a software nerd, the Air might leave something to be desired. I will say you get Apple car play (on a small screen) that is a pro. The screens are also gorgeous but at the time, the lack of features doesn't allow you to take full advantage of the displays. One small note, only one of the Lucid's phone holders is a charger as well. This is slightly annoying and most people buy a 3rd party accessory to fix this. Tesla's approach is better. Last thing here, ACC sensors are great to have back.

Tesla wins by a landslide.
3-1 Plaid

Range and Charging:
This one is hard purely because of the charging infrastructure that Tesla offers. I personally don't rely on public charging so this hardly effects me. I can tell you that from owning both cars, the delta between advertised range vs actual range is pretty similar on both cars. The difference is the Tesla doesn't offer a car with the amount of range that the Lucid does. I am getting close to 100 miles more range out of my air than I did my Tesla. Mix that with faster potential charging (even though the curve is not as great as the Teslas) and you have an amazing range vehicle in the air. If they were more aggressive with the charging curve then this would be a no brainer. This also may change a little if you live in a cold climate as the air does not have a heat pump.

I still give this to the air by a decent margin. Would be different if I relied on public charging more though.
3-2 Plaid

Material Choices and AC/Heating/Cooled Seats, Steering wheel:
Well this is an easy one. The Plaid is pretty simple in terms of materials. They did an amazing job at upping their game from their old pre-refreshed lineup but its not enough to compete with Lucid's interior. Real leather, a mix of materials, the two tone back seats, the adjustability, a real steering wheel, real stalks, real vent adjustments. I mean the list goes on but overall the Lucid makes you feel like you are in an expensive car. I love the interior as it strikes an amazing balance between too busy(think Mercedes or Audi) and too minimalist (Tesla). Not to mention the quietness of the interior is night and day in the Lucid.

AC, Heating, and cooled seats all are better on the Plaid but not enough to convince me that this category belongs to the Plaid. I still think its lopsided for Lucid here.
3-3 Tied

Fit and Finish:
This one may surprise people but I don't think the fit and finish, at least on a DE branded vehicle, is all that better on the Lucid. I do think that over time they have gotten much better so if you were looking at a 2024 then it would be a different story but I have had my fair share of fit and finish issues that are being addressed as we speak. Oh and on top of that this is the second attempt at fixing them. Oh and on top of that, they thought they fixed my broken frunk most recently but QC found another issue and pushed back my pickup date another 4 days. All that to say, I do think the fit and finish is better on the Lucid, especially with the later revisions but if you are looking at a DE-P you have to keep in mind that these cars were some of the first they created. You will have fit and finish issues as these cars were practically built by hand. I still think the machine as a whole though is much more confidence inspiring especially at higher speeds than the Tesla ever was. Its so much more quiet inside the cabin and you feel extremely planted on the road which I did not feel on my Plaid.

Lucid wins narrowly here for DE only cars. Wider for newer revisions.
4-3 Lucid
Service:
I never had an issue with Tesla service other than not being able to speak to a person. Typically their wait times were better than Lucids as well. However, Lucid does allow you to speak with real people and they do their damnest to make the customer happy. Unfortunately, I have had a lot of atypical experiences with the service of my personal vehicle which has left a little biased approach in my mouth.

I am going to give this one a tie.
5-4 Lucid

Conclusion:
Both are great cars and I think anyone that has owned either one is extremely fortunate. The Lucid drives so damn well but as an EV package (charging, tech, software mainly) they lag behind at times. The Tesla is the opposite. Kind of drives meh but its software package is superb along with the tech and charging. Its a great EV package. Since I have owned a Tesla for the last 3 years, it was time for something new and the Air is a great replacement. I hope that helps! Free to answer any questions along the way as well!

 

[xponents]

Thanks for the tag in!

Yeah I transitioned from a MSP with FSD to a Lucid Air DE-P. I tended to lean into and maximized the software features and functions of the MSP so take my (maybe overcritical) thoughts with a grain of salt as others here may not fully agree with me. With that being said the TLDR is that the MSP is the best EV I have owned but not the best car. The packaging of what Tesla offers is really hard to beat at times. The Lucid Air is the best car I have owned and its not all that close but not the best EV. I'll elaborate more below and break down the categories I can think of:

Straight Line Performance and Acceleration:
Well this is where Tesla shines in terms of performance. I don't think I have to explain the mind numbing experience that is the Tesla Acceleration. The Lucid kicks but the calibration of the MSP's pedal is touchy so when you press your foot down you get the jolting, mind numbing experience. The Lucid DE-P can do this but conditions have to be ideal as there is no battery warm up time like the Plaid has with its Drag Strip mode and at the end of the day it still will be slower by just a hair. Not to mention, the Plaid sits on bags so it can lower its stance for launches. The Lucid has little wiggle room on lowering thus probably could do better if it had both a dedicated drag strip mode and a way to lower the front end slightly.

Another thing I will mention is that the Plaid has 3 motors, 2 in the back and 1 in the front. When you launch a vehicle the weight distribution shifts to the back of the car thus you depend on your back motors more to propel you forward. The Lucid DE-P only has 2 motors, 1 in back and 1 in front thus you lose a little more HP launching it then you would the Plaid (in theory).

Last thing I will mention here that is a positive for the Air is that the Plaid never felt great during these launches. The chasis doesn't seemed tuned to handle those types of launches thus it felt a little wobbly when launching like that. I didn't feel as in control as I do with the Lucid. The Lucid feels extremely planted and the brakes are much improved so slowing down quickly is much easier on the Air.

Overall the plaid wins this category but its close.
1 - 0 Plaid

Handling Performance, Comfort, and Ride Quality:
This is where the Plaid loses a lot of credibility. As I mentioned above, going fast in the Plaid was easy but doing it around bends felt very sloppy. I also was under the impression that since the Model S was on air suspension that the ride could be adjusted to feel cloud like and that I could tune it in software to stiffen up when I wanted to. In theory that's how it should be as the software is capable but in general the Plaid is a rough ride IMO, much rougher than the Air. I will give the Plaid points for allowing you to tinker with your suspension, ride height, and wheel stiffness as I think thats just a cool feature for EV nerds like myself. Lastly, seat comfort on the Plaid was pretty good but the amount of adjustments you can do is lacking for its price point. The seat never really hugged me like I wanted them to. They want to be a bucket seat so bad but aren't good at it.

The air handles extremely well. Highway off ramp curves that I was nervous to take going 50 in the Plaid, I take going 70 in the Lucid without any issues. Extremely curvy roads are cake in this car. This is the biggest pro of the car thus why I say its the best car I have owned. Realistically I think only the Taycan competes in the EV space with the handling here. Comfort wise, the air is extremely comfortable. It eats bumps like they aren't there and that is even on its roughest ride settings. You do not have all the nerdy nobs and dials here to adjust the dampers or the stiffness of the wheel. You have 3 presets that you can swap through and thats it. The good thing is that these profiles are pretty solid so I cant complain. my only complaint is that you have to switch profiles every time you get into the car unlike the Tesla that remembers your profiles. The seats on the air have thigh adjustment, head cushion adjustments, and side bolster adjustments that make the seats hug you much better. Without getting into the materials too much, the air's seats are also softer in my opinion plus you get massaging included! I always joke that there's no car that allows you to go 0-60 in 2.5 seconds while getting a massage!

Overall Air wins this hands down and its not close.
1 - 1 Tied

Dream Drive vs Autopilot (and FSD):
Dream Drive Pro is not all that pro yet. You get what autopilot does but have to pay for it (although at this time its mostly handed out for free). I would say autopilot is still better, especially with tricky situations like merge lanes on the highway. The Tesla handles these a little more smoothly. The Air seems to freak out a little bit and isn't confidence inspiring many times. At this time, Lucid really doesn't have a product that competes with FSD even if FSD isn't always the most reliable.

Tesla wins
2-1 Plaid

Tech and Software:
This is Tesla's bread and butter. As I have alluded to throughout this post, Teslas software is very good. Some people here will say that the UI is not as intuitive as the airs and I do agree that the Tesla Interface is a little more busy however, the amount of options and features that Tesla allows you to tinker with is pretty incredible. The fluidity of that screen is unmatched by any vendor. Google maps is native. Not only the amount of music streaming services but also the quality of the integration is much better on the Tesla side. The car just works from a software front and in my 3 years of Tesla ownership, I can't say I was ever disappointed in its software stability. You could also talk about the amount of fun apps and streaming services you get here but I dont think people use those much. Still would rather have them then not. The phone app as well is much better on the Tesla side, I cant even turn on my heated seats via the mobile app on the Lucid. Lastly, touches like dog mode or built in dash cam footage or sentry mode are all things that I do miss. Cameras are just better as well.

Unfortunately for Lucid, this is its biggest weakness. The software is stable enough and the screens are fluid enough but not close to Teslas infotainment in my opinion. Here maps is the default which isn't great, integration with music streaming services is kind of weak The UI is definitely intuitive but the reality is that part of it is because the feature set offered is pretty underwhelming. If you are a software nerd, the Air might leave something to be desired. I will say you get Apple car play (on a small screen) that is a pro. The screens are also gorgeous but at the time, the lack of features doesn't allow you to take full advantage of the displays. One small note, only one of the Lucid's phone holders is a charger as well. This is slightly annoying and most people buy a 3rd party accessory to fix this. Tesla's approach is better. Last thing here, ACC sensors are great to have back.

Tesla wins by a landslide.
3-1 Plaid

Range and Charging:
This one is hard purely because of the charging infrastructure that Tesla offers. I personally don't rely on public charging so this hardly effects me. I can tell you that from owning both cars, the delta between advertised range vs actual range is pretty similar on both cars. The difference is the Tesla doesn't offer a car with the amount of range that the Lucid does. I am getting close to 100 miles more range out of my air than I did my Tesla. Mix that with faster potential charging (even though the curve is not as great as the Teslas) and you have an amazing range vehicle in the air. If they were more aggressive with the charging curve then this would be a no brainer. This also may change a little if you live in a cold climate as the air does not have a heat pump.

I still give this to the air by a decent margin. Would be different if I relied on public charging more though.
3-2 Plaid

Material Choices and AC/Heating/Cooled Seats, Steering wheel:
Well this is an easy one. The Plaid is pretty simple in terms of materials. They did an amazing job at upping their game from their old pre-refreshed lineup but its not enough to compete with Lucid's interior. Real leather, a mix of materials, the two tone back seats, the adjustability, a real steering wheel, real stalks, real vent adjustments. I mean the list goes on but overall the Lucid makes you feel like you are in an expensive car. I love the interior as it strikes an amazing balance between too busy(think Mercedes or Audi) and too minimalist (Tesla). Not to mention the quietness of the interior is night and day in the Lucid.

AC, Heating, and cooled seats all are better on the Plaid but not enough to convince me that this category belongs to the Plaid. I still think its lopsided for Lucid here.
3-3 Tied

Fit and Finish:
This one may surprise people but I don't think the fit and finish, at least on a DE branded vehicle, is all that better on the Lucid. I do think that over time they have gotten much better so if you were looking at a 2024 then it would be a different story but I have had my fair share of fit and finish issues that are being addressed as we speak. Oh and on top of that this is the second attempt at fixing them. Oh and on top of that, they thought they fixed my broken frunk most recently but QC found another issue and pushed back my pickup date another 4 days. All that to say, I do think the fit and finish is better on the Lucid, especially with the later revisions but if you are looking at a DE-P you have to keep in mind that these cars were some of the first they created. You will have fit and finish issues as these cars were practically built by hand. I still think the machine as a whole though is much more confidence inspiring especially at higher speeds than the Tesla ever was. Its so much more quiet inside the cabin and you feel extremely planted on the road which I did not feel on my Plaid.

Lucid wins narrowly here for DE only cars. Wider for newer revisions.
4-3 Lucid
Service:
I never had an issue with Tesla service other than not being able to speak to a person. Typically their wait times were better than Lucids as well. However, Lucid does allow you to speak with real people and they do their damnest to make the customer happy. Unfortunately, I have had a lot of atypical experiences with the service of my personal vehicle which has left a little biased approach in my mouth.

I am going to give this one a tie.
5-4 Lucid

Conclusion:
Both are great cars and I think anyone that has owned either one is extremely fortunate. The Lucid drives so damn well but as an EV package (charging, tech, software mainly) they lag behind at times. The Tesla is the opposite. Kind of drives meh but its software package is superb along with the tech and charging. Its a great EV package. Since I have owned a Tesla for the last 3 years, it was time for something new and the Air is a great replacement. I hope that helps! Free to answer any questions along the way as well!

Incredibly detailed and a comparison that I agree with on all counts except service. I wonder if you could put this as a dedicated thread in the Car Comparisons forum, as many other people comparing the Air to a S will likely be wanting this same comparison?