Q1 Production 2314 cars

[Steveinarizona]

I had a guy in a high end Mercedes drop his window saying " What the hell is that! It looks absolutely AMAZING!! " and then followed me for a mile or two just to look more at the car!! Go buy the damn thing

I have seen a few EQSs and they are not anywhere as nice as the Lucid.

 

[thecodingart]

Honestly, I still can't believe people don't understand how this will likely play out. People are still spelling doom/gloom without understanding the luxury car market, or how cash burn works. The car is simply amazing, the product is here to stay as long as cash burn can be recovered.

 

[thecodingart]

And all the rest of us are saying is selling Gravity at $60k, which would lose Lucid tens of thousands of dollars per sale, will also not help profits.

The key to profit is selling things for more money than they cost to make.

Ford is in the undesirable pit of reporting losses due to competitively pricing our vehicles with a low profit margin. Luxury vehicles are supposed to have a high profit margin and not compete with lower tier vehicles. Their value is their desirability.

 

[MoniputerLM]

I have seen a few EQSs and they are not anywhere as nice as the Lucid.

My wife has an AMG EQS. It is a very different car but she loves it. It drives differently than my DE-P but still drives very well. I am not a fan of the layers of menus in the UI but the software works very well. The HUD is also great with full NAV data displayed either from the built-in NAV or Android Auto.

To each his/her own, I guess.

 

[Bill55]

Ouch is right and not promising. I sure hope they can get going, but so far demand is not there and there are few cars in the wild. Still have not seen one in Ohio, even though I know there are a couple. Very tough market for any high priced auto manufacturer and even tougher for a start up. Saudi market is one thing, but they really need the US market.

I just drove SC to Mid-O then Toronto via Buffalo and back to SC by way of Detroit. Lots of people saw the Air for the first time. Unfortunately Electrify Canada was a shit show and the chargers would accept payment but error every time before charging initated. Fortunately lots of chargers in Canada. DC fast Charged with “Jule” and at Shell. Shell had 180kW ABB chargers and Jule had 150kW. Now up to 18.5k miles.

 

[Paco]

Gravity is not a Model Y. It is superior to Model X but that is a small market.

I agree, but at a model x price or more, it won’t help the bottom line, not enough buyers.
but imagine, selling a superior product at a model Y price. That would bring in buyers.

 

[HariK]

I agree, but at a model x price or more, it won’t help the bottom line, not enough buyers.
but imagine, selling a superior product at a model Y price. That would bring in buyers.

If they try to sell a much higher range product with more luxury and safety at the price of model y, how can they make money? Would tesla lower the price of model x close to model y?

 

[LCIDdreams]

I agree, but at a model x price or more, it won’t help the bottom line, not enough buyers.
but imagine, selling a superior product at a model Y price. That would bring in buyers.

A Model Y is $50k-$57k. The Gravity, as I understand, is a larger, heavier / less aerodynamic (bigger battery that Air to get good range?), maybe more complex (air suspension), and equally luxurious as the Air which starts at $87k.

That would be a “we lose money on every one we sell, but we’re gonna make it up with volume” approach. I.e Lucid would be eternally unprofitable.

 

[Paco]

A Model Y is $50k-$57k. The Gravity, as I understand, is a larger, heavier / less aerodynamic (bigger battery that Air to get good range?), maybe more complex (air suspension), and equally luxurious as the Air which starts at $87k.

That would be a “we lose money on every one we sell, but we’re gonna make it up with volume” approach. I.e Lucid would be eternally unprofitable.

Ok, so at what “volume approach” would you need to make money?

 

[off]

I agree, but at a model x price or more, it won’t help the bottom line, not enough buyers.
but imagine, selling a superior product at a model Y price. That would bring in buyers.

There was an eight year gap from the time Tesla started delivering the MS to delivering the MY. LCID is fully aware of this and producing something downmarket to compete (along with a M3 competitor), and it will most likely be less than the aforementioned time span.

Brand awareness is key, seems everyone here is constantly talking about and showing their Airs!

 

[LCIDdreams]

Ok, so at what “volume approach” would you need to make money?

Lucid would never make money by selling the Gravity for Model Y money at any volume because it will cost them more than that to make.

The quote is just a common joke.

 

[chinesejpl]

I think every EV maker not named Tesla, including Lucid, is many years away of building a model Y competitor at anywhere near Tesla margins. As much as people here knock on Tesla, myself included, it is undeniable that in addition to single-handedly building the EV industry, they are revolutionalizing the auto manufacturing industry with things like their gigapresses just as Toyota had done in the 90's.

 

[Bobby]

I think every EV maker not named Tesla, including Lucid, is many years away of building a model Y competitor at anywhere near Tesla margins. As much as people here knock on Tesla, myself included, it is undeniable that in addition to single-handedly building the EV industry, they are revolutionalizing the auto manufacturing industry with things like their gigapresses just as Toyota had done in the 90's.

Tesla did a lot of things right, and had the huge advantage of good timing. I'm not sure Lucid will ever be able to compete on that scale. However, there is a market for luxury cars and luxury SUVs. I hope Lucid can do well in that segment and eventually branch out.

 

[chinesejpl]

my own opinion is that Tesla did not time the market, they built it, which is what I see in truly innovative companies. In hindsight, it can appear as though these companies "timed" the market correctly but for those of us following Tesla over the last 10+ years, we know that they entered a world that was clearly not ready for EVs - gas/oil prices shortly around 2014/15 were low and people were just beginning to financially recover when the first MS was released. They mastered the "top-down" approach of selling luxury cars to fund the ultimate more affordable ones, used credit markets strategically, and deployed mega casting when nobody wanted to give it a chance. History shows that Elon had a lot of mockers both from the auto maker side and consumer. I give respect where I think respect is due and I have to say that Tesla being where it is today is not by any means related to chance but simply from an unwavering vision by Elon

 

[joec]

my own opinion is that Tesla did not time the market, they built it, which is what I see in truly innovative companies. In hindsight, it can appear as though these companies "timed" the market correctly but for those of us following Tesla over the last 10+ years, we know that they entered a world that was clearly not ready for EVs - gas/oil prices shortly around 2014/15 were low and people were just beginning to financially recover when the first MS was released. They mastered the "top-down" approach of selling luxury cars to fund the ultimate more affordable ones, used credit markets strategically, and deployed mega casting when nobody wanted to give it a chance. History shows that Elon had a lot of mockers both from the auto maker side and consumer. I give respect where I think respect is due and I have to say that Tesla being where it is today is not by any means related to chance but simply from an unwavering vision by Elon

It didn’t hurt that the entire competition at that time was avoiding even attempting to enter the EV market for several years while Tesla was building their brand. Traditional automakers are just now beginning to even try, and most of their models are still half-baked ICE conversions over a decade later.

That’s not to say Tesla (the entire company, not Elon alone) doesn‘t deserve a lot of credit for pulling off something no one thought they could. But if Tesla were entering the market as it exists now as a brand new company launching the Model S, they‘d be in pretty close to the same boat as Lucid.

Timing is everything, as they say.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I wouldn't assume that the cars in the lot are not sold. I think the long pole in the tent is the service centers and how many cars they can process through. I know once mine hit the service center it was a while before they were ready for me to pick it up.

This is an example of why the logistics of manufacturing and getting the product to the customer door is very difficult and complex. It is like the children's Skeleton Dance that we learned and played as kids. A holdup in one area can screw up the entire process.

 

[Canyonero!]

On one hand, I do enjoy having the only Air in probably a 2 hour radius.

OTOH, I don't want them to fail.

 

[Negan1000]

Ford is in the undesirable pit of reporting losses due to competitively pricing our vehicles with a low profit margin. Luxury vehicles are supposed to have a high profit margin and not compete with lower tier vehicles. Their value is their desirability.

You need to deliver the cars to realize the cash and profits.

 

[NoseyReporter]

Honestly, I still can't believe people don't understand how this will likely play out. People are still spelling doom/gloom without understanding the luxury car market, or how cash burn works. The car is simply amazing, the product is here to stay as long as cash burn can be recovered.

I think at their burn rate prior to layoffs, they were likely going to have to execute another round of funding early 2024.

They really need to get the cars that are sitting on the lots, off the book. That's such a huge money pit.

 

[digiboxer]

I think at their burn rate prior to layoffs, they were likely going to have to execute another round of funding early 2024.

They really need to get the cars that are sitting on the lots, off the book. That's such a huge money pit.

Good point. Every 1000 cars delivered = +/- $120M in cash