I know a lot o folks will respond to this update this with "I can't believe they haven't done 'X' yet!" Where X is whatever their biggest pet peeve is. I get it. But I think it's actually a good thing that this update has so few new features.
I think it's a really good sign that someone on Lucid's software team had enough pull to fight off any prompting from other departments to constantly rethink the software while they were rewriting it. That clearly wasn't the case a year ago.
My understanding is that at least part of the reason the software stack was so unstable was that execs were changing their minds and moving the goal posts throughout the original development process. And that meant everything was built too fast, with far too many cooks in the kitchen, making far too many demands.
This time around, someone put their foot down and said "We designed a good car interface a year ago, and now we're going to build that." A better interface will come later.
That may not be a normal development process. But it was what was needed.
This eliminates tons of back and forth with the design team, tons of half-built features that get scrapped and stared over again, and on and on. Basically, they had a blueprint, and they were able to simply follow it. That's the only reason this is shipping a year later and not three years later.
Even new "features" like Highway Assist and the directions next to the speedo were likely meant for the original design (which is probably why it's been in the manual all along). So including them was a matter of building, not designing and building.
There will be plenty of time to address shortcomings in that original UI. I'm sure there are folks already working on those designs. But someone kept those people as far away from the developers doing the rewrite as possible, and I think it made all the difference.
Start with the foundation. Then addressing shortcomings becomes a thousand times easier. From here on out, they can go back to a "normal" release cycle.
Sounds obvious, but it's not exactly common for corporations to pivot this quickly. To take a culture where software was clearly assumed to be a given, and thus not given a proper seat at the table, and do a 180 to where the software team gets to have a much stronger voice? It's not unheard of, but it's not an everyday thing, believe me.
First with the factory shakeup, and now with software, Lucid is proving that it can quickly correct mistakes and adapt as needed.
I know, I know. You call a year quick? Yes. Yes I do. To rewrite an entire automobile interface? You bet your butt that's quick.
Sure, Rivian may have been better out of the gate, but have they been tested like this? We won't know until they reach their first real crisis.
Tesla has had crap paint and poor manufacturing standards for over a decade. Have they ever really addressed it? Or have they just coasted on being the only EV maker in town up until now?
I'm much more willing to bet on a team that was down in the 4th quarter and came back to win enough games to make it to the playoffs than a team that hasn't lost a game all season.
).
