The Press Embargo Has Been Lifted

[NunyaBiz]

Very little about ADAS in these videos. Same performance as the Air?

 

[msaunders9430]

Good to see the Motorhead Moma video. I hope the soccer moms out there who like being up high as queen of the road in an Escalade or Suburban, will view her video.

Wading into the minivan/station wagon pool: Those who like them will love the Gravity.
For the off-road macho stud: Go check out the off-road and rally course part of the MilesPerHr video and ask yourself "does a minivan drive like this?".

Two quotes from Motorhead Moma stand out:
1)"I'm shocked that this is so nice”. “
2)"You’re never gonna drive this car and be like, it costs a lot of money”.

 

[Lucken]

Well to be fair, there were these negatives, some of which sounded familiar with some early Airs:

‘My test car and a few others at the first drive event had some fit, finish and tech issues. One of the most egregious was on my production-unit test car a nearly three-quarter-inch misalignment between the door card and dashboard. Other trim pieces weren't totally fitted properly, and there were some tech issues too. The massaging seats — which were great when operational — would turn on and off at random intervals, and at one point my reverse camera decided it was done for the day. I spoke with a Lucid representative who assured me that these were teething issues on very early production models, and they would be fixed before actually getting to customers. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but we shall see.’

Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1833486/2025-lucid-gravity-suv-first-drive/

 

[hmp10]

After about 50 years doing electrical engineering, I have never heard of a "diffuser" except as what's behind that mesh panel on my Maserati's rear.

Hmmm . . . I wonder if she was referring to a miniature circuit breaker (MCB)? But getting that term confused with a word such as "diffuser" seems pretty extreme.

Then again, she is also the reviewer who said the Gravity is only slightly smaller than a Chevrolet Suburban (which is almost two feet longer than a Gravity).

 

[DeaneG]

...Then again, she is also the reviewer who said the Gravity is only slightly smaller than a Chevrolet Suburban (which is almost two feet longer than a Gravity).

More than two feet!

 

[msaunders9430]

Well to be fair, there were these negatives, some of which sounded familiar with some early Airs:

‘My test car and a few others at the first drive event had some fit, finish and tech issues. One of the most egregious was on my production-unit test car a nearly three-quarter-inch misalignment between the door card and dashboard. Other trim pieces weren't totally fitted properly, and there were some tech issues too. The massaging seats — which were great when operational — would turn on and off at random intervals, and at one point my reverse camera decided it was done for the day. I spoke with a Lucid representative who assured me that these were teething issues on very early production models, and they would be fixed before actually getting to customers. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but we shall see.’

Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1833486/2025-lucid-gravity-suv-first-drive/

Good to know this was stated.
I've been looking at videos and reading articles to the point where I'm now just skimming articles, so I missed that information.

We shall see indeed.
No car is perfect, especially early production ones.

I imagine some imperfections will slip through to customers.
If Lucid service can address customer concerns and keep them happy (all of which is relative) the future looks bright.
Positives need to outweigh negatives significantly (also relative).

 

[hmp10]

I imagine some imperfections will slip through to customers.

No doubt . . . which is why, now that I have an order locked in, I'm ready to cool my jets a bit for Lucid to keep working through its "to do" list.

The stock market's going to do with the stock what it will, regardless of delays, press reviews, or almost weekly breathlessly-exciting new "introductions" of the Gravity.

 

[borski]

Well to be fair, there were these negatives, some of which sounded familiar with some early Airs:

‘My test car and a few others at the first drive event had some fit, finish and tech issues. One of the most egregious was on my production-unit test car a nearly three-quarter-inch misalignment between the door card and dashboard. Other trim pieces weren't totally fitted properly, and there were some tech issues too. The massaging seats — which were great when operational — would turn on and off at random intervals, and at one point my reverse camera decided it was done for the day. I spoke with a Lucid representative who assured me that these were teething issues on very early production models, and they would be fixed before actually getting to customers. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but we shall see.’

Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/1833486/2025-lucid-gravity-suv-first-drive/

My massaging seats have never turned off. Which reminds me, there’s no 20-minute limit, it seems.

 

[Elfin]

Rivian and Tesla call them "e-fuses"
I suppose someone could mishear that as diffuser.

 

[Bdr100]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Been following this forum for a couple months and considering Gravity purchase for next year, so have been following progress hoping these reviews answer my concerns and also need to go to local Design Center (Houston) when vehicles/ test drives hit our area to get wife sign off.
One item of note that no one seems to have noticed is that all of the reviews mention a starting price of $96,650 even though price on Lucid site still shows $94,900. And no, delivery charge does not account for difference.

 

[PetevB]

One item of note that no one seems to have noticed is that all of the reviews mention a starting price of $96,650 even though price on Lucid site still shows $94,900. And no, delivery charge does not account for difference.

The press release has $94,900, the website adds 1650 destination fee and 75 doc fee for 96,625 total. I’m not sure where the extra $25 went.

I’ll also note that they are calling it a 2026 model year:

https://ir.lucidmotors.com/node/9956/pdf

 

[msaunders9430]

I know companies have media events/days; much like what Lucid has done.
However, it's like they invited every media outlet they could think of and even welcomed the uninvited to a big dance.

I don't recall this happening with the Air.
I'm not a car guy, so I don't historically follow car companies as close as some of you have.
This was quite a day for Lucid.
The press release containing mostly previously released information was anti-climatic for me.

Is a big media release like today, maybe not a common occurence, but is it rare?
Have other car makers done similar to the magnitude of today?
Maybe so and I just never noticed because I've never researched this much prior to a car purchase; mostly because EVs are new to me.

 

[segbrk]

After about 50 years doing electrical engineering, I have never heard of a "diffuser" except as what's behind that mesh panel on my Maserati's rear.
View attachment 28131

I heard the same thing from the source -- somebody misheard e-fuse. They've gone from the bulky fuseboxes we have in our Airs to software controllable e-fuses.

 

[WeighingGravity]

I notice that most of the outlets that have done videos (so far) are channels I personally hadn’t heard of and that some of the bigger producers (throttle house, hagerty) haven’t come out yet. Also it was a strange tidbit was that OOS, which has been given amazing access up til now, apparently was crowded out of the press day… even though OOS specifically mentioned that they would be doing a lot of driving in the upcoming week (as of the time of the walkthrough and charging videos).

I’m wondering if this press day wasn’t just phase 1 of a press rollout. It appears to have been “supervised” (note there seem to be lucid employees or otherwise unidentified passengers) in many of the vids (I haven’t had much more than a passing chance to skim them so apologies if I’m missing something) but also it looks like they all met at the same dirt track. And at least one written review (carbuzz) states clearly “First Drive events provide our initial impressions of a vehicle in a restricted environment under certain time constraints. Keep an eye on CarBuzz for our comprehensive Test Drive review which will follow soon.” And these mostly were smaller outlets.

I wonder if the press day is just a peek for now and the longer form reviewers actually got to take cars “out” for some period of time, and it might be a bit longer before they give us longer, more in-depth reviews?

 

[HC_79]

I notice that most of the outlets that have done videos (so far) are channels I personally hadn’t heard of and that some of the bigger producers (throttle house, hagerty) haven’t come out yet. Also it was a strange tidbit was that OOS, which has been given amazing access up til now, apparently was crowded out of the press day… even though OOS specifically mentioned that they would be doing a lot of driving in the upcoming week (as of the time of the walkthrough and charging videos).

I’m wondering if this press day wasn’t just phase 1 of a press rollout. It appears to have been “supervised” (note there seem to be lucid employees or otherwise unidentified passengers) in many of the vids (I haven’t had much more than a passing chance to skim them so apologies if I’m missing something) but also it looks like they all met at the same dirt track. And at least one written review (carbuzz) states clearly “First Drive events provide our initial impressions of a vehicle in a restricted environment under certain time constraints. Keep an eye on CarBuzz for our comprehensive Test Drive review which will follow soon.” And these mostly were smaller outlets.

I wonder if the press day is just a peek for now and the longer form reviewers actually got to take cars “out” for some period of time, and it might be a bit longer before they give us longer, more in-depth reviews?

Most press \ media days are very controlled. You can't have 30 people show up and then have someone take the car on a 4 hour drive. The longer reviews \ driving videos typically come a few months later when things have settled down in getting all the media outlets covered.

What I saw from the video and reviews is a typical media day \ press event. They get access to the car and get to ask Lucid staff questions. It's usually handled in a way where a group is off driving while the other group is off interviewing etc. then they switch places to make sure everyone gets to review, drive, interview.

 

[msaunders9430]

Most press \ media days are very controlled. You can't have 30 people show up and then have someone take the car on a 4 hour drive. The longer reviews \ driving videos typically come a few months later when things have settled down in getting all the media outlets covered.

What I saw from the video and reviews is a typical media day \ press event. They get access to the car and get to ask Lucid staff questions. It's usually handled in a way where a group is off driving while the other group is off interviewing etc. then they switch places to make sure everyone gets to review, drive, interview.

I never knew this, but it makes sense.

I suppose most of the video reviews I've seen were the ones that come months later.

So Rivian, Audi, etc. all had media day(s) prior to or in tandem with the production announcement?

 

[LuvLucy]

My massaging seats have never turned off. Which reminds me, there’s no 20-minute limit, it seems.

Lucid, if you don't back-port this to the Air, be prepared for WAR!!!

 

[HC_79]

So Rivian, Audi, etc. all had media day(s) prior to or in tandem with the production announcement?

Yeah, it’s not uncommon for any product launch really.

Look at Kyle Connor with the Air, he did many drives / reviews with it but wasn’t until last year that he got to keep an Air for like 3 months to do more thorough videos / reviews of it.

 

[Steve181]

When I read about the missing parts in the Gravity UI, I got the gut feeling that AA for Air is further away than ever.

 

[hmp10]

So Rivian, Audi, etc. all had media day(s) prior to or in tandem with the production announcement?

Many automakers do. However, the attention the Gravity got in the auto press in a single day is something very unusual outside, perhaps, of a Tesla model launch: 9 YouTube videos and more than a dozen written reviews, including from heavy hitters such as "Motor Trend" and "Car & Driver".

I think this is a combination of several things:

- the auto press now views Lucid as a significant technology mover to be watched
- Lucid engineers and executives make themselves more available and engage more with the press than is typical for most automakers
- its prior model won most of the major industry awards, and there is speculation the Gravity will follow suit
- Tesla's troubles have drawn Lucid more into the spotlight as a budding alternative
- SUVs are the segment where EV model expansion is greatest and news draws the most views
- and maybe some other reasons . . . .