When does the Air become obsolete?

[Dortreo]

There’s no question that technology is moving fast in the EV world. Solid state batteries will probably be the biggest game changer, but they probably won‘t be made in any meaningful quantity until 2026 at the earliest with modest commercialization in 2027. However, they should be safer and lighter hopefully endIng the trend toward super-heavy EV cars.

With that in mind, when do you think a car like the Lucid Air becomes obsolete, at least in its current incarnation? It has every feature one could conceivably want in a car (though heated steering wheels for non-Dream editions have yet to be confirmed. .) And it’s at the very top for range and efficiency, with only the 4680 Teslas as an immediate threat.

Even with the advent of solid state batteries, is there anything about the Lucid Air that will make it a has-been? Or is it a keeper for the long, long term?

 

[hmp10]

With over-the-air-updates and styling that aged well, I was surprised by how little I felt my 2015 Tesla Model S P90D had aged by the time I traded it six years later -- the longest I have ever kept a car, by the way. Even after six years, it was still one of the quickest and most powerful sedans in production.

With so many aspects of an electric car being controlled by software, I think it will be relatively easy to keep a car evolving during ownership. While ICE vehicles offer some amenability to over-the-air updates on some features, their powertrains are much more "baked-in" at the outset than EV powertrains. For instance, there is performance margin in the Lucid motors that is untapped in the current iterations of the car, some of which can probably be tapped into with future modifications of power management software. As data accumulates on battery pack robustness, additional capacity in the pack or charging speeds can sometimes be opened further up. And, as Tesla recently demonstrated with an over-the-air update of the Plaid, certain suspension behavior responds to software changes.

The powerful EVs in the premium car lineups already come from the factory with acceleration and power that cannot be fully utilized on public roads. The cars put down power to the pavement that already exceeds tire traction limits. While later cars may arrive with more advertised power, it will be meaningless in terms of usability in the real world. In fact, most drivers of these ultra-powerful EVs report that, once the newness wears off, they tend to call up the car's power less and less. As time passed with my earlier high-performance ICE cars, their usable performance lost noticeable ground fairly quickly against new offerings. With my Tesla, the powertrain never felt outdated and, even with the transition to the Plaid, there is really no meaningful difference in everyday driving.

To me, the biggest risk of obsolescence lies in the styling, and that's too much a matter of personal taste to predict how that will go with Lucid. The Model S design has aged remarkably well to most eyes, as evidenced by how well the little-changed exterior of the new Model S is selling. I personally think Lucid has evinced a design ethos that will hold up well and toward which other EVs will move, but only time will tell.

 

[Adnillien]

...with only the 4680 Teslas as an immediate threat.

I don't think the 4680 is a real threat. Yes it is a larger form factor but the more significant change for Tesla will be the end cooling instead of the snake cooling. End cooling is already in production in the Lucid Airs.

 

[SDHacker]

Since staying up-to-date on styling isn't important to me, the current Air will be obsolete when it's computing and communication capability no longer suffice to meet future demands. I don't buy a new smartphone just to have the latest/greatest, the old one is replaced when it becomes too slow opening and running current apps (could be 4G to 5G speed for data intensive apps or the old cpu isn't fast enough to handle the new apps). I think the same will happen with the car - some new features will become available that the existing hardware can't handle that we think necessitate replacing the car.

In the newest MT review of the GT, the author says Lucid can double the charge rate if charging stations increase capacity. Like hmp10 stated, there's a lot that can be updated via OTA. It's when they reach the limit of what can be updated and whether their solutions stay ahead or maintain pace with the competition.

Have you seen what some companies are proposing with adaptive headlights? If ADAS detects a pedestrian starting to cross the street, the headlight projects the word "STOP" on the pavement in front of them. The car drives with high beams on all the time but the leds that are pointing at cars in front of you turn off. You want that? The Air will be obsolete in a year...assuming there's no USA safety rule against it.

For hmp10, his DE will be obsolete when the tri-motor comes out.

 

[hmp10]

Have you seen what some companies are proposing with adaptive headlights? If ADAS detects a pedestrian starting to cross the street, the headlight projects the word "STOP" on the pavement in front of them. The car drives with high beams on all the time but the leds that are pointing at cars in front of you turn off. You want that? The Air will be obsolete in a year...assuming there's no USA safety rule against it.

This reminded me of an episode almost two decades ago in Chicago. I had bought a Mercedes SL55 AMG just after it came out. It had all the latest technology, including a brake-by-wire system. A couple of months after I got it I was at a garage having the winter wheels put on when an old fellow (probably about my current age) pulled in behind me in a Cadillac. He looked my car over and asked me some questions about it. I proudly told him about the compressor, the monstrous torque, the quick acceleration . . . . He seemed to pay an odd amount of attention to the outside rearview mirrors while I was yakking about the car's prowess. After a bit he walked over to his car and turned on a turn signal to show me how a corresponding light flashed on his Cadillac rearview mirror. Then, just as proudly as I was holding forth, he asked me whether my car could do that?

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

When satellite starts being used instead of cellular. Right now you can get high speed internet on flights. I asked my salesperson if the car has Sirius XM and he never got back to me. To be able to get update and data over satellite if no cell is available would have made LucidAir decades ahead of the rest.

I'm planning on crossing deserts in California, Nevada and Arizona. I'm sure areas will have no cell. I wonder what will happen? If anyone here has any car, Tesla or similar, without connectivity what happens?

 

[hmp10]

I asked my salesperson if the car has Sirius XM and he never got back to me.

I captured this screen shot from a video of the car's Pilot Screen:

 

[Lucken]

When satellite starts being used instead of cellular. Right now you can get high speed internet on flights. I asked my salesperson if the car has Sirius XM and he never got back to me. To be able to get update and data over satellite if no cell is available would have made LucidAir decades ahead of the rest.

I'm planning on crossing deserts in California, Nevada and Arizona. I'm sure areas will have no cell. I wonder what will happen? If anyone here has any car, Tesla or similar, without connectivity what happens?

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't have the roof antenna for Sirius satellite reception due to Lucid's roof structure. Tesla shied away from XM for years, but I believe now offers it via the XM streaming option. It would be ironic if the Lucid Pure got XM satellite since its base offering comes with a metal roof.

 

[dawktah LucidGT]

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't have the roof antenna for Sirius satellite reception due to Lucid's roof structure. Tesla shied away from XM for years, but I believe now offers it via the XM streaming option. It would be ironic if the Lucid Pure got XM satellite since its base offering comes with a metal roof.

I'm not an engineer but I can't imagine glass blocks the signal that much it couldn't have been behind the rear view mirror. If satellite is now capable of high speed internet the signal has to be stronger. I may have to get a satellite phone for our trip back in case of any issue in a dead zone. We are driving 2,000 miles "off the lot."

 

[Lucken]

I don’t think it had anything to do with the signal penetrating the glass since many other manufacturers have this installed. What the exact reason is for Tesla not installing the antenna on the roof, I don’t know.