The Lucid Air Dream Edition, which is planning to begin deliveries later this year, gets 520 miles of EPA-estimated range, Lucid announced Thursday. The figure, already on the EPA’s Fueleconomy.gov website, is 115 miles higher than that of the longest-range Tesla, which is the benchmark in the industry.
This is something of a feather in the cap of Lucid, which has been making its case in recent months in the run up to the Air’s release. Lucid’s case is all about interior room (there is a shocking amount of it) and also range, with the company spiking the football a bit Thursday with its announcement:
The results are in, and Lucid Air Dream Edition R has exceeded expectations. With 520 miles on a single charge, it’s achieved a record-breaking official EPA range rating, making it the first electric car ever to breach 500 miles.* That bests the closest competitors by over 100 miles, and means you could go from Los Angeles to San Francisco without stopping.
“I’m delighted that our Lucid Air Dream Edition Range has been officially accredited with a range of 520 miles by the EPA, a number I believe to be a new record for any EV. Crucially, this landmark has been achieved by Lucid’s world-leading, in-house EV technology, not by simply installing an oversize battery pack,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Group. “Our race-proven 900V battery and BMS technology, our miniaturized drive units, coupled with our Wunderbox technology endow Lucid Air with ultra-high efficiency, enabling it to travel more miles from less battery energy. The next generation EV has truly arrived!”
Here are the EPA-estimated ranges for all of the Air’s various trims:
The longest-range Tesla is the Model S Long Range, which gets 405 miles of range; that car starts at $89,990 (plus $1,200 destination charge), while the Air’s base “Pure” trim starts at $77,700 (plus unknown destination charge) and offer 406 miles of range. The Air Grand Touring edition, which promises 516 miles of EPA-estimated range thanks in part to its 113 kWh battery and an apparent focus on overall vehicle efficiency, starts at $139,000 plus destination fee, while the Dream Edition runs $169,000 plus destination — much pricier than the $129,990 Model S Plaid, Tesla’s flagship. At a certain price point, I’m not sure the actual customers of these cars will be counting.
Also, now that we’re in the low 500s with range, is it fine if we stop there? That is eight-to-nine hours of highway driving, or all you would ever really want to do in a day, save for you road warriors out there who take pride in going 16 hours straight. A real young man’s game, that.
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