Lucid Air just smashed Tesla’s range figures with a 520-mile EPA rating

Lucid Motors has had its range figured verified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the results are likely a blow to Tesla and its Model S Long Range Plus. The 520-mile rating of the Lucid Air Dream Edition is 118 miles longer than the Tesla, making it the longest verified range of any EV.

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson – a former Tesla employee – finally has the confirmation after promising the figures back in August 2020. He also promised a 0-60mph of just 2.5 seconds from their 900-volt architecture.

The Lucid Air is a four-door saloon EV of a similar size to the Tesla Model S and comes with stitched nap leather seats and a glass roof. There are currently four editions available with prices starting from $77,400 (£56k/AU$106k) for the Lucid Air Pure, going up to $169,000 (£122k/AU$232k) for the Lucid Air Dream Edition. Reservations are currently closed for the Dream Edition but even the Air Pure has a projected range of 406 miles.

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Inside the vehicle has a more traditional layout than Tesla’s single-screen approach. A large instrument panel is courtesy of a floating 34-inch 5-K panel, while a central Pilot Panel screen is retractable to reveal more storage. There’s also a 21-speaker system to provide its ‘Surreal Sound’ audio. The system has Amazon Alexa voice assistant built-in and promises to bring Apple CarPlay in a future over-the-air update.

The Lucid Air uses the Electrify America network of chargers and can provide 300-miles from around 30 minutes of charge time from its own built-in Wunderbox boost charger. This can automatically boost the incoming voltage at almost all public chargers to provide a faster charging time.

The first Lucid Air vehicles are due to reach customers later this year, while production preview models are already rolling off its AMP-1 factory in Arizona.