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Lucid Motors has officially started taking orders for its electric Gravity SUV, a critically important vehicle that’s supposed to go into production by the end of this year. Interested buyers can now place $1,000 refundable deposits on the “Grand Touring” trim, which starts at $94,900, on the company’s website.
Similar to the company’s current model, the Air sedan, the Gravity is a more-than-capable electric vehicle. The company promises it can travel more than 440 miles on a full battery. That battery delivers power to two electric motors that put down the equivalent 828 horsepower. It should be more functional than the Air, too, as it comes standard with two rows of seating and can be optioned up to three.
The launch of the Gravity is crucial to Lucid’s survival. While it has been able to increase sales of its Air sedan in the last few quarters by slashing prices and launching a cheaper trim, Lucid is still way off of the sales figures it originally projected when it went public in a $4 billion reverse merger in 2021. As a result, Lucid has repeatedly gone back to majority owner Saudi Arabia to add more funding to its war chest this year.
The Gravity comes in an SUV form factor that is far more attractive to North American buyers, which could boost overall sales. But the more affordable “Touring” version, which starts at $79,900, won’t be available until “late 2025.” And the Ground Touring version can quickly zoom past the $94,900 sticker price, as car reviewer Kyle Conner realized shortly after Lucid launched the Gravity SUV configurator on Thursday.
Affordability has been one of the bigger challenges for Lucid, especially because its vehicles are not eligible for the point-of-sale federal EV tax credit because they are too expensive. The company’s vehicles are eligible for a $7,500 tax credit that can be applied to leases. Of course, that is contingent on the federal tax credit surviving when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year.
Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.
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