Potential Tesla competitor Lucid Motors revealed plans Tuesday to use a large manufacturing space in the Bay Area to manufacture the first 80 prototypes of it’s upcoming electric vehicle (EV), the Lucid Air.
Lucid plans to build the prototypes for testing and validation of key vehicle components. They will also be used for crash testing to confirm the safety features that have so far only been tested in simulations (via SF Business Times).
The Air will be officially unveiled in New York in April, where it will be announced that it will come in two versions. The targeted base price will start at $60,000 USD ($78,300 CAD), reaching up to as much as $100,00 USD ($130,000 CAD) if all options are selected. That puts it right in line to complete with the Tesla Model S.
After the April unveiling, Lucid plans to take the Air on a nationwide tour, as well as opening a number of Lucid stores across the US. They also plan to launch an online configurator to allow potential owners to build the car to their specifications.
Lucid Motors also has a Tesla connection. The CEO and Chief Technology Officer, Peter Rawlinson, used to be part of Tesla, and helped design the original Model S sedan. Rawlinson left Tesla in 2012, before joining Lucid.
