It is not uncommon for automakers to purchase new vehicles from their competitors to test and benchmark against their own.
Often times these cars are even torn down piece by piece, much like what Sandy Munro does, to learn more about how they are put together and the technology that went into making them.
It appears as though Tesla’s has been able to get their hands on a Lucid Air electric sedan, and while we don’t know if it will end up in pieces, Tesla does seem to at least be testing out its handling and acceleration.
During a drone flyover of the factory on April 4, 2022, a Eureka Gold Lucid Air was seen driving around Fremont’s test track.
The Lucid Air can be seen taking the banked turn, after which it comes to a complete stop before launching down the straightaway.
Tesla is likely interested in their battery technology, which allowed Lucid to take over the lead and deliver the longest-range EV on the market with 520 miles (836km) of range.
Elon Musk said recently they could have made a 600-mile range Model S last year, but said the extra battery mass required to produce that much range would have made the driving characteristics of the car worse, and that was a trade-off he wasn’t willing to make.
We could’ve made a 600 mile Model S 12 months ago, but that would’ve made the product worse imo, as 99.9% of time you’d be carrying unneeded battery mass, which makes acceleration, handling & efficiency worse. Even our 400+ mile range car is more than almost anyone will use.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2022
You can check out the drone flyover below. The Lucid Air appears at 2:18.
Source: Teslarati
