Update: Article updated after Elon Musk revealed the latest Model S price.
Lucid has revealed the pricing of Air’s base variant which was unannounced at the last month’s pricing and deliveries schedule unveiling. Tesla on the other hand has slashed the price of both Model S Long Range and Performance versions by $3,000 each.
According to the Lucid website, the base Air variant is $69,900 but does not clearly mention that this includes the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit. The link to know that it includes the tax rebate is very subtle and I personally think for a normal user this can lead to confusion. The total purchase cost of the base Air variant is actually $77,400.
Let’s look at both the Tesla Model S and Lucid Air online car configurators. The difference is that Tesla provides a toggle tab that shows the actual purchase price of the car excluding the benefit and tax cuts while Lucid makes it more difficult for the customers to find the actual purchase cost.
The base Tesla Model S Long Range AWD is now $69,420 and since Tesla has sold so many electric cars, the company is no longer eligible for the Federal incentives. The Model S Performance (P100D Raven) is also now $3k cheaper with the new price tag of $91,990 USD.
Earlier in May, Tesla had slashed the Model S variants prices by a massive $5,000 cut, including yesterday’s price drops the Model S price has gone down by $10,480 for the base variant and $8k for the Performance P100D version. However, the new Plaid Model S price is unchanged which is estimated to arrive in late 2021 according to Tesla.
Lucid is showing early 2022 as the estimated time of delivery for the base Lucid Air variant while the Tesla Model S Long Range delivery times are 5-9 weeks for North America.
Another thing to notice is the Lucid Air’s range of 406 miles. This according to the automaker is the ‘projected’ EPA estimate since the car cannot be tested as of now. Tesla Model S was the first-ever electric car to hit the 400+ mile EPA estimated range this year. Lucid Air’s 406 miles sounds great but needs to go through the dyno and real-world tests to prove itself.
Tesla’s yesterday’s $5,480 price cut is not just a coincidence but a pre-emptive masterstroke to give Lucid another challenge on the cost front. It is possible that the planned price announcement of Air by Lucid had leaked somehow and Tesla dropped the price of the Model S by $3k first and then Musk announced another discount today to attain the iconic $69,420 figure.
The number 420 holds a special place in Musk’s life as the iconic tweet and SEC settlement helped him multiply his fortune by hundreds of millions of dollars till today. And 69, we need not explain it as it holds a special place in everyone’s life.
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