Is This a Tesla Killer or Copycat?

There are many companies that are bringing EV technology to the world in the form of vehicles that will make a huge difference in our driving. Every time we see want the thought is of it being a Tesla killer or challenger. So far there has only been one vehicle that has beaten Tesla to the punch and that’s the new Chevrolet Bolt which has launched for the 2017 model year before Tesla could bring us the Model 3. Now there’s a new company that could challenge Tesla, but they seem to only be working on doing what Tesla has already done in the past.

Lucid Motors is an Arizona based company that is preparing to launch a new EV model for the 2018 model year which will be called the Lucid Air. This car is expected to use the largest battery pack in the automotive industry to date, which will come in at 130-kWh which is much larger than the biggest one used by Tesla. There will also be a standard 100-kWh battery pack offered for those who want to start at the base model. The larger and more powerful version will offer as much as 400 miles of range from a single charge to be the longest ranged battery we have thus far.

This new sedan, the Lucid Air, will be a luxury sedan that fits in the sports luxury market and gives us nearly 1,000 horsepower and the ability to run from zero to sixty mph in only 2.5 seconds. Other than the larger battery pack, this car sounds a lot like a Tesla Model S with some of the ways the company plans to have it presented on the market for the driving that will be part of the enjoyment of the Lucid Air.

The similarities, other than filling the same segment, will be the Lucid Air is expected to have the equipment that will make it equipped for autonomous driving in the future. This car is going to have the ability to be updated via over the air updates just like the Tesla vehicles on the road today. As far as I can tell, this is the closest vehicle to actually being a direct copy of the Tesla Model S that will be brought to the market, and it’s from another American company which will make it more available here than anywhere else.

This brings me back to the original question; is this new car a Tesla killer or is it a copycat? If it rides like a Model S, looks like a Model S and performs like a Model S, doesn’t that make it a Model S? There will, of course, be significant differences, but as many companies in America and around the world have done in the past, Lucid Motors is simply taking what Tesla has already done and moved it a step forward to bring us the impressive new battery pack that increases the range we can enjoy while adding what we know and love from Tesla.