• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: Birth of a Legendary Design
  • UAW Ups Pressure, Expands Strikes to Parts Depots
  • Ineos Begins Grenadier Production for North America
  • VinFast Focuses on Europe to Beat Chinese Rivals to Market
  • Honda Establishes Global Motorsports Organization
  • Bugatti Rimac Signs U.S. Distribution Pact with VW
  • Tentative Settlement Ends Ford Strike Threat in Canada
  • NHTSA Revives Ford Focus Recall Investigation
  • Unifor, Ford Agree to Contract Extension
  • Volkswagen Reveals Third-Generation Tiguan
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4Matic
    • A Week With: 2023 Mazda CX-50 Turbo
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > Q&A: Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson

        Q&A: Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson

        With the debut of the Air sedan, Lucid’s founder talks profits, IPOs, electric airplanes, racing and why Tesla isn’t Lucid’s primary competition.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Sept. 10, 2020
        Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson says that Tesla isn’t really the EV maker’s competition.

        It’s been six years since veteran automotive engineer Peter Rawlinson unexpectedly tendered his resignation at Tesla – where he helped develop the critical Model S sedan – so he could head off to launch his own electric vehicle company.

        Lucid Motors was one of many startups hoping to get U.S. motorists to plug into the new technology, though a sizable share of them, including the likes of AMP, LeEco and Faraday Future, have since short-circuited, leaving many to question whether Rawlinson’s venture would likewise collapse. But while a bit behind schedule, Lucid this week proved it isn’t going away, the company unveiling the production version of its first battery-electric vehicle, the Lucid Air sedan, while teasing a second offering, the Gravity SUV.

        Is Lucid the “Tesla fighter” that many observers have been waiting for? That was just one of the questions TheDetroitBureau.com posed to the British native Rawlinson during a lengthy one-on-one interview ahead of the Lucid Air’s formal unveiling.

         

        (Check out the Q&A with Lucid’s design chief Derek Jenkins.)

         

        An assortment of Lucid Air prototypes line up outside the company’s HQ in Newark, California.

        TheDetroitBureau: There’ve been a lot of skeptics who questioned whether you would make it this far. Do you feel vindicated now that the Lucid Air has been unveiled?

        Peter Rawlinson: I’ve had all the rocks thrown at me. People have said it’s vaporware, it’s bullshit, you can’t do it. Well, I think some people are a bit surprised now that we’re taking it to the next level. I think they’re surprised now. I’m not ready to celebrate. I’ve been here before. I know what this is like getting the car into production. I know that the next six months (leading up to the launch of production) will be damn hard work. Then we can have a sip of champagne. When I see some cars in customers’ hands, that’s when I’ll say, “Good job, guys.”

         

        TDB: Lucid is being compared to Tesla, no surprise. But you actually worked there at a critical time, during the development of the Model S, didn’t you?

        Rawlinson:  I was in England and got a phone call from Elon Musk, and he asked me to come out and be his chief engineer. What I found was a complete disaster and the first week I had to cancel the program and (Musk) let me start over from scratch.

         

        Lucid’s Rawlinson expects the Air, which the company says will travel 517 miles on a single charge, will get the same rating from the EPA.

        TDB: What did you learn while there?

        Rawlinson: I was already an established chief engineer but I think what I learned from my boss was to recognize what was possible. I realized I wasn’t thinking big enough. (Elon) taught me to think big and that’s what we’re doing here.

         

        TDB: You started teasing some impressive numbers ahead of the Lucid Air launch, starting with a range of more than 500 miles, or nearly 25% more than the longest-range Tesla. These are preliminary figures, though. Can you hit them once actually in production?

        Rawlinson: I’m pushing for even better numbers once the EPA completes its test. We’ve just been modest and humble in the math we use. (Once the final figures are calculated) we expect to be something like 17% more efficient than Tesla.

         

        Rawlinson said that the company is working on a GT edition that will put out 1,300 horsepower.

        TDB: You’ve taken an expensive path to get there using technologies like silicon carbide MOSFETs rather than the less costly electronics competitors such as Tesla and Audi are using. What are these and how does that pay off?

        Rawlinson: These are solid state on-and-off switches, basically and they are much more efficient than those older technologies. It’s all part of what I call “smart” range. We were originally talking about needing a 130 kilowatt-hour battery just to get 400 miles range. What I’m pleased about is that by increasing the car’s overall efficiency we could reduce the size of the pack (to 110 kWh) and achieve over 500 miles.

         

        (Lucid teases second entry: Gravity SUV.)

         

        TDB: Not many people know this but you produce the battery pack for the Formula E race series. Did working with that program help?

        Lucid’s Rawlinson said the company applied a lot of what it learned from its motorsports experience to its new vehicles.

        Rawlinson: We’ve learned from motorsports and that has gone directly into the Lucid Air. It’s true we’re not doing our own cells. We’re buying them from (Korean battery company) LG Chem, but we developed the cells with LG Chem and they’re very special. You can’t buy them over the counter. (Editor’s note:  During a media presentation, Rawlinson noted that Lucid uses a modified version of the Formula E pack for the new Air sedan and claims that its racing experience helped improve the performance and reliability of the battery pack.)

        TDB: How does that play into what Lucid is planning to build?

        Rawlinson: There are three aspects of our business. First of all is miniaturization. That will allow Lucid Air to have more space for the occupants. But it also will help make smaller, more affordable cars. The next thing is efficiency. That means less batteries, lower cost, less weight, therefore making our cars more affordable with comparable range. Then there’s mass production. Economies of scale make (things) more affordable, and then we can share that cost savings with our customer. Cost is the next obstacle for the widespread adoption of electrification.

         

        Rawlinson noted that the company already has second vehicle teed up: an SUV that sits on the Air chassis.

        TDB: You’re planning to expand the line-up, an SUV coming next (the Lucid Gravity). What else are you looking at?

        Rawlinson: The (Gravity) will be based upon the Lucid Air platform, like the Tesla Model X was based on the Model Y. We’re going to be a bit more SUV-like with our offering. Then we’re going to do another, more affordable platform that’ll be for smaller cars.

         

        TDB: What are you looking at in terms of production volumes?

        Rawlinson:  In calendar-year ’21, 8,000 (vehicles) maybe. We’ve got the factory space in Arizona to go up to 400,000 units a year. I would like to be making a million cars a year (with additional plants) in 2026, but talk is cheap. We’ve got to get Lucid into production next spring … and get the quality right.

         

        TDB: Then there’s the question of profitability. We know that’s been a long slog for Tesla.

        Rawlinson: Now that depends what business plan we go by. We can be profitable in 18 months if we just make the Lucid Air. But I want to grow the company and accelerate it on a trajectory that’s going to have an impact upon global warming. I want to get the next platform and I want to invest to get our energy storage business going because I think that’s going to be huge. I also want to do powertrains for electric aircraft which I think is going to be huge in the next decade. I’m not going to go into the aircraft business, but just supplying powertrains. I also want to continue doing something with racing energy storage. And we could also help other (car) companies get into electrification using our powertrains.

        The Lucid Air runs on a 900-volt system compared with the 800-volt model used by the Porsche Taycan, which Rawlinson said will draw some comparisons.

         

        TDB: Do you see taking Lucid public?

        Rawlinson:  Look, we’re going to go public … in the next couple of years. And I think we’re going to have significant value as the world recognizes we’ve got this fantastic technology. So, watch this space.

         

        (Taking flight: Lucid launches its Air EV.)

         

        TDB: One last question. You’re frequently billed as a “Tesla fighter.” Are they your primary competitor?

        Rawlinson: No, I think (it’s) Mercedes-Benz. We’re going after the luxury market (with Air) and it is dominated by the S-Class Mercedes, and the BMW 7 Series and Audi A8. Those are our competitors. I’m not competing with Tesla right now (though) every road test will compare us to Tesla and, of course, the Porsche Taycan. But hear it from me, we’re going after the big guns.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: Birth of a Legendary Design

        Today
        Fain in camo two 9-22-23

        UAW Ups Pressure, Expands Strikes to Parts Depots

        Yesterday

        Ineos Begins Grenadier Production for North America

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: