Before this whole COVID-19 situation proved it was way worse than a tougher cold, we told you that Lucid was finally granted access to public road-testing on February 5. The promising Air sedan would be able to run more than 400 miles on a single charge. Well, Lucid has made the video above to show it kept its promise of being the first EV to break the 400-mile barrier. At least if Tesla does not deliver the Model S with that capability before Lucid can start delivering the Air.
The sad news is that – also due to the novel coronavirus – the debut of the production version of the electric sedan will only happen by the end of the year, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
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The presentation would happen at the New York Auto Show, already postponed to late August. The Javits Center has been turned into a 1,000-bed makeshift hospital due to the public health crisis at the Big Apple.
Regardless of the production, the fact is that the Lucid Air can indeed run more than 400 mi on a single charge. The video above shows a trip from San Francisco down to Los Angeles and back. Both legs were made with a single full charge each, for a total of more than 800 miles.
One of the most innovative aspects of the Lucid Air is its 900V battery system, which promises to allow it to charge at more than 300 kW. Electrify America has some stations that are able to deliver that much power. Still, no car can take it so far. The Lucid Air promises to change that.
With such high voltages in its battery system, safety must be a considerable concern for Lucid. Other manufacturers, such as Toroidion, pledged to keep tensions at a maximum of 48V and to swap batteries to make getting energy faster than any fast-charging methods currently available.
While the EV industry does not define a standard to make their products as practical as combustion-engined cars came to be, the discussion about high or low voltage will proceed. Remember that Bertha Benz did not have where to buy fuel when she made her first trip. She had to go to a local pharmacy in Wiesloch to get gas. Whether we will get electricity solely from plugs or also from swappable batteries is yet to be determined.