Lucid Cosmos Mid-Size SUV: Here’s A First Look At The Tesla Model Y Rival

The company’s smallest EV to date is expected to cost around $50,000, opening up a much more lucrative market for the startup.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Aug 6, at 2:56am ET

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Lucid published the first images of the upcoming Cosmos mid-size electric crossover.
The Tesla Model Y rival was recently delayed from 2026 to 2027.
The car has a sloped-roof design resembling other so-called coupe SUVs like the BMW X4.

Lucid’s long-term stability hinges on its ability to successfully launch its most affordable model to date, the smaller Cosmos SUV. And while things might not go particularly well at the moment, with the startup officially delaying the mid-size EV’s launch to next year, at least development is still underway.

What’s more, the company published the first official images of the $50,000 Tesla Model Y rival, with a couple of shots slipping under the radar in the startup’s latest earnings report. We already knew from the patent images that Lucid’s most affordable EV will have a sloping roofline akin to the BMW X4, but now we also get to see how that technical drawing translates into the real deal.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

There’s a pair of horizontal LED taillights, as well as a pretty wide third brake light that sits at the bottom of the rear windshield. Usually, carmakers put the third brake light above the rear window, but in the Cosmos SUV’s case, the glass is nearly horizontal, which looks pretty cool, but might result in lackluster visibility.

Up front, there’s an extremely compact headlight that appears to integrate all of the beams in a single, ultra-slim enclosure. On the dashboard, a very wide screen enclosure can be spotted in one of the photos. The company previously disclosed that the Cosmos will come with a single, ultra-wide curved screen.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

Initially, the Lucid Cosmos was scheduled to go into production in late 2026 at the startup’s new factory in Saudi Arabia, but that timeline has now been revised, and the model will start rolling off the assembly line in early 2027 before ramping up in the second half of the year.

Lucid’s AMP-2 plant is not yet finished, and, more importantly, the company doesn’t want to rush this crucial model to avoid the frustrating and costly mistakes that came with the Air and Gravity, both of which suffered from software issues.

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"Our objective is clear: Mid-size will launch only when every process and quality requirement has been met," said Lucid CEO Silvio Napoli. "We will not repeat the mistakes of the past by bringing a product to market before it is ready."

To try to keep things moving in the right direction, Lucid said it must hit four “must-win projects.” One of those is the successful launch of its mid-size product portfolio, which will include two more models in addition to the Cosmos. Robotaxis, the Saudi Arabia factory, and an “operating reset,” which includes layoffs and a $1.4 billion cash flow improvement.