Another California Automaker Starts To Make Waves

Lucid Motors prototype teaser (Credit: Lucid Motors)

A fellow California automaker might steal at least some of Tesla’s thunder, but you probably have never heard of it.

Lucid Motors, which used to be called Atieva, has been hard at work in the shadows. For the past two years, the company has been developing a 300-mile plus electric car. It’s the holy grail of EVs, and instead of making big promises and showing lots of marketing flash, Lucid might actually have the goods.

So far, we’ve only seen pieces of the prototype sedan, which doesn’t have a name yet. Lucid says it’s using a patented lithium-ion battery developed in-house. It doesn’t break down when going through high power charging cycles. In other words, you can pump a bunch of electricity into the battery, and it won’t wear out quickly. Lucid says its battery tech allows for 20 better energy density than in competing setups.

Check out the test mule van in the video below. Edna can go 0 to 60 in 2.74 seconds. So far, Lucid Motors looks like it could pose a legitimate threat to Tesla and everyone else.