When Lucid Motors announced its all-electric luxury sedan called ‘Air’, it was presented as a serious competitor to Tesla’s Model S, but we expected to be priced higher than Tesla’s flagship vehicle. It starts at $68,000 for a Model S 60 with 218 miles of EPA-rated range.

The startup is announcing today a more aggressive pricing structure than anticipated. The base version of the Air will start at $60,000 in the US before EV incentive for an estimated 240 miles of range.

The company made the announcement this morning claiming the “base price of $52,500”, but that’s when accounting for the $7,500 federal tax credit in the US.

They listed the features included with the base Lucid Air:

240-mile range

400 horsepower (rear-wheel drive)

All hardware necessary for autonomous driving

Huge interior space in an efficient package

Two trunks, one in the front and one in the rear, with a combined storage capacity of over 32 cubic feet (similar to the volume of a 4-person hot tub)

12-way power front seats

LED multi-lens array headlights

Four screens, with interactive-touch surfaces on three

5-seat configuration with a rear bench seat

10 advanced airbags

Aluminum roof

19-inch wheels

10-speaker audio system

Over-the-air software updates

Speaking of the comparison with Tesla, they seem to be taking the same approach to self-driving with “all hardware necessary for autonomous driving” being included in the base version. But like Tesla, having the hardware doesn’t mean that the software is included, which means autonomous features will likely come at a cost.

We gushed over Lucid’s interior, especially the back seats, when they first unveiled the vehicles, but the base price is with a regular back bench. Not those “executive back seats”:

They didn’t release the prices for all the options, but they listed them, like bigger battery packs and additional motors, and the company says that a fully-loaded Air will cost “above $100,000”.

Here’s the new list of options:

315-mile and 400-mile-range battery options

Up to 1,000-horsepower twin-motor configuration, with all-wheel drive

Fully active suspension, delivering a world-class ride

Glass-canopy roof

Rear executive seats that recline up to 55 degrees

22-way power front seats with heating, ventilation, dynamic bolsters, and massage

21-inch Lucid-design wheels

29-speaker audio system with active noise cancellation

Expanded leather trim with corresponding material upgrades

Not unlike Tesla’s “Founders Series”, Lucid is planning to sell the first 255 Air sedans off the production line as ‘Launch Edition” vehicles. Those cars are expected to be fully-equipped and therefore, they are likely to cost over $100,000.

Overall, it looks like it will be priced similarly to Tesla’s Model S with a range of ~$60,000 to ~$120,000.

Now they need to bring the car to production. When we talked to the company last month, they had not yet begun construction at the Casa Grande, Arizona facility where the car will be built. Lucid Motors believes it can bring the car to production within 24 months of starting construction and therefore, we wouldn’t expect that car before 2019 at least.

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