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Lucid Motors has opened the mystery boxes that began popping up around NYC last week to reveal its upcoming Air sedan. The move is a kickoff to an ad campaign celebrating the recently approved SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp. IV (CCIV) to build hype around the flagship EV from Lucid set to deliver sometime this year.

Lucid Motors is by no means new to the EV world. Since being founded in 2007, the company has grown and evolved into a luxury EV automaker, just recently hitting the radar of the average consumer. The “Dream Edition” version of its flagship EV, the Lucid Air, was originally scheduled to deliver this past spring but is now coming “sometime in the second half of 2021.”

The news of the delay came shortly after Lucid announced its pending business combination with CCIV last February, and completing that IPO has become a huge focus for the automaker since.

With the merger now complete and Lucid Motors trading on the Nasdaq as $LCID, the company has refocused on expanding its pool of potential customers and fans of the brand, beginning in New York.

Last week, Lucid began Tweeting about these large black containers that had popped up around parts of NYC, including Hudson Yards, Madison Park, and the Financial District.

The internet immediately began pow-wowing about what these boxes could mean – Is it a VR experience? Is it a new EV announcement? Is it Detective David Mills’ wife’s head?

Following the opening of the boxes in NYC on Sunday, we now know this is part of a new campaign from Lucid Motors around its Air sedan.

Lucid Motors showcases Air sedan in NYC as part of large campaign

As first reported by Ad Age, Lucid’s NYC mystery box stunt is all part of a much larger campaign to promote the Air sedan, following the approved merger with CCIV.

The American automaker removed the sides of the large black containers on Sunday to reveal its Air sedans encased in glass for all to peruse.

As an additional part of the campaign, Lucid Motors took out full page ads in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to not only celebrate its public listing in NYC, but also promote the Air.

This “unboxing” may come as less of a surprise for any NYC residents who got to see the mystery boxes close up. Before the jewel boxes holding the Airs were unveiled, passersby could peek in and scan a QR code, leading them to a video of drive footage of the upcoming Air sedan.

Lucid’s next focus will be to continue to spread the word about its zero-emission luxury Air EV and its advertised 500 miles of range on a single charge. Their biggest hurdle now will be convincing those consumers to pay $70,000 to $170,000 for that kind of luxury.

As of right now, we are still waiting (patiently) for a concrete delivery window on the Dream Edition Air.

Lucid NYC
The fully unveiled Lucid Air in NYC / Source: Lucid Motors

Electrek‘s take

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?!? I’ve been screaming that question into the void of my laptop screen all week and finally got my answer — it’s the Air. It’s not that I’m disappointed at the news; I was simply hoping there was a little more to it than that.

If you couldn’t tell by the pressing effort last week from from Lucid and CCIV to rally shareholders into voting to approve the merger, the automaker has been very occupied with this pending vote since February. It is now approved, however, and we can all refocus on the more exciting stuff — new EVs.

Lucid’s VP of marketing briefly touched on this, but it’s important to point out Lucid’s marketing strategy here.

The boxes and full page ads aren’t necessarily new tactics in garnering curiosity and fandom. However, Lucid’s IPO and the audience it’s promoting to represent a new group of people: those not solely engulfed in Wall Street and finances, but not simply everyday consumers buying a new vehicle.

These individuals may have done their homework in their spare time outside of their non-Wall St. jobs and own Lucid stock on apps Robinhood or WeBull.

All in all, this IPO isn’t just a celebration for the company and is no longer just for those savvy traders on the floor of the NYSE. With more everyday consumers educating themselves and buying in on companies like Lucid, this merger has become just as much of a cultural movement as it is a financial one.

Lucid appears to have anticipated this and has had the foresight to steer this momentum into an ad campaign. As a result, it hopes to transfer the hype around the company itself into fanfare for deliveries of its first upcoming EV… whenever that may be…


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Jessie J cancels tour dates ahead of second breast cancer surgery

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Jessie J cancels tour dates ahead of second breast cancer surgery

Jessie J has been forced to rearrange or cancel all upcoming tour dates as she will be having a second operation as part of her treatment for breast cancer.

The 37-year-old announced in June that she had been diagnosed with early breast cancer. She had her first operation later in the same month.

The singer, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, was due to tour the UK and Europe in October, before gigs in the US in November.

In a video posted on Instagram, she’s now told fans: “Unfortunately, I have to have a second surgery, nothing too serious, but it has to be done before the end of the year and unfortunately, that falls right in the middle of a tour that I had booked.”

The UK and Europe dates have been postponed until April next year while the US tour has been cancelled.

“So that is what it is, and I’m sorry,” the performer said. “I feel frustrated and sad, but also it is what it is, and I need to be better.

“I need to be healed, and I know this is the right decision to make. So I’m postponing the tour till next year.”

The star has asked fans to “please bear with us for the US tour”, adding that it’s “something that I want to do, but when the time is right”.

“You guys know how much I want to do all of it, but I just can’t,” she said. “And I have to be realistic.”

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Jessie J has battled numerous health issues, including being diagnosed with a heart condition when she was eight years old and suffering a minor stroke aged 18.

The singer-songwriter has had three number one songs in the UK singles chart, with Price Tag and Domino – both released in 2011 – and 2014’s Bang Bang, a collaboration with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj.

She won the Critics’ Choice prize at the 2011 BRITs and bagged four Mobo awards in the same year.

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‘I’m shocked at how fragile I am still’: Cumberbatch and Colman on protecting their sanity from perils of social media

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'I'm shocked at how fragile I am still': Cumberbatch and Colman on protecting their sanity from perils of social media

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch says he’s shocked at how “fragile” he still is – despite years in the spotlight and success in the industry.

It might seem like the Doctor Strange star and The Crown actress Olivia Colman have it all when it comes to money and success – but they are also human like the rest of us.

The pair lead the cast of new satirical black comedy The Roses, which sees picture-perfect couple Ivy and Theo Rose – a rising star chef and ambitious architect – raise their two children in California, while chasing their own dreams.

‘I am shocked at how fragile I am’

But behind its dark humour and comic language, the film also looks at the realities of power imbalance, insecurity and wounded pride – in even the strongest of relationships.

And 49-year-old Cumberbatch – whose character faces a major setback in his career – tells Sky News that in real life the glare of social media only intensifies those type of situations.

“I am shocked at how fragile I am still.

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“I don’t go anywhere near it [social media] because of that.

“It’s like walking into a place where people want to marry you or kill you. Those extremes.

“I think we will get to a stage, a corporate culture that’s now manifested around it where people are obliged to do that in order to sell their lives, and therefore their brand and what they do for a living.”

Co-star Colman – who’s long-shunned the online world – agrees.

Cumberbatch and Colman in The Roses. Pic: Jaap Buitendijk/ Searchlight Pictures
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Cumberbatch and Colman in The Roses. Pic: Jaap Buitendijk/ Searchlight Pictures

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“I’m afraid I am very thin-skinned.

“I don’t look at any of it. My husband will look at a review and if it’s nice he’ll show me – but if it’s anything mean he knows to just go ‘don’t look – don’t look.’

“You just have to learn to be thicker-skinned.

“But actually, I think we need people who are sensitive and kind.”

‘Don’t do it… delete it all’

Colman – now 51, and whose leading role in The Favourite bagged her an Academy Award in 2019 – says no amount of experience and success can shield her from criticism.

“My advice to a young’un – sort of dipping their toe into the world of social media for the first time is absolutely don’t do it.

“Delete it all. If you want a happy life, don’t have any of it. I’ve never had it.”

The movie – directed by Meet The Parents’ Jay Roach with The Favourite screenwriter Tony McNamara – also calls into question the notion of success – asking, is it really possible to have it all?

Or is sacrifice inevitable when it comes to spinning the plates of a high-flying career, marriage and parenthood?

Cumberbatch admits “you can’t do it all without there being a cost”.

“You just have to weigh up what those balances are,” he adds.

Colman says “there are I suppose little sacrifices along the way” – from both sides of a relationship.

The comedy drama offers a fresh take on Warren Adler’s novel The War Of The Roses – and the 1989 hit film adaptation- starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

Colman and Cumberbatch – both producers on the film – insist they weren’t daunted by that though.

“We wanted to find a project to do together, and we have utter respect for the iconic status of the film and book,” explains Cumberbatch.

“Hopefully this will have its own place in the culture – it’s very different, it’s not a remake – it’s a reimagined jumping-on point.”

“But beyond that, it’s very different,” adds Colman.

Former Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa and Barbie’s Kate McKinnon also form the cast.

The Roses is out in UK cinemas now.

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Top Boy and Eddington actor Micheal Ward granted bail as he appears in court on rape charges

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Top Boy and Eddington actor Micheal Ward granted bail as he appears in court on rape charges

BAFTA-winning actor Micheal Ward has been granted bail after appearing in court charged with two counts of rape.

The 27-year-old, who appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court this morning, is also accused of two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault.

The offences relate to one woman and are reported to have taken place in January 2023.

Ward, who starred in the popular British series Top Boy and was awarded BAFTA‘s rising star honour in 2020, spoke to confirm his name, address and date of birth during a short court hearing.

He did not enter any pleas and was granted conditional bail until a further hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 25 September.

In a statement issued after the charges were announced last month, Ward denied them “entirely” and said he had co-operated with police throughout their investigation.

The actor’s film credits include Blue Story, The Old Guard and Empire of Light, as well as the current Hollywood Western Eddington.

He was also twice nominated for BAFTA’s best supporting actor prize.

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