Electric car goes into production in US with a 520-mile range – 115 more than Tesla
A high performance electric car has gone into production in the US with a certified range of 520 miles – the longest currently on the open market.
The Air Dream model by Tesla rival Lucid received good reviews from American media over the weekend, after it went into mass manufacture at its Arizona factory last week.
The range rating by the US government is significant as, although the car is a high-end model, its ex-Tesla executive creator told CNN the development of such a long-range could have a trickle down impact on the general market, where some sceptics are known to be reluctant to acquire a technology that is perceived to have limited range.
Interest in electric vehicles is reported to have surged in the UK in the last week or so as a result of the fuel crisis, which has seen long queues for petrol outside service stations.
Lucid’s CEO is British-born engineer Peter Rawlinson
The Air Dream Edition, which costs just short of $170,000 (£124,000) in the US, travels about 28% – or 115 miles – further on a full charge than Tesla’s Model S, which Lucid Group’s British-born CEO Peter Rawlinson helped develop. It also has more than 1,000 horsepower, which means it can do 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds.
A cheaper model, the $131,000 (£101,000) Grand Touring version, has a 516-mile range. Two even cheaper versions have shorter ranges.
It’s possible to pre-order a Lucid Air in the UK, but it is not known when deliveries will start.
Tesla has already announced two other vehicles that have a range that is similar to, or exceeds that of the Lucid Air Dream, but neither are yet being manufactured.
The Air Dream also charges more quickly than Teslas, according to Lucid, with enough charge after 20 minutes to drive 300 miles.
In the US, the cars will start to be delivered from late October, posing a major challenge to Tesla, the market leader in luxury electric vehicles, whose sales of premium models have stagnated.
Lucid, which makes its Air cars at its Arizona factory, said it aims to ramp up its plant’s capacity to 90,000 vehicles a year in the next two years.
The higher range offered by the Air Dream Edition and Grand Touring helped push it to a 23% hike in Lucid’s share price last month.
The Lucid Air Edition can do 115 more miles than the Tesla Model S, from Elon Musk’s Tesla. Pic: AP
Mr Rawlinson, at the launch event of the production model last week, said: “We’ve ridden customers of the fear of range anxiety. The next big obstacle is cost effectiveness of electric cars. We’ve got to get the cost down.”
The company, founded in 2007, was helped with funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2018 before it went public via a shell company in July.
Experts say the success or otherwise of Lucid may be, like Tesla, its ability to keep up with demand.
Sam Abuelsamid, a principal analyst at Guidehouse Insights, said: “The big challenge for Lucid will be execution… They have a very good car. It’s very attractive.”
“In the premium market, customers are looking for the latest and greatest.”
In addition, the electric vehicle market is due to be joined by another company shortly, Rivian, which is backed by Amazon and is now preparing for a public stock listing.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
Read more:
Sisters killed in Texas flooding found holding hands
Why did deadly Texas floods catch people by surprise?
Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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