We got an up-close look at Gravity with Lucid Motors’ SVP of Design and Brand, Derek Jenkins
This week, Lucid Motors invited Electrek to an exclusive ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of Phase 2 of its AMP-1 facility in Casa Grande, Arizona. Part of the festivities included a factory tour, an interview with CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson, and our best look at Lucid’s upcoming Gravity SUV to date. Senior Vice President of Design and Brand Derek Jenkins walked me around Gravity and shared some insights into what went into this unique electric SUV.
Yesterday’s visit to AMP-1 was filled with excitement as local politicians joined CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson on stage to cut the ribbon on Phase 2 – a 3 million-square-foot expansion that moves all of Lucid’s production and storage into one facility, adds a stamping machine, and includes a second body shop where Gravity – the American automaker’s second flagship model will be built.
Gravity has been a long time coming, as we first caught wind of the SUV in 2020 during the premiere of the Air sedan when Lucid briefly teased it. Not different from CEO Peter Rawlinson’s mention yesterday of a “mid-size” Tesla Model 3 and Model Y competitor in the works as Lucid’s third model.
Details of Gravity picked up in November 2022, when we saw some interior images ahead of the start of reservations. A year later, Gravity was officially unveiled with a slew of exciting design upgrades, a 440-mile range, and a front end that has earned the new term “frunking.”
Now, with the next phase of Lucid’s AMP-1 facility open for business, Gravity will soon begin scaled production. On-site in Arizona, I had the opportunity to kick the tires on the SUV and interview Lucid’s SVP of design and brand, Derek Jenkins.
Gravity is Lucid’s next chapter en route to “mid-size”
Gravity is still very much a higher-end luxury SUV competing with the likes of Mercedes-Benz, but this EV represents more than just Lucid’s next fancy model. It’s a culmination of design elements that counter the nuances and other lessons learned when building the Air.
Furthermore, Gravity offers a premium-level “yin” to the Air’s “yang,” as a bookend to the ultra-luxe EVs and a segue into Lucid’s more affordable “mid-size” and beyond – if it can stay afloat long enough to reach that milestone. That said, a lot is riding on the success of Gravity, but Lucid’s team is confident that consumers will… gravitate toward it.
We’ve already covered the SUV’s specs up and down since last year, so it was refreshing to see, touch, and even climb into the third row of Gravity and get design insight directly from one of the top minds behind it – Derek Jenkins:
Gravity had its own unique set of attributes and challenges over Air to really create the next generation of SUV and excel at all of our unique attributes of aerodynamics, efficiency, space utility, flexibility, road worthiness, and degree of off-road capability.
Jenkins assured us that Gravity will be the most aerodynamic SUV when it comes to market. While Gravity shares several design elements with the Air, Lucid has introduced some new and exciting components you may or may not have noticed. Of course, you’ve noticed the frunk seat, but the SUV’s cockpit is a completely new approach compared to the sedan.
Whereas the driver’s display sits within the dashboard in the Air, about 35% of it can be blocked from view by the steering wheel. Jenkins told us that really bothered him, so they moved the curved display up below the sight line and into full view and implemented a different steering wheel that is shorter but still rounded at the bottom you can observe in the images above.
When production begins later this year, Lucid Gravity will join a short but growing list of larger electric SUVs promising 6-7 seats by way of the third row. For some vehicles, the third row is a gimmick that can barely hold children; for others like the Kia EV9 for example, it’s still tight but doable. Jenkins told us that space optimization and delivering modular cargo space in addition to a third row were vital when designing Gravity:
The A-post is really far forward, the driver and passenger are pushed forward, and that’s what enables this really large cargo and people area. As we connected more and more with, not only Lucid owners but family SUV owners, second row, third row spaciousness as well as cargo flexibility and overall cargo is paramount. It literally trumps everything.
So we spent so much time optimizing the package, learned a lot from Air and stretched it. You end up with this very long sleek cabin, short nose, and as you come toward the back of the car, there is a lot of taper in the cabin while still preserving really really good third row headroom. Making a proper third row was a big big part of this.
The Air sedan is already touting the largest frunk in the business, and the Lucid Gravity takes flexible cargo to another echelon. The rear well stowage inside the trunk is enormous, and the ability to fold down the passenger cabin’s seats entirely flat is a huge bonus.
Derek told me he could fit an 8.5-foot surfboard in the trunk diagonally, and Peter Rawlinson told me he hopes future owners use it to transport 2x4s some day. We’ll see about that, but there is no denying the space optimization in Gravity throughout. Have a look:
Those second-row seats fold flat as well. Lastly, while sitting in the Lucid Gravity with Derek, I asked what he thinks US consumers will be most excited about when they get to see this SUV up close like I did:
I think it’s two things. First, I think the cockpit will be a fresh experience for most people because it’s different from most of our mainstream competitors and I think the steering configuration is unique. I also think the cargo experience is going to be awesome. Not just for micro cargo, but also frunk, trunk, seat flexibility, and then human space.
Being able to have a car with this level of performance, agility, capability on-road and off-road, and yet still be just under the Cadillac Escalade in terms of overall interior volume, which is just crazy. That car is four feet longer than this thing. It not only has to look great and drive great, but it has to do the job. i think people are going to be astounded here because thaty’s what’s important in the segment.
Our next step will be to get behind the wheel of the Lucid Gravity and see what it delivers from a performance standpoint. That opportunity is already in the works, so expect a full report very soon.
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Environment
Trump meme coin dinner likely to include mostly non-Americans based on top $TRUMP holders
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
With President Donald Trump’s private dinner for top meme coin holders less than a week away, the leaderboard is awash with crypto wallets that are effectively anonymous.
On May 22, the top 220 $TRUMP holders are invited to a dinner with the president at his Virginia golf club outside of Washington, D.C. The event was announced last month, and the tally closed Monday night.
The nature of the pseudonymous wallets raises questions about the true identities and motivations of the token’s largest holders, who have bought a seat at the table with a U.S. president.
Documents from blockchain analytics firm Inca Digital that were reviewed by CNBC show where the top 275 $TRUMP token holders send and receive the token. Many are heavily tied to international exchanges like Binance that don’t service U.S. customers, an indication that they’re likely not U.S. citizens.
An analysis by Bloomberg revealed that 19 of the top 25 wallets are almost certainly owned by individuals operating outside the U.S.
Justin Sun, who openly shared that he bought $75 million worth of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial token — a digital coin where 75% of proceeds go to Trump-related entities — is believed to be at the top of the $TRUMP meme token leaderboard.
Sun, who was born in China, is the crypto entrepreneur behind the Tron blockchain and is in talks with the SEC to resolve civil fraud charges.
A wallet called Sun currently holds more than $18 million worth of $TRUMP, with $4.5 million bought after the dinner contest announcement, according to Bloomberg.
Multiple reports point to the wallet being tied to the Tron founder. A representative for Sun didn’t respond to CNBC’s request for comment or confirm whether Sun is the wallet owner.
MemeCore, a Singapore-based crypto network that was vocal in its quest to secure a spot at the Trump dinner, landed in second place with an investment of $18 million. An Australian crypto entrepreneur also reportedly made the cut.
The leaderboard points to the token’s extreme volatility.
Inca Digital told CNBC that while 560,376 wallets have made a combined $5.2 billion in realized gains on the $TRUMP token, an even larger number — 592,962 wallets — have collectively lost $3.9 billion.
The figures underscore the massive wealth transfer within Trump’s crypto ecosystem, where early buyers have seen windfalls while the majority have suffered losses.
Chainalysis and Elliptic, two leading blockchain analytics firms, initially tracked $TRUMP token movements and trading fees. But days after CNBC published a story on the number of crypto wallets that had lost money on the meme coin, the firms said they were too busy with existing clients to continue blockchain analysis of the president’s self-branded meme token.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, warned that the Trump family’s growing crypto holdings may serve as a backdoor for foreign and corporate interests seeking access to the president.
Freight Technologies, a Houston-based logistics firm that trades on the Nasdaq and has a market cap of just over $2.3 million, bought $2 million worth of the $TRUMP tokens to influence U.S.-Mexico trade policy, according to a release. CEO Javier Selgas described the move as a strategic push to “champion fair and free trade” across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Freight Technologies finished in 250th place, missing the cut for the dinner.
Tesla is now pulling on all the demand levers in the US with new discounts and incentives as sales are crashing due to brand damage.
Over the last few days, Tesla has introduced a series of new discounts and incentives in the US.
Previously, Tesla had a program to offer a $1,000 discount for US military personnel, but the automaker has now extended it to “students, teachers, first-responders, military veterans, retirees, active-duty members, their spouses, and surviving spouses.”
The update incentive applies to Tesla’s entire lineup of new vehicles.
Tesla also introduced a new incentive for Lyft drivers. They are eligible to $1,000 in Tesla credits when taking delivery and $1,000 from Lyft if they complete 100 deliveries by July 13.
The automaker wrote on its website:
Eligible Lyft drivers who purchase a new Tesla vehicle can receive $1,0001 in Tesla Credits upon taking delivery and a $1,000 incentive from Lyft after completing 100 trips on or before July 13, 2025. Tesla Credits can be used toward Supercharging, a new Tesla vehicle, service appointments or select Tesla Shop or upgrade purchases. Offer available to active Lyft drivers in good standing.
Tesla also started reaching out to Cybertruck reservation holders to let them know that they only have a month before they can’t take advantage of lower FSD prices.
The automaker wrote in the email:
As an early reservation holder, you have access to a reserved Full Self-Driving (Supervised) price of $7,000. To keep this price, you’ll need to take delivery by June 15, 2025. After June 15, 2025, FSD (Supervised) will be available at the latest price, which is currently $8,000.
When Tesla started taking Cybertruck reservations in 2019, Tesla said that by reserving the truck, reservation holders were locking in the then $7,000 price for its ‘Full Self-Driving’ package.
It looks like Tesla is now putting a deadline to take advantage of this deal to boost orders of the Cybertruck, which has proven to be a commercial flop.
On top of all these incentives, Tesla is also subsidizing interest rates to offer 0% financing on Model 3, and 1.99% financing on Model Y.
All those incentives in place point to Tesla having significant demand issues in the US.
Tesla’s global sales came about 50,000 units below expectations, which the company blamed on the production changeover of Model Y, its most popular model by far.
However, production is now back up to normal in Q2, and Tesla is clearly having issues selling the updated Model Y.
The automaker has no backlog of orders for the new Model Y and vehicles are already piling up in inventory:
We reported last week that Tesla employees wrote an open letter calling for Elon Musk’s removal as CEO due to the damage he has caused to the brand.
In the letter, the employees confirmed Tesla’s demand issues, saying that thousands of new Model Ys are now sitting unsold on lots in the US.
Electrek’s Take
This is not a great sign for Tesla. These are end-of-quarter level incentives when we are just about halfway through the quarter.
And that’s just in the US, where Tesla’s sale performance is more opaque.
In Europe and China, where we know for a fact that Tesla is struggling with sales, the automaker is virtually offering 0% financing on its entire lineup.
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The electric box van experts at Harbinger announced a new, EREV version of their medium-duty van that pairs a big battery with a small, gas-powered ICE engine to offer fleets that are hesitant to electrify a massive 500 miles of autonomy on a single charge + tank.
The American truck brand is putting its latest $100 million raise to good use, developing a cost-competitive EREV chassis that marries a low-emissions 1.4L inline four-cylinder gas engine with a close coupled 800V generator sending power to a 140 or 175 kW battery for up to 500 miles of fully loaded range. More than enough, in other words, to meet the needs of just about any fleet you can think of.
That’s a good thing, too, because medium-duty trucks are put to work in just about any circumstance you can think of, as well – a fact that’s not lost on Harbinger.
“Medium-duty vehicles serve an incredibly diverse range of applications, just like the fleets and operators that rely on them, ” explains John Harris, Co-founder and CEO, Harbinger. “There are some fleets whose needs simply can’t be met with a purely electric vehicle—and we recognize that. Our hybrid is designed for use cases and routes that go beyond what an all-electric system typically supports. The series hybrid delivers the benefits of an electric drivetrain, along with the added confidence of a range extender when needed.”
In addition an up-front cost that should make it an attractive prospect for fleet buyers, the new Harbinger EREV pack performance that should made it attractive for its drivers, too. The new chassis’ electric powertrain delivers 440 hp and 1,140 lb-ft of tq for quick acceleration into traffic and smooth running, even under load. Charging performance is also quick, with the ability to get the big battery from 10-80% charge in just under an hour on a 150 kW port.
You’ve heard all this before
If that sounds familiar, that’s because it is. This medium-duty chassis was first shown last year, making its debut under a Thor Class A motorhome concept that we covered in September. That vehicle promised the same great EREV range and capability to a market that values independence and spontaneity more than most, and bringing those values to a medium-duty commercial market that’s lapping up “messy middle” propaganda from Shell NACFE is just smart business.
The new Harbinger chassis’ batteries are manufactured by Panasonic. No word on who is making the 1.4L ICE generator, but my money’s on the GM SGE four-cylinder last seen in the gas-powered Chevy Spark. You guys are smart, though – if you have a better guess who the supplier might be, let us know in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Harbinger.
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