Tesla Rival Rolls Out Luxury Super-Sports Sedan

Tesla  (TSLA) - Get Free Report, the leading electric vehicle maker in the world, is way ahead of its competition in production and should deliver over 1 million EVs this year. 

The Austin, Texas, EV giant produced and delivered more fully electric EVs than any other company in the world in the first half of the year with 563,987 produced and 545,884 deliveries. Its Chinese rival BYD had claimed to have sold the most plug-in new energy vehicles in the first half, but it only sold about 323,519 fully electric vehicles in the first six months. BYD sold 638,157 plug-in, new energy vehicles that included about 314,638 plug-in hybrids in the first half of 2022.

Tesla's rivals may not be producing and delivering as many EVs, but its premium EV competitors sometimes roll out some new products that Tesla has not yet produced. Nio  (NIO) - Get Free Report, which delivered 25,059 vehicles in the second quarter, in June rolled out its ES7, a new mid-large five-seat smart electric SUV. The ES7, which sells as low as about $69,700, is the first SUV product based on NIO's latest technology platform Technology 2.0 and was set for delivery in August.

On the very high end of premium EVs, the Croatia-based Rimac Nevera hypercar, clocks 0 to 60 mph in 1.85 seconds, reaching 256 mph with enormous 1,914 horsepower and sells for about $2.27 million to $2.5 million.

Tesla Has an Answer for Sleek Sports Cars

Tesla has an answer to Rimac Nevera with the high-end 2022 Tesla Roadster, with specs that say it accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 1.9 seconds and can reach speeds over 250 miles per hour with 800 to 1,000 horsepower. It sells for a more reasonable $200,000 to $250,000.

Of course EV buyers can purchase much lower priced Tesla EVs, as the Model 3 base price starts at $46,990, which is its cheapest vehicle.

Now comes Tesla rival Lucid  (LCID) - Get Free Report and its new entry in the all-electric sports car line with the Lucid Air Sapphire, the world's first fully electric super-sports sedan.

“Last year, Lucid rocked the world with the launch of Lucid Air, a fusion of unsurpassed range, efficiency, superior driving dynamics, and interior space, uniquely enabled by our in-house technology.” Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said in an Aug. 19 statement. “Today, with the introduction of the Sapphire line, we take the next logical step of advancement.

"Lucid Air Sapphire, being the very first Lucid product to bear the Sapphire name, builds upon our technical prowess to take electric high-performance on to next level,” Rawlinson said.

Lucid Claims the Most Powerful Sedan in the World

Lucid Air Sapphire features a three-motor powertrain with a twin-motor rear-end drive unit and a single-motor front-drive unit generating over 1,200 horsepower for not only the most powerful electric sedan in the world, but the most powerful sedan in the world, the statement claimed. The final horsepower ratings will be announced later, along with instrumented demonstrations of the performance capabilities of the vehicle, the company said.

The EV accelerates from zero to 60 mph in less than 2 seconds, zero to 100 mph in less than 4 seconds and the standing quarter mile in under 9 seconds.

Lucid, which debuted the Air Sapphire at the Monterey Car Week Aug. 12-21, will offer a limited -production model with deliveries planned in the U.S. and Canada in 2023.

The purchase price will start at $249,000 with reservations beginning Aug. 23, at noon Eastern time.

In its second quarter report released Aug. 3, Lucid said it generated $97.3 million on 679 deliveries, but also reported 37,000 Lucid Air reservations representing a potential $3.5 billion in future sales. The company, which produced 1,405 vehicles in the first half of 2022, revised its production outlook for the year at 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles.