- Lucid’s Cosmos looks close in size to the Tesla Model Y, but with a lower, sleeker body.
- Cosmos will be Lucid’s cheapest model yet, with a promised starting price below $50,000.
- Lucid hasn’t confirmed RWD or AWD, but efficiency and fast charging should be its big selling points.
Lucid needs a more affordable model in its lineup to even think about turning a profit. Its answer is the midsize Cosmos crossover, which will rival the Tesla Model Y and the upcoming Rivian R2. The company has so far only teased its third model, but a photo showing a prototype next to a Tesla Model Y is our best look yet.
The camouflaged Cosmos prototype was spotted by X user @john61640 near the Lucid factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. The photo not only gives us the best look yet at the Cosmos’ production body but also lets us compare its size to the white Model Y captured alongside it.
Unsurprisingly, the two cars look like they’re about the same size, although the Lucid seems to have a lower greenhouse, and it looks more like a tall hatchback than a traditional SUV. It almost looks like a shrunken-down Gravity with a more pronounced fastback-like rear end. The Model Y has a taller, more rounded greenhouse and an even more fastback-like rear than the Cosmos.
Other details we can spot in the photo include the huge screen that seems to span most of the dashboard’s width (though not quite pillar-to-pillar like in the new Mercedes-Benz GLC EV), and we can just about make out the shape of the headlights. The dazzling camouflage does its job of tricking the eye, but this photo also gives us a pretty good idea of what the vehicle will look like once it’s fully revealed.
The main reason why Lucid needs the Cosmos in its lineup is price. It will be its most affordable model, with a starting price of under $50,000. Its current cheapest offering is the base Pure version of the Air sedan, which starts at over $70,000, so the Cosmos will be considerably cheaper than any Lucid you can buy today.
We don’t know how much under the $50,000 mark Lucid will be able to sell it, and it likely won’t undercut its main rival, the Tesla Model Y, which starts at a very attractive $39,990, although for that, you get the no-frills model formerly called the Model Y Standard. Lucid has said the Cosmos will feature the new Atlas drive unit, but it didn’t say whether a single-motor model will be offered or if all-wheel drive will be standard.
The larger Gravity SUV is only available with all-wheel drive, but the Air sedan can be equipped with a single 430-horsepower motor powering the rear wheels. The other big rival to the Cosmos, the Rivian R2, is getting a single-motor rear-wheel-drive entry-level variant, so Lucid may choose to offer a similar version to keep the purchase price as low as possible.
What will set the Cosmos apart from its rivals will be its efficiency, which promises to be even better than any current Lucid model, thanks to the new and improved motors it will feature. It is expected to deliver 300 miles of range with a relatively small 69-kilowatt-hour battery pack and regain 200 miles of range in a 14-minute charging session.