Building an electric vehicle company from the ground up is no small feat. Many startups fizzle out before delivering a single car. Lucid is among the rare few to make it through that gauntlet, scaling up to full-scale production and getting cars into customers’ hands. But manufacturing vehicles is only part of the equation.

Automakers also have to navigate the less glamorous parts of the business, like managing lease agreements and the often fraught process of lease returns. According to both customers and even Lucid itself, this is an area where the company still has some work to do.

More: Service Nightmares Leave Lucid Owner Considering Ditching $100K EV

Every automaker that handles lease deals has to figure out how it’ll navigate excessive wear and tear when a leased car comes back. To its credit, Lucid publicly posts its guidelines for all to see. Many of them are commonsense rules like, don’t return the car with bald tires, or cracked headlights, or cuts to the interior upholstery. None of that is uncommon across the industry.

Customers Say the Charges Don’t Match the Condition

What is a bit strange is the experience some lessees say they’re having when they return their cars. On LucidOwners, several report four-figure bills for ‘excessive wear and tear,’ and we’re not talking about broken mirrors or ripped seats. One says they ended up with a $5,800 charge after returning their car despite the intake employee calling it “one of the cleanest lease returns she’d seen.”

Digging into that $5,800 figure, $1,200 was for a small piece of missing plastic from the inner fender liner. Another $585 was billed for a tiny rock chip in the paint. A $200 fee was added for light wear on the phone holder. Somehow, these tiny blemishes aren’t just an issue for this customer either, because others are having similar problems.

Photos BenTexas / dapellegrini 

The person who started one thread mentioned a $1,825 bill for wear and tear. That total mostly came from a $1,450 charge for a new windshield. Did it have a giant crack or several medium-sized spider cracks in it?

No, instead, it had three very small rock chips that are almost imperceptible. Even more surprising is a $375 charge for “Left interior Qtr Trim Broken,” but the actual issue is even harder to find. “I honestly don’t even see what they are trying to show in the photos,” says the lessee.

Others Echo Similar Complaints

In other places like Reddit, customers are complaining just the same. One says that Lucid charged them $4,300 for wear and tear, including $650 for a charger that was allegedly gifted to the customer. Another said that they received a bill in excess of $1,500 but managed to get it waived because they did their pre-inspection three weeks before returning the car. That inspection came back completely clean, and the customer was able to leverage that to get out of the extra charges.

Lucid Says It’s Working on It

It’s worth pointing out that some of the examples mentioned above still have active cases open. There’s a chance that Lucid will come to an agreement with those customers that both sides are happy with.

In fact, it appears as though the automaker is eager to straighten things out. It told The Drive that “We are aware of some instances where our lease turn-in standards have not been interpreted consistently. We are collaborating with our banking partner to resolve disputes and sincerely apologize to those who have been inconvenienced.”

It said almost the exact same thing to CarBuzz. The automaker has reached out to some of the affected customers mentioned above, which is a good sign.

Who’s Actually Making the Call?

Importantly, that banking partner is Bank of America, the brand that handles all servicing through a third party. Essentially, when a lease gets turned back into Lucid, a third party reviews the car, BoA demands what it believes it’s owed, and Lucid, the car company, ultimately relays that to the customer.

That sounds like an old-school game of telephone with much more financially impactful results than a silly phrase popping out at the end of the line. At this point, only time will tell whether or not Lucid gets the act together or if more customers find leasing from the brand a risk too big to justify.

Photos BenTexas / dapellegrini 

The Lucid Gravity is the brand’s white knight, but the Air is rolling into 2026 with a handful of updates. The biggest is access to the Tesla Supercharger network, although you’d have to be dumb or desperate to use it.

While that sounds odd, let us explain. Starting on July 31, Air owners can use a $220 NACS adapter to gain access to more than 23,500 Tesla Superchargers. That seems fantastic, but the Air is only capable of charging at speeds up to 50 kW. This means it could take up to an hour to gain 200 miles (322 km) of range.

More: Lucid Air Drivers Will Soon Be Passengers In Their Own Cars

That’s ridiculous for a ‘fast charger’ and you’d be far better off using a traditional CCS charging station. Depending on the trim, the Air supports a DC CCS fast charging capability of up to 300 kW and that’s six times higher than at a Tesla Supercharger.

Despite being terrible, Lucid’s Emad Dlala claimed “Access to the Tesla Supercharging network … is yet another major milestone.” However, if there are other alternatives, you should avoid Superchargers like the plague.

Besides Supercharger access, the 2026 Air Pure comes with an improved air conditioning compressor from the Gravity. It promises improved cooling as well as quieter operation.

Buyers will also find a newly standard Lucid Mobile Charging Cable Kit and optional 19-inch Aeronaut wheels, which are available in Platinum or Stealth. The Comfort and Convenience Package has also been updated to include a rear center console display and storage bin.

The $79,900 Air Touring builds on that and features higher density battery cells. They help to increase the EPA-estimated range over 6% to 431 miles (694 km).

Last but not least, the Air Grand Touring now comes standard with 20-way power front seats with heating, ventilation, and massage functions. Lucid said they “make road trips in the industry’s longest range electric vehicle, at up to 512 miles (824 km) of EPA-estimated range, even more comfortable and relaxing.”

2026 Lucid Air Pricing

Even vehicles built in the United States aren’t immune to global pressures. Although every Lucid vehicle sold domestically is assembled on American soil, interim CEO Marc Winterhoff says that prices are still likely to rise, due in large part to tariffs introduced under President Trump.

While he stopped short of confirming that Lucid’s own lineup will definitely see sticker hikes, the implication was clear: American consumers should brace for costlier new cars.

Read: Lucid SUV Costs 30% More To Lease Than Sedan Despite Being Cheaper

During a recent interview, Winterhoff noted that the American car manufacturer is eager to localize more of its supply chain. One step it has taken is signing a deal with Graphite One to increase its supply of graphite that’s processed in the United States. Despite these efforts, the global nature of its supply chain will make the Air and Gravity more expensive to produce.

Tariffs Push Costs Upward

“For the American consumers, vehicles are going to be more expensive under the tariff regime,” he told Bloomberg Television. “There’s no other way around it. Yes, you can say you just need to localize. But, that still increases the cost as there’s a reason why the supply chain is so global because certain things are either not available here in the US, or are just very expensive, so you import them.”

He went on to point out that even when companies work to reduce dependence on imports, shifting operations to the U.S. often drives costs higher anyway. That leaves automakers with limited choices.

“[Even] if you change that, you still have higher costs here in the United States, which means manufacturers like us, or any manufacturer, have to increase prices. There’s no other way, unless you want everybody to be non-profit organizations, which then would lead to no innovation and no technology leadership. In the current global climate, that’s the last thing we want.”

Shifting the Supply Chain

In a bid to reduce the impact of the tariffs, Lucid is deepening its relationship with Panasonic so it can source more of the raw materials for its battery cells from the US. Currently, much of the raw materials Lucid uses for its battery cells come from Japan and South Korea, but two and a half years ago, decided it needed to localize, thanks in part to advanced manufacturing production credits which helped to defray costs.

“We are working with Panasonic to further localize the supply chain for the cell,” Winterhoff added. “It doesn’t do you a lot of good if you manufacture here [in the US] but you still import the raw material which then subject to tariffs.”

The Lucid Air is already one of the best EVs on the market, combining luxury with performance in a way that legacy automakers have struggled to compete with. Now, Lucid’s suite of advanced driver assistance systems is getting a major update, bringing with it hands-free driving assist and lane change assist systems.

Read: This $110K EV Refuses To Let Its Owner In And That’s Not Even The Worst Part

For owners of the flagship Air Sapphire, that means they’ll soon be able to hand over the reins to computers to control one of the world’s quickest cars. Now that’s a scary thought.

These updates will be introduced through an over-the-air software update scheduled to roll out on July 30 for all Lucid Air models equipped with the DreamDrive Pro suite. This system makes use of a LiDAR, radar, visible-light cameras, surround-view cameras, and ultrasonic sensors to make driving that little bit easier.

Lucid says drivers will be able to use the hands-free driving feature and hands-free lane changes on compatible divided highways. However, it hasn’t specified what exactly makes a divided highway “compatible” for use with the system. The new features will be rolled out to the Lucid Gravity later in the year.

Several other car manufacturers have introduced hands-free driving modes for their ADAS systems, including Ford, GM, and Mercedes-Benz. Hands-free lane change features are also becoming more commonplace, and in the Lucid Air, drivers simply need to flick on the turn signal before the car itself will determine if it’s safe to change lanes. If it is, the car will smoothly glide into the next lane.  

“The addition of these features to Lucid’s DreamDrive Pro offers a glimpse into the future that Lucid is building with the impressive capabilities of our software-defined vehicles,” Lucid’s ADAS and AD vice president, Kai Stepper, said. “With our in-house software stack, a comprehensive suite of 32 sensors, and regular OTA updates, we have a roadmap to continue to deliver significantly more functionality to our owners in the future.”

Lucid Air owners who didn’t opt for the DreamDrive Pro system may now regret their decision. Unlike Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, which has recently cost upwards of $8,000, Lucid’s system is relatively good value at just $2,500.

Range anxiety and electric vehicles go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, the situation has been improving thanks to new battery technology and growing charging infrastructure

Those are welcome developments, but how far can an EV really take you? A whopping 748.8 miles (1,205 km) in the case of the Lucid Air Grand Touring.

More: Lucid Promised Luxury But All This Owner Got Was Regret And Nightmares

That’s a remarkable distance, and it recently set a new Guinness World Records title for the “longest journey by an electric car on a single charge.” The record-breaking feat was achieved last weekend when an Air traveled between St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany without stopping to recharge. That makes the record even more impressive as the trip included a mix of alpine passes, highways, and secondary roads.

Lucid beat the previous record by 99.4 miles (160 km), and the company’s chief engineer noted it’s a “significant milestone” and “another clear demonstration of the technological edge that defines Lucid.” Eric Bach went on to say, “Lucid products combine world class vehicle efficiency with the most advanced drive units, ultra-high voltage architecture, and battery management technology available today.”

Speaking of the powertrain, the Euro-spec Air Grand Touring has a dual-motor all-wheel drive system that produces 820 hp (611 kW / 831 PS) and 885 lb-ft (1,200 Nm) of torque. It enables the model to accelerate from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.2 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 168 mph (270 km/h).

Powering all that is a 117 kWh battery pack, which provides a WLTP range of 596.5 miles (960 km). This means the record-breaking car exceeded that figure by an impressive 152.2 miles (245 km).

Photos Lucid

The Lucid Air has earned its reputation as one of the best electric vehicles on the market, blending luxury, performance, and efficiency in a way that few EVs can match, especially outside of China. However, as is the case with most modern cars, the Air is basically a high-tech gadget on wheels, and like any laptop or smartphone these days, it comes with its fair share of tech troubles.

Read: Lucid Promised Luxury But All This Owner Got Was Regret And Nightmares

To make matters worse, getting a Lucid technician to fix a stranded Air seems to be more difficult than contacting tech support to help you troubleshoot your (much cheaper) phone.

A Familiar EV Saga

Recently, a member of the Lucid Owners Club on Facebook shared the saga of his Air GT, the flagship variant of the EV that starts at $110,000. According to the owner, “We have been locked out of our Lucid GT since Monday evening. Have tried phone, fob and Key Card”. And, of course, the issues don’t end there.

The owner pointed out that he’s been in contact with customer service from Lucid and they’ve tried, and failed, to get access to the car remotely. Apparently, they couldn’t connect to it or get it to wake up. That’s annoying, but it may not seem like the end of the world, right? Lucid should be able to get the car towed and fixed quickly, right? Wrong.

According to the owner, the local Minneapolis mobile service tech was on vacation until the following week, so they aren’t around to try and remedy the non-responsive Air. Not all hope is lost, however.

“Lucid has gotten in contact with me and we have tried everything but jumping 12v,” the owner added in the comments. “They are having towed to a partner collision center and it sounds like they will try to jump it. If that doesn’t work, we will see what happens.

If it doesn’t, the owner may be left without the golf clubs he so desperately needs by Saturday. What a predicament…

Are Modern Cars Too Complicated For Their Own Good?

Jokes aside, the issue does raise an interesting question: are cars too complicated nowadays? Do they feature too many fancy electronics that can go wrong, potentially leaving owners stranded like this? Without even a physical key slot for emergency cases, it appears this Air is useless if the 12-volt battery runs flat.

It’s not just Lucid, of course. Just earlier this week, Ford had to recall nearly 200,000 Mustang Mach-E EVs in the U.S. and another 100,000 overseas due to a problem where the doors could get stuck if the 12-volt battery fails.

More: Ford Pulls Mustang Mach-E From Sale Over Dangerous Door Lock Flaw

Call us old-fashioned, but this would never happen with a good ol’ internal combustion engine vehicle. In the past, you’d simply jump-start the car or swap out the battery, and off you’d go. Sure, every new technology has growing pains, and it’s only fair to give automakers time to work out the bugs. Electric vehicles are still relatively new, and there’s a learning curve. The truth is, the tech has made incredible strides in just a few short years.

Nevertheless, most end users expect everything to run smoothly and glitches to be fixed in heartbeat, especially if they’ve paid big money in the first place. Otherwise, they may lose their patience and steer clear of EVs until they’re damn good and ready.