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.

The Lucid Air is an exceptional electric sedan, but unfortunately, its premium price tag puts it out of reach for many. Now, Lucid is offering substantial discounts, slashing up to $31,500 off the price. The catch? These savings only apply if you’re leasing. Still, for those open to a 36-month commitment, the 2025 Lucid Air could be yours for as little as $519 per month.

The cheapest of the three Lucid Air models included in this promotion is the Air Pure. Cutting payments down to $519/month for 36 months involved Lucid introducing a $2,000 on-site vehicle bonus, a $2,000 conquest offer if they own a vehicle from a competitor, and a special Air Credit. All Lucid Air models are also eligible for the full $7,500 EV tax credit.

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

The savings amount to $21,500 for the Air Pure. Opting for a lease, however, requires a $3,696 down payment due at signing. That effectively increases the monthly payment up to $620. For those who would prefer to finance, the Air Pure is available at 2.99% APR for up to 72 months, plus a $10,000 Air Credit. The cash price remains at $69,900, but includes an extra $10,000 in Air Credit for other cash purchases.

The discounts for the Air Touring amount to $26,500, and it can now be leased from $539/month for 36 months with $4,079 due at signing. Add that down payment to the equation and you’re looking at $652/month. Like the base model, the Air Touring can be financed at 2.99% APR for up to 72 months and includes a $7,500 Air Credit. For those who can afford to pay upfront, the Touring starts at $78,900 and has a $7,500 Air Credit.

The final model available with the new deals is the Air Grand Touring. Savings add up to $31,500, including a $20,000 Air Credit, allowing it to be leased for $849 per month for 36 months with $6,819 due at signing. The monthly payments work out to be the equivalent of $1,038 when factoring in the down payment. The cash price starts at $110,900 with a $5,000 Air Credit.

Lucid’s latest price cuts won’t suddenly make the Air a people’s car, but if you’ve been circling the luxury EV lot looking for a deal, this might finally move the needle.

Buying into the latest automotive trend can feel like stepping into the future, until that future leaves you stranded at the service center. Sometimes the cutting edge cuts a little too deep. That’s exactly what went down with one Lucid owner who picked up an Air Pure AWD in 2023. Less than a year later, he’s moving on to an Acura. The car itself? Solid. The ownership experience? Not so much.

More: Rivian Owner’s Quality And Service Nightmares Expose The Pain Of Being A ‘Beta Tester’

“When you buy a Lucid, you’re not just getting a stylish, fun-to-drive EV – you’re buying into an experience. And sadly, that experience has been… underwhelming.” Those are the words of a now-former Lucid driver in what he openly admits is a bit of a rant, posted online.

Lucid “Can’t Tell Its Right Hand From Its Left”

Posted to Reddit, this story details one owner’s experience with what it’s like to own a car from a young automaker. They report leasing the vehicle in 2023, and that it spent two out of twelve months in the shop. Reported issues include malfunctioning windows, a stuck frunk, buzzing speakers, trim problems, unreliable phone connectivity, and what the owner describes as a company that is “completely lost, unable to tell its right hand from its left.”

It gives the impression that different departments aren’t communicating, and some representatives don’t bother reviewing customer notes before reaching out. According to the post, one Lucid employee said a lease buyout was possible, while another insisted it wasn’t. After inquiring about the buyout, the owner was then contacted – ironically – not with answers, but with a sales pitch for another Lucid.

Good Car, Awkward Company

All companies screw up from time to time, but this owner reports that they haven’t received a single call or message to ask about why they wanted out of their lease. To this (now former) owner, Lucid is missing one big thing: “They’re not just selling a car – they’re selling a luxury experience. And right now, they’re only delivering half of that,” they say.

On the plus side, that last comment hints at the silver lining here. Lucid might still be trying to figure out the service and customer experience side of the business, but they have built a very good EV. “The car itself? Terrific. A blast to drive,” the owner said said. Interestingly, the Lucid will be replaced by an Acura ZDX. So, why did they chose this particular car?

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

“The ZDX feels like a refined, luxury version of [a Honda Prologue]”, they explained. “No, it’s not as thrilling as the Lucid, but I’ll take reliability, a responsive local dealer, guaranteed loaners, and half the insurance cost any day. Plus, the lease is in the mid-$300s with zero down.”

Ultimately, this seems like a pretty typical example of what can happen when you buy a car from a startup EV company. Sure, issues like these can crop up with any brand, but they tend to hit early adopters of newer automakers more often.

When anyone is evaluating two vehicles, the MSRP is always one of the major metrics considered alongside horsepower, zero to 60 mph (100 kmh) times, fuel economy and, now with EVs, range figures. But a huge discrepancy in lease costs between Lucid’s Gravity SUV and the Air sedan reminds us that MSRP is actually irrelevant to many new car shoppers. It’s what they pay each month that matters.

And in the case of the electric Gravity, that monthly cost is far higher than it is for the Air, despite the SUV having a much lower MSRP, Cars Direct discovered. The website describes the Gravity as “a terrible vehicle to lease” due to its steep circa-$1,380 monthly lease cost, which is around 30 percent above what you’d pay to run an equivalent Air sedan.

Related: How To Lease A $69K Lucid Air For Just $510 A Month With $0 Down

Although Lucid says a more affordable Touring trim will join the SUV’s lineup later this year, for now you can only get it in Grand Touring spec. Its MSRP is $96,640, which looks good value next to the $112,400 Air Grand Touring.

But by the time you’ve factored in a down payment of $8,030 and the acquisition fee of $995, Lucid’s quoted $1,099 per month lease cost for a 36-month contract has ballooned to $1,380 before fees and taxes. Compare that with the Air Grand Touring, which costs $849 per month and a true price after down payments and fees of around $1,070.

So why does the Gravity cost $310 more to lease when it’s almost $16k more expensive to buy outright? The difference is down to the amount of rebates Lucid offers for the Air: they’re almost twice as big as the ones for the Gravity and include a $5,000 Air Credit, $1,000 On-Site Vehicle Bonus, and a $2,000 Conquest Offer, Cars Direct explains.

Right now the Air looks better value, especially since you can also order it in lower trim levels that really ramp up the savings. Go for the Air Touring and your overall monthly lease cost comes in at $731, which is close to half what the (admittedly better equipped) Gravity will cost you.