EV startup Lucid delays deliveries of the Air, its Tesla Model S rivaling luxury sedan

• Startup carmaker Lucid won't deliver its first electric sedans this spring after all.
• Lucid's CEO said in a letter that production will be postponed due to COVID-19-related delays.
• Lucid aims to start production as early as it can in the second half of 2021.

Startup automaker Lucid has postponed the first deliveries of its debut electric vehicle, the 2021 Lucid Air. Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson announced the news in a letter on Friday, blaming COVID-19-related issues for the delay.

"Despite the excellent progress made in all areas, we now know that we won't be able to start delivering Lucid Air this spring at the level of quality we insist on providing," Rawlinson said. "I am wholly committed to delivering a breathtaking electric car. If this means it will take a bit more time, the this is what we must do."

Lucid aims to start production as early as it can in the second half of 2021, Rawlinson said. Previously the company said that customers would start receiving their sedans this spring. Lucid's top executive said the pandemic has affected the startup's testing activities, supply chain, and its preparations for sales and service.

The Air, a pricey luxury sedan, is set to compete directly with the Tesla Model S when it hits the streets. And, at least on paper, it appears that Lucid could give Elon Musk's automaker a run for its money if it's able to scale up production.

Lucid says the top-tier version of the Air will have an estimated range of 517 miles. At the time of the announcement, that was substantially more than any vehicle Tesla offered. Tesla has since introduced a "Plaid Plus" version of the Model S that it claims will have 520 miles of range.

Lucid also made a splash when it announced in October that the entry-level Air sedan would cost $69,900 after federal tax credits, undercutting the cheapest Model S by a few thousand dollars. That same day, Musk said Tesla would cut the price of the Model S to $69,420.

The upstart firm announced Monday that it will go public through a reverse merger at an initial valuation of $24 billion. It will build the Air at a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, and has plans for a future SUV and a more affordable sedan to rival the Tesla Model 3.