Lucid says it will take Tesla until 2032 to reach its current electric car levels

The Lucid Air Pure is rated at 146 MPGe, while the Tesla Model S is rated at 122 MPGe

The boss of Lucid Motors has said that it will take until 2032 for the Tesla Model S to match the range efficiency of the new Air Pure, which is being billed as the “most fuel-efficient car ever”.

Thanks to its technologically advanced 84 kWh battery pack, the Lucid Air Pure can travel 420 miles (676 km) on a single charge. That equates to 5 miles (8 km) per kilowatt of energy, easily outperforming the most efficient Tesla Model S, which requires 1 kWh of energy for every 4 miles (6.4 km). It also equates to 146 MPGe, far exceeding the Model S’ 122 MPGe.

Read: 2025 Lucid Air claims to be the “most fuel-efficient car ever”

Last week, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson shared a chart on LinkedIn showing how far ahead the brand is of its competitors. The chart states that if Tesla continues to improve the efficiency of the Model S in a linear fashion, it will take until 2032 for it to reach the current 146 MPGe rating of the Air Pure.

Of course, Lucid will continue to develop the Air, and the chart shows that the Air’s efficiency could climb to over 170 MPGe by 2032. Other competitors, including the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQS, lag far behind, with just 83 MPGe and 96 MPGe, respectively.

“Efficiency is critical to building better, lighter, more spacious cars with longer range, and directly impacts manufacturing costs,” Rawlinson said in the post. “As such, efficiency is arguably the most effective litmus test of a company’s core EV technology capabilities.”

It’s impossible to predict exactly how the Model S’s efficiency will improve over the next few years, so it’s important to remember that these are just estimates. It’s entirely possible that Tesla could introduce an innovative new version of its flagship sedan that is significantly more efficient than its predecessor and matches or exceeds the Air’s current figures.