Lucid lures Tesla owners into test-driving its EV in an LA Supercharger station

What’s the best way to promote your product? Offer it in a place where your rival’s customers huddle. That’s what Lucid Motors did in Tesla Supercharger in Los Angeles, which caused an uproar in the Tesla community.

Big companies always have to come up with great marketing strategies and gimmicks in order to attract the attention of the public and, hopefully, steal some customers from their enemies. That is not a secret about the rivalry between Coke and Pepsi, but other companies are doing it too. In this case, we have Lucid Motors, which recently offered a test drive for Tesla owners charging their electric vehicles at the West Hollywood Supercharger.

Lucid wants to lure Tesla drivers into considering its products, and its recent move is completely logical. EVs are not cheap, making them a product you can just offer to anyone. With this, Lucid directly resorted to a place where it could spot individuals who could afford its offerings. In an LA Supercharger station, a Lucid EV was spotted with its doors and trunk opened, as if trying to look like an open house inviting anyone to take a peek inside.

However, the move was blasted by Tesla fans, with some stressing how “cringey” the action was. Others underscored how Lucid should have just visited gas stations and encouraged gas-powered vehicle users who spend huge on gasoline. Despite that, others said they were considering purchasing a Lucid but expressed how the high price makes this decision impossible. Some then noted how the company’s overhead or manufacturing costs contribute to this, making Lucid a truly expensive option in the EV market.

This put it into the rank of other high-end brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Polestar, Rivian, Lucid, and more that eat up to Tesla’s EV market share. Yet, this position is insufficient for the company to gain momentum in the industry. Before 2022 ended, a report from Business Insider revealed that the “Tesla-wannabe” called customers up to 14 times to deter customers from canceling their reservations, with retail employees being reminded that “every cancellation is a failure.” The report shared a decrease of 37,000 in Q2 to 34,000 in Q3.

The news made many believe the company to be in great problem, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeting, “They are not long for this world.” The same comments extend to the recent “desperate” marketing strategy of Lucid today, as some bet the company “will be bankrupt soon.” 

Right now, it is unknown whether the test drive offer gained Lucid some benefits. Yet, based on the comments of the company’s prospects, pricing is still the main issue about Lucid’s EV offerings, and it is undoubtedly hindering it from being an attractive EV choice. Unfortunately, lowering the price is challenging for a startup company still trying to fortify its business and production. With this, Lucid might have to be a little more creative in its strategies other than going into a place to attract customers to buy a product that costs almost twice what they already have.