Lucid Air owners will be able to use Tesla Superchargers from July 31

Starting July 31, Lucid Air sedan owners will enjoy the convenience of charging their luxury electric vehicles at thousands of Tesla Supercharger stations across North America. This milestone comes nearly two years after both automakers reached a significant agreement to facilitate this access. However, there is an important consideration: Lucid Air vehicles will not be able to charge at the same rapid pace as Tesla models. The company announced that all Lucid Air sedans, regardless of their model year, can utilize Tesla's extensive network of fast chargers with the purchase of a $220 approved adapter. This adapter is compatible with Tesla's V3 Supercharger stations and above. Despite this accessibility, the charging rate for the Lucid Air will be limited to 50 kW, significantly lower than the maximum 250 kW that Tesla Superchargers can provide. This disparity arises from a difference in charging systems; Lucid’s 924-volt system does not align with the 400V Tesla Superchargers. According to Consumer Reports, electric vehicles equipped with 800-volt systems, like Lucid, cannot achieve the same charging speeds as those designed for their infrastructure. Andrew Hussey, a spokesperson for Lucid, explained that the company’s engineers have modified the Air’s integrated charging system, known as Wunderbox, to enable this 50 kW charging capability when connected to a Supercharger. He emphasized that this option caters to Lucid Air owners who may be on road trips or live and work near Supercharger locations. In contrast to the recently launched Lucid Gravity SUV, which features a built-in North America Charging Standard (NACS) port, the Lucid Air continues to utilize the Combined Charging System (CCS). This system was once the predominant EV charging standard in North America, adopted by most automakers, with Tesla being a notable exception due to its proprietary technology. In 2022, Tesla made strides toward industry-wide adoption by sharing its EV charging connector design, aiming to establish it as the new standard. In May 2023, Ford became the first major automaker to enter an agreement that allows its EV owners to access the Supercharger network, with existing Ford EV owners utilizing an adapter. Following Ford’s lead, several other manufacturers including GM, Rivian, Honda, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota have also committed to integrating the NACS charging port in their future electric vehicles. Lucid, having been one of the last to finalize a deal with Tesla, has also announced that its upcoming Gravity SUV will feature this built-in NACS charging port.