Lucid Cosmos spotted in California after delay to 2027

Electrek reports that a camouflaged Lucid Cosmos prototype was spotted on Highway 101 in Morgan Hill, about 40 miles south of Lucid's Newark headquarters. Reddit user u/always_trolled posted four photos on the Lucid subreddit showing the SUV from the rear and the side. Highway signs for downtown Morgan Hill, East Dunne Avenue, and Cochrane Road place the car northbound toward San Jose.

The Cosmos wears a black, white, and grey wrap of jumbled letters, but the shape is clear. The roofline drops sharply toward the back, with a spoiler at the base of the rear glass and thin red light strips peeking from a covered panel across the tailgate. Electrek notes that matches the design Lucid registered in Europe in June. Side shots show flush door handles and black five-spoke wheels with exposed lug nuts. A small green light glows on the driver-side B-pillar.

Lucid announced the Cosmos in March with a 69 kWh battery pack, 300 miles of range, and a starting price under $50,000. The company claims 4.5 miles per kWh efficiency and 200 miles of range added in 14 minutes. Production was originally slated for late 2026. In August, new CEO Silvio Napoli pushed the launch to the second half of 2027. "We're not going to make the mistake of the past where products, great cars, were in fact tainted by launching before things were ready," Napoli told Electrek.

The delay puts Lucid in a tight spot. The company laid off 18% of its staff in June, its second deep cut in four months, and its stock dropped 40% in July after a bankruptcy report that Lucid denied. Electrek reports that Lucid says it has enough liquidity to last well into 2027. The Cosmos arrives in that same late 2027 window as the Rivian R2, which starts at $45,000. Electrek calls the Cosmos "make or break" for Lucid.

Electrek also spotted a Cosmos prototype next to a Tesla Model Y near Lucid's factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, in May. For car shoppers eyeing a sub-$50,000 electric SUV, the Cosmos is worth watching but not anytime soon. Lucid needs to get this one right on both hardware and software.

• Cosmos
• EV
• Lucid
• production delay
• spy photos
• SUV