Lucid Motors teased again its upcoming compact crossover built on the cost-efficient Midsize Platform. The affordable EV project is running behind schedule after new CEO Silvio Napoli said he wants it to be perfect before starting production. The release window is now expected for the second half of 2027. The EV startup desperately needs the affordable Cosmos to cut losses and help it survive.
While Rivian appears to be well on its way to profitability, its former peer Lucid Motors is still struggling to stay afloat. The major difference between the two EV startups is that Rivian is already selling the R2, a high-volume, affordable compact crossover. Lucid, on the other hand, is still working on its Cosmos rival, which should’ve launched later this year.
However, Lucid Motors is going through a painful reorganization, with a new management team that seeks to straighten the ailing ship. The new CEO, Silvio Napoli, who was appointed in June, announced in August that the Cosmos would not be rushed to market like the Air and Gravity were. Napoli set a new timeline for the second half of 2027.
Many are skeptical that Lucid Motors will be able to survive that long on its current cash reserves, which are depleting faster than expected. The third-quarter financial results will be announced on November 9. Still, previous quarters showed that Lucid is burning about $1.5 billion per quarter. The company had only $3,0 billion in cash at the end of June, which means it might run out by the time the Cosmos starts deliveries.
That didn’t prevent Lucid from continuing work on the project. The startup teased the Cosmos at the end of a recent social media video, in a move aimed at showing that the project is still alive despite difficulties. This time, the teaser focuses on the crossover’s light signature. At the rear, it shows red Lucid lettering integrated into the taillights and the rear light strip. Up front, the thin headlights appear to also be part of a light strip.
The silhouette matches the patent drawings that Lucid filed in May with the EU Intellectual Property Office. The drawings also had the Lucid lettering on the tailgate, as shown in the new teaser. We’ve seen the same light signature on prototypes Lucid has been testing in California recently. In fact, one of the prototypes also appears in the teaser video.
The Cosmos is part of a four-model lineup based on the Midsize Platform, including a mainstream crossover named Earth, an adventure SUV that is yet to be named, and a robotaxi that aims to compete with Tesla’s Cybercab. The Cosmos will be powered by a relatively small 69-kWh battery, but will be able to provide over 300 miles of range thanks to an impressive efficiency of up to 4.5 mi/kWh.
Lucid promised that the Cosmos would start under $50,000, although we know what that means for a new car model. The problem is that, by the end of 2027, Rivian will already sell a $45,000 R2 variant, while the Tesla Model Y starts well below that, at $39,900. This shows the kind of uphill battle Lucid Motors faces not only to ramp up Cosmos production, but to find new funding to stay alive. And God forbid the Cosmos disappoints. We’ve seen with Fisker what that leads to.
We’ve always looked at movement differently. From the calm of a well-crafted cabin to the ease of a journey and the thrill of acceleration, it’s about elevating the experience of movement, mile after mile. And as we build new vehicles and push technology further, we can’t wait to share this feeling with even more people and bring them along for the ride.
— Lucid Motors (@LucidMotors) November 5, 2026
