Lucid Motors sells the Lucid Air and probably its future electric vehicles directly to the consumer, not through any dealerships. So the car often has to go from its Lucid Motors factory in Arizona, to another destination for pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and then maybe to yet another destination before it is delivered to the customer. You do not go to a dealership, sign some paperwork and pick up your car there.

With Lucid, you generally are asked to sign all the paperwork for the purchase of the EV when the car is finished with production at the Arizona Lucid factory. But then you might not accept the car for delivery until a week or two or more later. In fact, the car leaves the Arizona Lucid factory and undergoes yet another PDI at another Lucid location. If there are issues and the PDI fails, it can take another several weeks to get the car.

So while Lucid Motors asks customers to pay when the Lucid Air leaves Arizona, the Lucid production factory plant, you probably should push back. Why should Lucid Motors sit on your $150,000 of cash for two weeks or potentially several weeks when you don’t even have the car in your driveway or garage?

It may be that Lucid Motors is now telling customers not to pay so early because of the enhanced PDI steps they are now taking. A Lucid Air buyer posted in the Lucid Owners Forum saying his delivery advisor told him to hold off on paying until his Lucid Air goes through all PDI steps and is cleared to be delivered. He wrote ” My DA told me not to pay until the car was done with PDI and ready for pick-up/delivery. In the purchase agreement, I believe it states that you have 7 days from when it’s ready to take possession, or Lucid reserves the right to sell the car to someone else. I’m sure they’d work with your if there were extenuating circumstances, but ymmv.”

That does make more sense for customers, although, I am sure Lucid Motors doesn’t mind holding on to your cash for you.