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You know the electric vehicle market has truly arrived when Tesla owners start shopping for something better. Not different, not cheaper, but actually better.
For years, buying a Tesla meant accepting certain compromises in exchange for being part of the electric future. The paint might be questionable, the interior might feel like a tech startup’s idea of luxury, and the service experience might make you question your life choices, but you were driving the future.
Now the future has competition, and some Tesla owners are discovering they don’t have to settle anymore.
Solariss35 just made the jump from a 2022 Tesla Model X LR to a Lucid Gravity, and their Reddit post reads like a field report from the front lines of luxury electric vehicle evolution:
“I traded my 2022 Model X LR in last week for the Gravity. Wasn’t expecting this to happen until next year, but a pleasant surprise. Here’s my initial impressions after a weekend and 500km, as a family car. Gravity advantages: More premium build quality and interior.
Great paint job and trim. Feels like a luxury car. More spacious second row. Kids and adults have commented that it’s more comfortable. Have storage on the passenger doors again. UI is better than expected. Controls seem intuitive and responsive across the 2 screens. Appreciate the traditional analog controls in addition to digital. I prefer this steering wheel over the yoke. Better sound system (upgraded), massaging seats are a nice bonus. The automatic frunk is amazing. Very spacious. I barely used it in the Tesla. Not using the third row currently, so more storage space. Drives very well, certainly more power than what I need. More visibility out of the rear-view mirror. Blind spot warning lights are nice to have. Conversation starter for sure, as many people have already approached me to inquire about the car, “what kind of minivan is that? “, “is it a Chinese EV?” Model X advantages:
Overall, much better software, felt easier to navigate the menu, and more info was readily available. More customizable. Better nav system. Better app. Phone key! Can’t believe that Gravity doesn’t currently allow my phone to be used as a key! Spent an hour in the menu thinking I missed a setup step. Back to the fob for now. Motorized doors. Miss controlling all the doors with the console, brake to close the driver’s door. Falcon wing doors were nice, despite errors during snowfall. Side mirrors automatically fold when pulling up to the garage, and can auto-open open garage door. Netflix and YouTube are available. Overall, an easy transition over, and it meets the needs of my growing family. Tesla wall charger works just fine. Some growing pains with a first-gen vehicle, most of my issues are software-related, and hopefully get patched in soon. I think both Tesla and Lucid have bright futures ahead and will see how they continue to improve, as well as keep an eye on the innovations happening with Chinese EVs.”
What jumps out immediately is Solariss35’s comment about the Gravity feeling “like a luxury car.” That’s a damning indictment of Tesla’s approach to premium vehicles, delivered without malice but with the precision of someone who’s lived with both. When your $100,000+ electric SUV finally feels like it costs $100,000+, that says something about what you were accepting before. The fact that kids and adults are commenting on the improved comfort suggests the difference isn’t subtle. It’s the kind of upgrade that makes you wonder why you tolerated the previous situation for so long.
The return of door storage is almost comical in its simplicity. Tesla removed door pockets in the Model X, presumably for design purity or cost savings, and owners just accepted it because what choice did they have? Now Solariss35 has door storage again and mentions it like a luxury feature. That’s the Tesla ownership experience in a nutshell: learning to live without basic conveniences and then being grateful when a competitor remembers that cars should be practical as well as futuristic.
But let’s talk about what Tesla still does better, because Solariss35’s honesty cuts both ways. The phone key situation is almost embarrassing for Lucid. In 2025, making customers carry a key fob feels like asking them to crank-start the engine. Solariss35 spent an hour searching through menus, convinced they must have missed something, because the idea that a premium electric vehicle wouldn’t support phone key functionality is almost unthinkable. That’s the kind of basic feature that Tesla normalized years ago, and now every electric vehicle buyer expects it. Lucid’s failure to deliver it feels like showing up to a gunfight with a musket.
Why Tesla’s User Interface Is Number One
- Premium electric vehicles should feel premium, not like expensive experiments in cost-cutting and design purity.
- Tesla’s years of development in user interface, navigation, and entertainment integration create real competitive advantages that hardware alone can’t overcome.
- Phone key functionality and practical storage solutions have become baseline expectations that luxury EV buyers won’t compromise on.
- Cross-brand compatibility eliminates the infrastructure lock-in that once made switching electric vehicle brands impractical.
The software comparison reveals Tesla’s most durable advantage. While Lucid focused on making a car that feels like a luxury product, Tesla spent years building an ecosystem that makes everything else feel primitive. Better navigation, better app integration, Netflix and YouTube for charging sessions, and the kind of over-the-air update capability that keeps improving the car after you buy it. These aren’t trivial conveniences; they’re fundamental differences in how the companies think about the relationship between cars and technology.
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Lando_Sage’s comment about “finally, a sensible MX to Gravity post” suggests that most Tesla-to-Lucid comparisons have been either fanboy rants or hit pieces. Solariss35’s balanced perspective is refreshing because it acknowledges that both vehicles excel in different areas. The Gravity wins on traditional luxury metrics: build quality, materials, comfort, and the kind of refinement that makes passengers notice the difference. Tesla wins on the technology integration that makes the car feel like a connected device rather than a traditional vehicle with a big screen bolted to the dashboard.
The falcon wing door discussion in the comments reveals the complexity of Tesla’s innovation strategy. These doors are genuinely useful in tight parking spaces, but they’re also a maintenance nightmare that fails in winter conditions and confuses parking garage sensors. It’s classic Tesla: brilliant engineering solving a real problem while creating new problems that didn’t exist before. Solariss35 appreciated their functionality but doesn’t seem heartbroken about losing them, which tells you something about the trade-offs involved in Tesla ownership.
The automatic frunk that Solariss35 describes as “amazing” highlights another area where Lucid focused on execution over innovation. Tesla pioneered the electric vehicle frunk, but Lucid perfected it. The fact that Solariss35 “barely used it in the Tesla” but loves it in the Gravity suggests that implementation matters as much as invention. It’s the difference between having a feature and having a feature that actually works well enough to use regularly.
The charging compatibility that Solariss35 mentions almost in passing represents a massive shift in the electric vehicle landscape.
The fact that their Tesla wall charger works fine with the Lucid means brand switching no longer requires infrastructure changes. That’s the kind of standardization that makes competition possible and gives consumers real choices. Five years ago, switching electric vehicle brands meant rebuilding your charging setup. Now it’s as simple as changing gas station brands used to be.
The Lucid Gravity Still Flies Under The Radar
The strangers asking “what kind of minivan is that” and “is it a Chinese EV?” capture the Gravity’s positioning challenge perfectly. It’s clearly a premium product, but it doesn’t have the instant recognition that comes with Tesla’s distinctive design language. That anonymity might actually be a feature for buyers who want electric luxury without the Tesla baggage, but it also means Lucid has to work harder to establish its brand identity. The experience reflects what other luxury EV buyers have discovered, as one driver found that switching from Tesla to Lucid Air revealed both advantages and challenges in the transition between premium electric vehicle brands.
Solariss35’s prediction that both Tesla and Lucid “have bright futures ahead” while keeping “an eye on the innovations happening with Chinese EVs” shows the kind of market awareness that comes from actually living with these vehicles.
They understand that the electric vehicle revolution is bigger than any single company, and that competition benefits everyone. The Chinese EV mention is particularly prescient, given how quickly companies like BYD and NIO are advancing in markets where they’re allowed to compete.
The broader lesson from Solariss35’s transition isn’t about Tesla versus Lucid. It’s about the maturation of the electric vehicle market to the point where buyers can choose vehicles based on their actual preferences rather than simply accepting whatever electric options exist. The fact that this transition was “easy” and met their family’s needs shows how far the industry has come from the early days when switching electric vehicle brands required major lifestyle adjustments.
Why People Prefer Traditional Luxury
- Some buyers prioritize traditional luxury execution over technological innovation, while others accept build quality compromises for software superiority.
- The emergence of genuine Tesla alternatives forces all manufacturers to improve their offerings rather than relying on first-mover advantages.
- Electric vehicle buyers can now select vehicles based on their specific preferences rather than accepting whatever options exist.
- Early electric vehicle adoption doesn’t guarantee long-term customer retention when better alternatives become available.
For Tesla, Solariss35’s experience should serve as a wake-up call. The company’s early advantages in software and charging infrastructure are still valuable, but they’re no longer enough to overcome fundamental shortcomings in build quality and luxury execution. For Lucid, the challenge is clear: fix the software gaps and basic feature omissions before more customers decide that traditional luxury isn’t worth the technological compromises. The competition is just getting started, and customers like Solariss35 are proving that brand loyalty in the electric vehicle market is earned, not inherited. The ongoing evolution continues as manufacturers work to address these gaps, with Lucid’s Gravity SUV entering production, designed to compete directly with Tesla’s Model X while addressing some of its traditional weaknesses.
The electric vehicle revolution has reached the point where the revolutionaries are being challenged by the next generation of revolutionaries. Solariss35’s successful transition from Tesla to Lucid proves that the market now offers genuine choices for buyers who refuse to compromise.
That’s progress, even if it means some early electric vehicle pioneers have to admit their first choice wasn’t their best choice. The future belongs to companies that can deliver both technological innovation and traditional automotive excellence.
Based on Solariss35’s experience, that future is arriving faster than anyone expected, one satisfied customer at a time. As the competition intensifies, buyers benefit from manufacturers who understand that luxury EV buyers expect both cutting-edge technology and traditional refinement, not just one or the other.
What features would be most important to you when choosing between luxury electric vehicles? How do you balance cutting-edge technology against traditional automotive refinement?
Let us know in the comment section below.
Image Sources: Lucid Media Center
Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.
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Source: torquenews.com
