‘Distracted’ Elon Musk Is Letting Other EV Makers Take Tesla’s Crown

Tesla Is Losing Its Sales And Technology Lead

Tesla is having quite the time of it these days, with rivals closing in on its crown as the electric vehicle sales king, profits falling and registrations slowing for new cars. Now, rival EV maker Lucid has claimed the dip in fortunes for Tesla is all because company boss Elon Musk is “distracted” by his other endeavors.

Lucid boss Peter Rawlinson claims that his company has now caught up and even overtaken Tesla when it comes to the technology you’ll find in electric vehicles, reports Autoblog. The CEO believes that Tesla has been “distracted” in recent years, allowing startups like Lucid as well as legacy automakers to catch up and surpass Tesla when it comes to EV range, battery capacity and motor efficiency. As Autoblog reports:

“We are considerably ahead of where Tesla is. We’ve taken that mantle. When I was at Tesla, Tesla was the tech leader. They’ve become distracted, and we have taken that place,” he said, referring to what he believes is Lucid’s tech advantage in batteries, software, and powertrain.

Rawlinson posted data on LinkedIn showing how far ahead of Tesla Lucid’s tech is, in terms of efficiency. Rawlinson mentioned Lucid vehicles have the capability to eke out 5 miles of distance in one kWh, which is remarkable when the industry average is around 3 to 4 miles, which is where Tesla stands.

Other manufacturers, like Aston Martin, for example, have inked technology licensing deals for Lucid tech, believing it to be best in class.

And it’s not just in terms of technology that Tesla’s lead may be waning, the company is also facing increased competition at the top of the EV sales tree. In China, EV maker BYD has come ever close to toppling Tesla as the world’s biggest electric vehicle maker, while across in Europe the automaker’s crown has already been taken.

According to the latest sales data for the trading bloc, Tesla is now playing second fiddle to BMW in terms of EV sales, reports Autocar. The German company sold 300 more electric car than Tesla managed in July thanks to new model launches and a dip in demand for Tesla’s Model 3 and Y cars. As the site explains:

The German brand delivered 14,869 new EVs in Europe last month, 308 more than its American rival.

Tesla experienced a slump in Europe in July, with registrations of its Model Y SUV falling by 16% to 9544 and those of its Model 3 saloon falling by 17% to 4694.

Despite the dip in demand, the Tesla Model Y remained the best-selling EV in Europe, closely followed by the Volvo EX30 and the Volkswagen ID 4.