Range Anxiety Who? EPA Rates Lucid Air at Up to 520 Miles Per Charge

• The Lucid Air Dream Edition R can travel a whopping 520 miles on a single charge, according to the EPA.
• Every version of the Air is rated at more than 450 miles of range.
• Tesla might have finally met its match in the range department.

EPA range estimates are in for the 2021 Lucid Air, and the California-based company has delivered on its promise. The Lucid Air Dream Edition R is rated at 520 miles on a single charge when riding on the 19-inch wheels — making good on Lucid's 2020 projection that the Air should achieve 517 miles of range in EPA testing.

For those keeping track, the Air can travel quite a bit farther than the current EPA range champ, the Tesla Model S Long Range, which is rated to clear 405 miles per full charge. The rest of the Air lineup should also beat Tesla's large sedan in a range test since the lowest EPA range in the Air lineup is a still astonishing 451 miles.

How far can the Lucid Air go on one charge?

Before we dig into the numbers, it's worth remembering that the range-topping Lucid Air Dream Edition comes in two flavors: R for Range and P for Performance. Customers who opt for the Range model trade outright power for the headline-grabbing 520-mile range figure — as long as they stick with the 19-inch wheels. The larger 21-inch wheels cut range to 481 miles, but that's still more than enough to conquer even the longest of road trips. And though it's not the most potent Air, the 933 horsepower on tap is still enough to wake you up in the morning.

But if ultimate bragging rights are on your list of wants, the Performance is the only way to go. In this spec, the Air pumps out a stunning 1,111 hp but will still travel an EPA-rated 451 miles on a single charge. That's if you opt for the larger 21-inch wheels too. Stick with the smaller 19s and the range estimate jumps to 471 miles.

But wait, there's more!

The top-spec Dream Editions weren't the only models the EPA evaluated. The Grand Touring trim, which promises to be nearly as luxurious as the Dream Edition without being quite as exclusive, was also rated by the EPA. There are no Performance or Range models to choose from here — the only choice you can make that will affect the range estimate is, again, wheel size.

Grand Touring models on the 19-inch wheels earned an estimated 516 miles of range on a charge, with the bigger 21s bringing that figure down to 469 miles. If you don't need the glitz of the Dream Edition, the less expensive Grand Touring model just might be the way to go. The biggest trade-off is the dip in power, which still stands at a quite healthy 800 horsepower. No matter how you slice it, the Lucid Air is the newly crowned EV range champion.

Edmunds says

The Lucid Air is the first EV to break the 500-mile range barrier, and we think it should help do away with the pesky notion of range anxiety once and for all. We can't wait to get our hands on one and conduct a range test of our own.