Peter Rawlinson, CEO of luxury electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Lucid Motors, has expressed skepticism regarding the timeline for achieving fully autonomous driving, suggesting that significant advancements may not occur until the 2030s. In a recent interview with Semafor, Rawlinson stated that he believes the complexities involved in reaching full autonomy are often underestimated.
“I can’t see it really happening till the 2030s,” he remarked, emphasizing the challenges of refining technology to address the final intricacies of self-driving. He likened this challenge to refining gold to a high purity, explaining, “It’s like refining gold to 99.9999 percent — the first few nines are easy, but it’s that last 0.01 percent.”
The conversation also covered various topics, including Lucid’s powertrain technology and the company’s strategic shift towards enhancing its autonomous driving features and user interface. Rawlinson highlighted Lucid’s backing from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) and briefly touched on the political views of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Rawlinson’s comments come amidst Tesla’s recent introduction of the Cybercab and Robovan autonomous vehicles. While some companies, like Waymo, are already testing self-driving ride-hailing services in designated areas, Tesla has asserted that its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology can be scaled more effectively than others, relying on neural network training from extensive real-time driving data rather than mapping.
In previous statements, Rawlinson has championed Lucid’s battery technology, often positioning it as superior to that of Tesla and other automakers. In August, he claimed that Lucid has “taken the mantle from Tesla,” citing a shift in focus within the latter company. “We’ve taken the mantle without a doubt. I mean, everyone is striving for ‘how far can you go with how little battery space?’” he stated, asserting that Lucid is ahead in technological advancement.
