Lucid Group LCID Managing Director Peter Rawlinson has not hesitated to praise his company’s technology and its superiority over rival electric vehicle manufacturers.

Rawlinson has new comments that could spark a debate among electric car manufacturers.

What happened: In recent months, Rawlinson has emphasized how far Lucid has come compared to competitors such as Tesla Inc TSLespecially with regard to battery efficiency and range.

In a new LinkedIn post, Rawlinson shares his latest insights on how Lucid continues to outpace Tesla and other competitors in the electric vehicle space.

“Efficiency is critical to building a better, lighter, roomier, longer-range vehicle and has a direct impact on manufacturing costs. Therefore, efficiency is arguably the only valid litmus test of a company’s core technological competency in electric vehicles,” Rawlinson said in the post.

He highlights the 5.0 miles per kWh and 146 MPGe (miles per gallon) that the Lucid Air Pure achieves, making it the most efficient production car to date.

“Lucid has a significant technological lead in electric vehicles. If the nearest competitor maintained its pace of progress, it would take many years to catch up with Lucid.”

The table cited by Rawlinson, which compares several competitors, including the Tesla Model S, suggests that based on current progress by both companies, it would take eight years, or until 2032, for the Model S to reach the current efficiency of the Lucid Air Pure.

Also read: Lucid Q2 earnings highlights: Revenue beat, EPS missed, $1.5 billion funding commitment from Saudi investment fund

Why it is important: Rawlinson, a former Tesla employee, clashed with Tesla and the company’s CEO Elon Musk Musk has been a critic on several occasions, and his recent technology talks may add to the controversy. Musk has often downplayed Peter Rawlinson’s previous role as chief engineer at Tesla, particularly his work on the Tesla Model S.

With losses mounting, Lucid is struggling with liquidity problems and Musk said the company is facing bankruptcy.

Although Lucid’s technology has proven to be quite impressive in terms of efficiency metrics, the company has not sold as many vehicles as originally projected at its IPO and is well behind Tesla’s lead.

A report from Teslarati also said that several versions of the Model 3 are more efficient than shown in the graph, such as the Model 3 RWD Standard Range at 132 MPGe. The report said that a Model 3 Long Range RWD is also expected to be highly efficient.

Rawlinson highlighted the technological differences in a recent interview with Fox Business.

“If we look back 10 to 15 years, I think Tesla was the technology leader,” Rawlinson said. “I think today there’s a bit of a distraction, and I think Lucid has taken on that role. I think we’re several years ahead of Tesla in terms of our core technology.”

Lucid’s technology could be a differentiating factor against the competition and also lead to some partnerships. Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF is considering a partnership with Lucid for its engines, according to a recent report.

Lucid has already partnered with Aston Martin for an electric vehicle powertrain in June 2023.

LCID, TSLA Price Action: Lucid stock is trading at $3.20, while its 52-week trading range was $2.29 to $6.48. Lucid stock is down 24.1% year-to-date and down 50.2% in the past year.

Tesla stock is trading at $214.04, while its 52-week trading range was $138.80 to $278.98. Tesla stock is down 13.8% year-to-date and 10.7% over the past year.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.