At a time when Tesla is stepping back from making cars, two other California startups are gearing up to fill that void.
After big announcements from Rivian and Lucid last week, we now know a lot more about what’s coming from each brand. The Rivian R2 arrives in the U.S. this spring, and Lucid’s own mass-market crossover, the Cosmos, will begin production by the end of this year. Both will try to take on the Tesla Model Y—and one another.
We know considerably more about the R2 at this point; the company revealed full specs and pricing for its baby R1S, which goes on sale this spring. Details from Lucid are more scarce. It hasn’t publicly revealed a final Cosmos design, just vague teasers of a sleek, swept-back silhouette. But at Thursday’s Investor Day event in New York, Lucid shared far more technical details about the midsize platform underpinning its new EV, which is expected to start at around $50,000.
We can’t quite compare these crossovers on an apples-to-apples basis yet. Since neither is on sale, and one is still a ways out. But the news out of Lucid this week suggests that the Cosmos may have the technological edge over the R2 in two key areas: charging speeds and efficiency.
Charging
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
Lucid’s midsize platform runs on an 800-volt battery architecture, allowing the Cosmos to add 200 miles of range in just 14 minutes of charging. That puts it right up there with the Lucid Gravity, currently one of the fastest-charging EVs in the U.S. This is important for charging, because an 800-volt architecture would require less current to deliver higher charging speeds.
The Rivian R2, by contrast, rides on a 450-volt architecture, a Rivian spokesperson confirmed to InsideEVs. The automaker picked a nickel-based battery chemistry that’s optimized more for energy density and low cost instead of brute charging speeds, CEO RJ Scaringe has said.
With a claimed 10-80% charge time of 29 minutes, the R2 is no slouch. That just about matches the Model Y. Rivian also said the R2 can add 150 miles of range in about 15 minutes of charging.
So, in terms of miles added per minute during a road trip, the Lucid should have a comfortable lead here.
Efficiency
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
Lucid is projecting significant efficiency gains on the Cosmos through a combination of aerodynamics and motor engineering. With a drag coefficient of just 0.22, the Cosmos will be considerably more slippery than the boxy R2.
The startup is also claiming major improvements with its new Atlas drive unit, which uses 30% fewer parts than the motors on the Gravity, is 23% lighter, and boasts 40% more power density than the Model Y’s drive unit.
As a result, Lucid is projecting up to 4.5 miles per kilowatt-hour of efficiency on the Cosmos. For context, most EVs on the market today deliver somewhere between 2.5 and 4.0 miles per kWh, a figure that swings widely depending on driving style, climate, road conditions, and region.
2026 Rivian R2 Prototype Drive
Photo by: Patrick George
That efficiency advantage has real-world implications for battery size, too. Lucid says it will only need around 69 kWh of capacity to deliver 300 miles of range. Even if the actual pack size ends up larger, some quick napkin math confirms that range won’t be a concern. At 4.5 miles per kWh, a 69 kWh pack delivers roughly 310 miles.
By comparison, the R2 Standard manages to get 345 miles of manufacturer-estimated range out of an 87.9 kWh battery (usable). That should translate to about 3.9 miles per kWh of efficiency, at least on paper.
You may be thinking: Why should I care about efficiency? First off, going more miles with less energy helps with charging speeds—because a smaller pack can in theory be filled up more quickly. And of course, it helps with running costs.
Apart from what you, the consumer experience, Lucid also positions an obsession with efficiency as a core competitive advantage. Spending less on expensive battery materials without actually compromising how far the Cosmos can go and how fast it can charge is good for margins, the thinking goes.
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
All said, there’s no shortage of egg-shaped crossovers on the market today, and that’s precisely where the Rivian R2 holds its ground. Its retro-modern design, classic two-box SUV silhouette, and genuine off-road credentials give it a unique personality.
The R2 has also entered production, whereas the Cosmos is still months out. We’ve already reviewed the R2 and came away mighty impressed. But we can’t pass judgment on the Cosmos until all its details are out and until we get behind its wheel.
The bottom line here is that the real winner will be you, the consumer. More mass market and high-tech options at this price point are a good problem to have.
Contact the author: [email protected]
