The Lucid Air is arguably the biggest affront to the Tesla Model S's claim as the world's premier electric sedan. Over the course of the last eight months, Lucid Motors has upped the ante, drip-feeding us teasers and tidbits of information about the ultra-luxurious Air, which was originally scheduled for an unveiling at the 2020 New York Auto Show. Recent events have derailed that plan, but the Lucid Air is still on track for a reveal on September 9. Now, with less than a month to go until the Air's official unveiling, Lucid has confirmed the model's EPA range estimate, and it's blown the Tesla Model S completely out of the water. According to testing, the Lucid Air has an EPA-certified range of 517 miles, beating the Model S's 402-mile effort by a staggering 115 miles. That's right, the Lucid Aid is officially the first certified 500-mile EV, after evaluation by FEV North America.

"I'm delighted that the Lucid Air has been independently verified by FEV to achieve an estimated EPA range of 517 miles, and that this landmark in the history of EV development has been achieved entirely through Lucid's in-house technology," said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid Motors.

The achievement adds to the long list of recent accolades the model has been racking up, but is the first achievement to be independently verified. We've previously seen the model dubbed as the world's most aerodynamic production car at a drag coefficient of just 0.21 (Tesla's Model S boasts 0.24), we've seen prototypes manage a real-world journey of more than 400 miles, and we've even seen Beta 4 and Beta 5 go drifting in the snow with more than 1,000 horsepower on tap. There are even reports suggesting the tri-motor Lucid Air might develop up to 1,800 hp in future iterations.

As Lucid prepares to open up 20 stores across the country to aid with distribution, the Air's secrets are slowly being let out of the bag. The Air will be available in multiple variants, with the loftiest, including the 517-mile version, boasting a 130 kWh battery while lesser models will still achieve a claimed 315-mile range. The apex model will, however, be capable of a sub-2.5-second 0-60 mph sprint and claim a circa 200 mph top speed. With advanced semi-autonomous systems under the Lucid DreamDrive moniker and claimed future Level 3 autonomy, the Air was already poised to tread on Tesla's toes, but the promise of ultra-luxury and the now-confirmed range of 517 miles seems like Lucid is putting Tesla on notice.