A camouflaged Lucid Cosmos prototype has appeared in new spy photos, the first public sighting of the midsize SUV since late July.
The model is the first one under the brand’s midsize platform and “an essential element of Lucid’s strategic plan,” according to the Chief Executive Officer Silvio Napoli.
The Instagram account ‘kindelauto’ shared the images late Thursday, crediting the Bay Area-based photographer user ‘flawedbmw’.
“Lucid Cosmos test vehicle spotted in US during testing,” the post said. Neither the account nor the photographer said where the car was photographed.
The photographer’s profile lists “Bay Area | SF” in its bio, and the prototype carries a California license plate in the images. Neither detail confirms the location.
Lucid is headquartered in Newark, California.
The EV maker is building Cosmos prototypes at its Coolidge, Arizona plant, a facility a few miles from AMP-1 in Casa Grande that the company treats as part of the same Arizona campus.
Napoli said in early August that pilot lines there were already assembling vehicles for testing and certification, with an on-site test track used to prepare the prototypes.
Lucid is also running a full line in Coolidge to validate the process before transferring the technology to AMP-2 in Saudi Arabia.
What the Photos Show
All earlier sightings of the Cosmos SUV with known locations were in Arizona, where Lucid builds vehicles in Casa Grande and operates a test site in Coolidge.
If the photos were taken in the Bay Area, they would be the first public evidence of Cosmos testing outside Arizona.
The prototype wears black, white and grey camouflage with a pattern of letter-like shapes.
A slim horizontal light strip runs across the front. At the rear, the glass slopes steeply, and a black rectangular panel covers the centre of the tailgate. Red lights sit at the rear corners.
Lucid privately unveiled the Cosmos to invited media and analysts at its March 12 Investor Day in New York, confiscating phones before the showing.
Earlier Sightings
The first public-road photo emerged in May, when X user ‘john61640’ posted a camouflaged prototype next to a Tesla Model Y near Lucid’s Casa Grande factory.
Cory Steuben, Director of Cost Engineering at Lucid, reposted the image with an eyes emoji, signalling it was authentic.
In July, drone footage caught prototypes at Lucid’s Coolidge facility, the former Nikola plant. A flyover by drone operator Neil Tracht on July 14 showed two prototypes at the site.
On July 30, ‘Out of Spec’ founder Kyle Conner posted a photo of another prototype without giving a location, a day after collecting a Gravity at Lucid’s Newark headquarters.
Delayed Launch
Lucid had targeted a summer 2026 reveal for the Cosmos and a start of production late this year.
Chief Executive Officer Silvio Napoli said on the second-quarter earnings call on August 4 that production would slip to “most likely the second half of ’27.”
Lucid said at the time that the midsize program was in advanced testing, including crash certification, aerodynamic refinement and cold-weather evaluation in New Zealand.
Napoli said he had driven a prototype on Lucid’s Arizona test track. The Cosmos will be built first at Lucid’s AMP-2 plant in Saudi Arabia.
“Speaking of progress, I had the opportunity to drive our latest Cosmos prototype at our Arizona test track last week,” Napoli said. “And I have to say, I came away extremely impressed.”
The company, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has not set a reveal date.
