Tesla abandoned its plan to build a $25,000 passenger car to fully autonomous robotaxithe dream of an affordable electric vehicle for everyone looks bleak. Don’t wait Lucid to build one, either, because mass production of such a car is simply too expensive for a small company. However, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson says an affordable electric vehicle with a decent range is still possible by licensing battery technology and electric motors from other brands.

During a recent Wall Street Journal podcast episode, Rawlinson discussed the potential to license Lucid technology to more established traditional automakers so they could build inexpensive electric vehicles. He says Lucid doesn’t currently have the manufacturing capabilities to mass-produce something roughly half the $70,000 price tag. Air sedanand investing in such capabilities is not viable because the profit margins on cheap cars are much smaller.

“I think that’s where our licensing opportunity comes in. As a technology company, licensing our technology so that other OEs can take advantage of that and build such a vehicle. They have a more installed manufacturing base,” Rawlinson said.

Lucid leads the way when it comes to efficient EV technology. It is the only electric car manufacturer to build one with a range of over 500 miles, was the first to achieve five miles per kWh in a production car and also produces a four-door luxury sedan with 1,234 horsepower, which can reach 60. mph in 1.89 seconds. Its electric motors are incredibly dense while still being small enough to fit the plane’s carry-on baggage. All in all, it’s baffling why Lucid hasn’t already licensed it.

Interestingly, Rawlinson also says that cheaper electric vehicles from now on should have much shorter ranges on average. High-efficiency motors combined with small, fast-charging batteries is his vision for the future.

“The VE of the future, I think, will have a shorter range,” he said. Lucid is currently working on an extremely high efficiency electric powertrain program called “Vision Six” capable of six miles per kWh. With that kind of efficiency, you can have an EV with a tiny 30 kWh battery – smaller than the Mini Cooper Electric’s – that can provide 180 miles of range. “And that’s more than enough for most consumers, and if you knew there was fast charging on every street corner, why would you need to carry more than 180 miles as an antidote to motoring anxiety?”

According to Rawlinson, that 30 kWh battery pack would cost just a few thousand dollars, instead of about $20,000. In addition to being cheaper, the smaller battery would be much lighter, creating a multiplier effect that improves range, performance, comfort and cost. Smaller, ultra-efficient batteries and motors seem to be the future of affordable electric vehicles — at least as long as Lucid doesn’t build them.

Of course, Lucid will have a cheaper mid-size car that will cost around $48,000-$50,000 in 2026, but that’s as cheap as the brand is willing to go. “And I think that kind of thing would make a nice bookend for our product line. We have (Air) Sapphire starting at ($249,000), reaching mid-range at ($48,000).

Countless traditional automakers are investing huge sums of money in manufacturing plants for batteries and motors, but it might be more beneficial for many of them to license this technology from Lucid. Given the brand’s impressive range, power density and packaging, it could be just what some manufacturers need to build an affordable electric vehicle for the future. Especially if Lucid can crack six miles per kWh.

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