Tesla's Model S is no longer the longest-range electric car you can buy

• The Lucid Air, one of the most promising rivals to the Tesla Model S, has hit the road.
• It's the first vehicle from Lucid Motors.

Plenty of startups are working on exciting new electric cars right now. But delivering actual vehicles is a whole different story.

Lucid Motors became one of the very few electric-vehicle upstarts to start handing over keys to customers on Saturday when it presented a handful of owners with the first Air Dream Edition sedans. Lucid is only building 520 of them, and they sell for $169,000 each.

Why 520? The number of Dream Edition cars pays tribute to the vehicle's 520-mile range, as estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Now that deliveries have begun, the Lucid Air is officially the longest-range electric car on the road, beating out Tesla's best tech by over 100 miles.

Range is one of the top concerns for potential electric-car owners, and Tesla has dominated on that front since its inception. Until Lucid came along, Tesla's four models ranked as the top four rangiest EVs in the US. The $95,000 Model S can travel up to 405 miles on a full battery, according to the EPA. The best non-Tesla EV in terms of range is the Ford Mustang Mach-E California Route 1, which is rated for 305 miles.

That Lucid was able to beat the rest of the industry by so much - and go on to actually sell those vehicles to customers - marks a huge step in the worldwide transition toward more sustainable vehicles. Peter Rawlinson, the company's CEO, told Insider recently that it achieved such good range not because of its battery pack, but rather thanks to efficiency optimizations throughout the car.

Of course, the Lucid Air Dream Edition costs tens of thousands more than any Tesla, but Lucid aims to start shipping less expensive models starting in 2022.