I Tracked My Stolen Lucid Air Through The App, And Took It Back From The Thief's Driveway, All While A Neighbor Recorded The Whole Thing

Imagine a quiet suburban night, tree-lined streets, the soft murmur of sprinklers, the gentle hum of a day just beginning. In the driveway, however, one thing is conspicuously absent: a Lucid Air, gone without a trace. Not lent to a neighbor. Not towed by the city. Stolen.

While many might turn to the usual avenues, file a police report, wait for updates, and hope for the best, Kevin Cordova chose a different path. Armed with the technology embedded in his Lucid Air, Cordova set out to recover it himself, leveraging the Lucid’s connected features in a way few owners ever imagine.

How He Recovered His Stolen Lucid Air Using In-Car Technology

Cordova’s saga, shared with startling honesty in a Facebook post to the “Lucid Motors (LCID) www.lucidmotors.com” group: 

“Well, I've never had this happen before, but my car was stolen out of my driveway at 5 am this morning.

(For full transparency, I accidentally left my key in the car, not realizing it)...” 

He didn’t notice the theft until 7 p.m. because he hadn’t gone anywhere that day. Not even the gym, as he confessed with a self-deprecating shrug emoji. A lapse, for sure, but also a refreshingly human one.

The thieves weren’t masterminds. They were

“Door checking.”

A lazy, opportunistic tactic as old as power locks. They hit Cordova’s Lucid, found it unlocked and armed with its key fob, and off they went, joyriding through town in a 1,050-horsepower, $100,000 electric spaceship. No hotwiring.

No broken glass. Just a softly glowing door handle and the blissful ignorance of someone who assumes luxury also means invincibility. As one commenter, Kurt Gluck, would later ask: 

“Do Lucids have the equivalent of the PIN to drive feature that Tesla does? I use a pin to drive because I constantly leave my keys in the car.”

Cordova, though, wasn’t content to play the victim. Within minutes of realizing the car was missing, he opened the Lucid app and found the Air parked just three miles away, cooling its motors on some anonymous suburban street. He called the police, got the expected noncommittal promise that 

“Someone might come.” 

Then weighed his options. 

“My thought is that the car could be gone by then.” 

He wrote. So he did what any sensible gearhead would do… he jumped in his minivan and drove off to reclaim his Lucid Air from a thief’s driveway.

Cordova parked a street over, knocked on a random neighbor’s door, explained the situation, and got this in response: 

“Do you want me to record it?” 

She did. The footage hasn't surfaced publicly (yet), but in that brief moment, Cordova became the protagonist in a story he’ll tell in his old age. 

“It was quiet outside, and no activity was going on. It was the moment to act.” 

He wrote. He approached. The car sensed his fob and unlocked, then locked again. A standoff. Possibly a thief trying to remotely lock him out. But Cordova double-tapped the fob, leapt in, and drove away. 

“I could see out of the corner of my eye a silhouette of a person approaching the car, but by that point, I was gone!”

The car, astonishingly, was undamaged. The battery read lower, evidence the thieves had been parading it around town all day, but nothing else was broken or stripped. 

Filing the Report and Reclaiming the Lucid Air

Cordova later returned for the minivan and filed a police report, now armed with video footage, tracking logs, and surveillance clips. 

“If these guys get caught, they face grand larceny charges.” 

He said. And yes, now the Lucid sleeps safely inside the garage. Always.

The comments on his Facebook post lit up with advice, admiration, and some well-earned criticism. Michael Borohovski responded to Gluck’s question about Lucid’s security by saying, 

“(They’re secure) yes, but you really shouldn’t leave your keys in the car.” 

Simple advice. But so easy to ignore in an era where cars unlock themselves, start with a button, and silently roll away without so much as a growl. Cordova, to his credit, replied: 

“I don’t mean to, but since it is only the key fob for my Tesla (my house uses combo locks), I sometimes forget, that’s why I use PIN to drive. Anyway, I strongly suggest it to anyone with grandkids; it is way, way too easy to ‘start’ an EV.”

Lucid says their cars are 

“Nearly impossible to steal.” 

And to a point, they're right. These are technological masterworks, vehicles that can sense your approach, remember your seat position, and quietly judge your choice in Spotify playlists. 

Interestingly, Kevin's story of recovering his Lucid Air also echoes a broader trend where EV owners are finding themselves at the center of dramatic, high-stakes situations - sometimes with outcomes that might have been drastically different in less robust vehicles. Just recently, a Tesla Cybertruck was T-boned by a drunk driver traveling at 60 mph, and what the police told the Cybertruck owner after inspecting the wreck might surprise you. The vehicle’s condition and the officer’s comment raised serious conversations online about structural integrity, survivability, and how these next-generation EVs may be rewriting expectations around safety.

Why ‘Nearly Impossible to Steal’ Is More Than Just a Claim

But let’s not mistake clever for invincible. 

Lucid’s official line goes like this:

“The vehicle is nearly impossible to steal. If the car is somehow stolen...

1. A PIN would need to be entered to put the car in drive

2. The Alarm will sound until the battery is completely dead

3. You'll be notified on your Lucid Mobile app that the car is being moved with no key detected.

4. You'll have the capability to track the car on your mobile app.” 

Image Sources: Facebook Group, 
Lucid Motors (LCID) www.lucidmotors.com, Lucid Media Center

Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.