GM Unveils Its Most Luxurious EV Yet: The $300,000 Cadillac Celestiq

After months of teasing(Opens in a new window) the arrival of Cadillac’s super-luxe, all-electric Celestiq, the brand finally took the wraps off the 2024 vehicle this week.

With a price “north of $300,000,” it will be GM’s most expensive EV across its brands (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC). On the other end of the spectrum, GM offers the Chevy Bolt, which starts at $26,000 for the 2023 model year.

Online reservations will open for the Celestiq toward the end of 2023 (deep-pocketed enthusiasts can join the waitlist(Opens in a new window)), but Cadillac says it will manufacture an undisclosed, limited number of cars.

GM CEO Mary Barra on stage at the Celestiq reveal in Los Angeles on Oct. 17.
(Credit: Cadillac)

The Celestiq is the second Cadillac EV after the 2023 Lyriq. The brand is set to only sell all-electric cars by 2035 under GM CEO Mary Barra’s direction.

Price and Competition

Though the Celestiq also ends in an alluring “q” like its predecessor the Lyriq, it’s a stretch to say it’s an extension of the same lineup given that it costs three times as much. With the Celestiq, Cadillac is after the 1% customer.

“We are going to continue to earn our way back up to the top of the luxury market and return Cadillac to the pinnacle of luxury,” Rory Harvey, Global VP of Cadillac, tells TechCrunch(Opens in a new window).

2024 Cadillac Celestiq
(Credit: Cadillac)

The press release(Opens in a new window) also harkens back to Cadillac’s “history of building handcrafted, iconic vehicles such as the 1933 V16 Aerodynamic Coupe and the 1957 Eldorado Brougham.”

Other brands have also gone after the luxury EV market with cars like the $154,000 Lucid Air Grand Touring(Opens in a new window) and the $136,000 Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo(Opens in a new window), which are already on the road, and the upcoming $170,000 Maserati GranTurismo Folgore.

Up-close view of the Celestiq seats.
(Credit: Cadillac)

At $300,000, the Cadillac Celestiq’s price point kicks the luxury EV market up a notch. A range of customization options for color, finishes, and materials, which future Celestiq owners will configure in the online reservation system, can hike the price up beyond $300,000.

The Celestiq’s sticker shock was quickly upstaged by Rolls Royce announcing(Opens in a new window) a $413,000 all-electric vehicle today. It remains to be seen how high the price ceiling will go for luxury EVs.

Most Noteworthy Features

The first thing drivers will notice is an expansive, 55-inch horizontal LED screen spanning the vehicle’s dash. Passengers can watch TV without distracting the driver thanks to “electronic digital blinds.”

Dash on the 2024 Cadillac Celestiq.
(Credit: Cadillac)

Above, the roof is a “Smart Glass Panoramic Sunroof” with four zones of customizable lighting and artwork settings, one for each passenger’s preferences, which Cadillac claims is an industry first. Another industry first: the “ClimateSense four-zone microclimate system,” which allows each passenger to control their temperate.

The Celestiq will support Ultra Cruise self-driving features, but it remains to be seen how close to true autonomous driving the vehicle will get. Until then, drivers can focus on what Cadillac calls the “addicting intensity” of the vehicle’s advanced suspension, magnetic ride control, and the lowest-ever drag coefficient on any Cadillac.

The Celestiq ‘multi-function controller’
(Credit: Cadillac)

The Celestiq will be the first vehicle ever constructed at GM’s Global Technical Center in Michigan, which is primarily a design and engineering lab that opened in 1956. GM has invested (Opens in a new window)$81 million to ready the facility for manufacturing such a premium vehicle.

The vehicle will not qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit even though it will be domestically manufactured, which is one of the main eligibility requirements. It would need to be below $55,000 and the tax filer must make less than $150,000 for single filers, $225,000 for head of household, and $300,000 if filing jointly to be eligible. It seems safe to say the Celestiq is for a different income bracket.

Battery, Range, and Charging

The Celestiq will have two motors powered by an 111kWh battery pack (GM’s Ultium platform) for a 300-mile estimated range. Compared to the Lucid Air’s 516-mile range for half the price, plus the Cadillac Lyriq’s 312-mile range, or even 259 on the modestly priced Chevy Bolt, that’s not particularly impressive.

The car does boast 600 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque, made possible by two motors. It goes from 0 to 60mph in 3.8 seconds, which is on par with other premium EVs.

(Credit: Cadillac)

In just 10 minutes of DC fast charging, the Celestiq will garner 78 miles of range, making highway pitstops pretty efficient. The Lyriq charges at the same rate. We do not know level two home charging rates at this time, but the Lyriq, for reference, gets 52 miles of range(Opens in a new window) per hour.

As for battery warranty, it will likely have the same eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty as the Chevrolet Bolt, Car & Driver estimates(Opens in a new window).