Cadillac Celestiq Could Cost $300,000

Instead of looking downstream with their electric vehicles, the majority of automakers are looking upstream. The GMC Hummer EV, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Lucid Air Dream, Tesla Model X, and Porsche Taycan Turbo S all start above $100,000. Clearly, automakers see a market for expensive electric cars. While these EVs are expensive, Cadillac is looking to charge an absurd amount for its upcoming Celestiq. How absurd? Like three times more expensive than the EQS absurd.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Cadillac is planning to charge an insane $300,000 for the Celestiq. And that’s just an estimate for the electric car’s starting price tag. Options could push the vehicle’s price “well beyond” the $300,000 figure. Currently, the most expensive vehicle in Cadillac’s lineup is the new 2023 Escalade V which has a starting price that's just shy of $150,000. So the Celestiq will be in an entirely different ballpark compared to the rest of the Cadillac lineup.

We do feel obligated to say that Cadillac hasn’t announced official pricing for the Celestiq yet. Cadillac hasn’t even revealed the car in its entirety yet. That’s supposed to happen before the end of July. The EV isn’t expected to go on sale until the end of 2023, so Cadillac still has a lot of time to figure things out. The Wall Street Journal cites unnamed sources that are familiar with the matter for the news.

While it’s hard to fathom how automakers get away with charging $100,000 for a car, it’s truly a difficult endeavor to try and wrap one’s head around a $300,000 vehicle. Still, Cadillac may try to justify the price tag because of a few reasons. The Celestiq is going to be a limited edition vehicle with Cadillac planning to build just 500 units of the EV. Matching ultra-luxurious vehicles on sale, Cadillac will be building the Celestiq by hand at GM’s Global technical Center in Warren, Michigan. The facility isn’t set up to build vehicles, but GM is spending $81 million into upgrading the center with the necessary equipment to manufacture the EV.

In addition to being hand-built, Cadillac has plans to pack the Celestiq with high-end touches. The EV will come with Ultra Cruise, which is an updated version of Super Cruise, a pillar-to-pillar dashboard screen, and a roof with quadrants that allow each passenger to adjust the transparency of the roof to their desired amount. It’s all in an attempt to make the Celestiq a halo vehicle for the rest of GM’s portfolio and to make the vehicle the “standard of the world.”

With the Celestiq, Cadillac is clearly trying to return to its glory days when its vehicles were considered some of the most opulent machines on sale. A long time has passed since then, but the Celestiq could be the spark that the automaker needs to produce a truly luxurious EV. Too bad only the 0.5% will be able to afford one.

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