Best USB Drive for the Lucid Gravity Drive Recorder: 128GB Stick, 256GB Stick, or 1TB SSD
Lucid Gravity at Lucid Studio Oslo. Photo: Premeditated, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Which USB drive the Lucid Gravity needs
Drive Recorder is the Lucid Gravity’s built-in dashcam. It saves clips from the cameras on all four sides of the car to a USB drive in the glovebox, and it will not turn on until a compatible drive is plugged in. Lucid does not include the drive.
Lucid sets the bar in two places, the current Lucid Gravity owner’s manual and its Drive Recorder support page. Both give the same minimums:
- At least 128 GB. No maximum is listed.
- At least 7.5 MB/s write.
- At least 20 MB/s read.
- USB 2.0 compatible. The support page says USB 2.0 or above, so a USB 3 drive works as long as it also runs at USB 2.0, and they all do.
Lucid also recommends drives that are shockproof, can take high temperatures, and have high endurance or high read/write cycles. The support page allows a solid-state drive that meets the minimums, too.
These picks line up with that list in different ways. The Samsung BAR Plus 128GB is the cheapest drive at Lucid’s minimum. The Samsung BAR Plus 256GB is the same stick with twice the room. The Samsung T7 Shield 1TB is a shockproof SSD with a published write speed, the closest match to what Lucid recommends.
Where the Lucid Gravity USB port is
Lucid says the drive goes in the USB port in the glovebox. Open the glovebox from the Pilot Panel. The manual puts a Glove Box button in Quick Controls.
Lucid’s documents don’t say what kind of port it is. Gravity owners on the LucidOwners forum, including a moderator who owns one, say it is USB-A, in the upper left corner at the back of the glovebox. One owner had to find it with a flashlight, and another called inserting a drive there a pain. A stick you can get your fingers around is easier to plug in back there than a tiny nub.
The Gravity’s other USB ports are all USB-C. The manual lists two in the front center console storage compartment, which also handle CarPlay and music, two on the backs of the front seats, and two on the third-row armrests in cars that have them. Drive Recorder uses the glovebox port.
How Drive Recorder uses the drive
Drive Recorder saves short clips around events, not hours of continuous driving:
| What triggers a recording | Notes |
|---|---|
| A collision | Always on, even when the car is parked |
| Honking, hard braking, Launch Mode | Turn each one on in the settings |
| The Record button on the Clearview Cockpit | Manual recording |
Each clip starts 30 seconds before the trigger and keeps going for 30 seconds after you stop it or after the last trigger, up to 2 minutes. Recordings stay on the USB drive and are not sent to Lucid, although you can choose to share anonymized clips with Lucid.
Automatic recordings are starred, and Lucid says starred clips are never deleted or overwritten. When the drive is full, the car overwrites unstarred clips, oldest first. Starred clips therefore build up over time. Copy the ones you want to keep, then trash the rest from the Pilot Panel.
Quick comparison
| Drive | Role | Capacity | Plug | Published speed | Ruggedness | Price on Amazon (Nov 8) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung BAR Plus (MUF-128BE3) | Cheapest at the minimum | 128 GB | USB-A, USB 3.1 | Up to 400 MB/s read; write is lower | Metal body, 0–60°C operating | $39.99 |
| Samsung BAR Plus (MUF-256BE4) | More room, same stick | 256 GB | USB-A, USB 3.1 | Up to 400 MB/s read; write is lower | Metal body | $69.39 |
| Samsung T7 Shield (MU-PE1T0S) | Shockproof SSD | 1 TB | USB-C on the drive, C to A cable in the box | Up to 1,050 MB/s read, 1,000 MB/s write | IP65, 9.8 ft drop rating | $271.28 |
Memory prices have climbed this year, and Black Friday is November 27, so check the current price before you order.
Cheapest: Samsung BAR Plus 128GB
Check the Samsung BAR Plus 128GB price on AmazonThe Samsung BAR Plus 128GB (model MUF-128BE3) is exactly Lucid’s minimum capacity in a metal USB-A stick. Samsung’s product page lists USB 3.1, backward compatible with USB 2.0, and up to 400 MB/s read. It rates the stick to run from 0°C to 60°C (32°F to 140°F). The body is 0.61 × 1.58 × 0.47 inches, with a keyring loop on the end, which gives you something to hold while you find the port at the back of the glovebox.
Samsung says the write speed is lower than the read speed and doesn’t publish a write figure. Lucid needs 7.5 MB/s. If a drive falls short, the car flags it. Lucid’s support page says setup can fail with an error for insufficient write speed.
This is the pick for the price. It is a flash drive, though, not one sold on endurance, and Lucid notes that drives can degrade over time.
More room: Samsung BAR Plus 256GB
Check the Samsung BAR Plus 256GB price on AmazonThe BAR Plus 256GB (model MUF-256BE4) is the same stick with twice the capacity. Samsung lists up to 400 MB/s read and again says write is lower than read. It plugs straight into the USB-A port with no cable.
Drive Recorder saves clips of 2 minutes at most, so 128 GB already holds a lot of events. The 256 GB stick gives starred clips more room to pile up before you need to clear them out.
Best: Samsung T7 Shield 1TB
Check the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB price on AmazonThe Samsung T7 Shield 1TB (model MU-PE1T0S) is an SSD, and Lucid’s support page names SSDs as an option. It also checks the boxes Lucid recommends. Samsung rates it IP65 for dust and water and for drops of up to 9.8 feet (3 m), so it is shockproof by any measure. It also publishes a sequential write of up to 1,000 MB/s, far above the 7.5 MB/s minimum. The car needs nowhere near that, so the extra speed only means the drive is never the bottleneck.
The drive has a USB-C port. The box includes a USB-C to A cable, which is the one for the glovebox port, and a USB-C to C cable. Set the drive down in the glovebox on its cable. The warranty is 3 years. Turn off Samsung Magician’s password protection if you ever set it; the car has to format the drive and write to it.
It costs much more than the sticks this year. Buy it if you want the drive that matches Lucid’s shockproof, high-endurance advice and you would rather not replace a stick later. Our T7 Shield review goes into the rugged spec.
How to set up Drive Recorder
- Open the glovebox from Quick Controls on the Pilot Panel and plug the drive into the USB-A port at the back.
- Tap the Shield button on the Pilot Panel to open the Security app, then follow the setup screens. The owner’s manual puts the same settings under Vehicle > Halo Secure.
- When the car asks to format the drive, let it. Lucid says formatting takes a few minutes and erases everything on the drive, starred videos included. Lucid doesn’t name a file system, so the car’s own format is the safe choice.
- Turn on Event Recording, then pick the events you want: Honking, Hard Braking, and Launch Mode. Collisions are recorded by default. To change these later, go to Settings > Vehicle > Drive Recorder.
To watch clips, tap the Shield button while the car is in Park. The manual says playback works only in P. Recordings are listed newest first, with the location and an icon for the event type. Guest profiles can’t view them.
To copy clips to a computer, eject the drive first: Settings > Vehicle > Video Storage & Sharing > Eject. The files are named by timestamp. Lucid recommends deleting clips in the car, from the Pilot Panel, rather than on the computer.
Drive Recorder is still in beta
Lucid labels Drive Recorder a beta that may not always work as expected. The support page has two fixes for drive problems. If setup fails, check the error, which can point to insufficient write speed or an incompatible format. If you see Unable to Save Recording, reformat the drive in the car, and if that doesn’t fix it, try a different drive.
Owners on the LucidOwners forum report one more quirk: the car occasionally fails to mount the drive when it starts up. Ejecting it and plugging it back in, then giving it a minute, sometimes fixes it. The forum moderator who reported it says the bug is in the car, not the drive.
Lucid Gravity USB drive FAQ
Does the Lucid Gravity come with a USB drive?
No. Lucid says Drive Recorder can only be turned on with a compatible USB drive, which is not provided by Lucid.
What size USB drive does the Lucid Gravity need?
At least 128 GB. Lucid lists no maximum. Drive Recorder saves clips of 2 minutes at most, so 128 GB or 256 GB holds a lot of them.
Is the glovebox port USB-A or USB-C?
USB-A, according to Gravity owners. Lucid’s documents only say it is the USB port in the glovebox. The other ports in the car are USB-C.
Can I use an SSD?
Yes. Lucid’s support page says a solid-state drive that meets the minimum specs works. Plug it in on a USB-C to A cable.
Does Drive Recorder record while the car is parked?
Lucid says Drive Recorder always records collisions, even when the car is parked. The manual describes the other triggers as recording while the car is being driven.
How do I get clips onto my computer?
Eject the drive at Settings > Vehicle > Video Storage & Sharing, then plug it into the computer and copy the files. They are named by timestamp. Delete clips in the car rather than on the computer.
Final verdict
Buy the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB if you want the drive that matches Lucid’s advice: it is a shockproof SSD with a published write speed far above the 7.5 MB/s minimum, and it plugs into the glovebox on the C to A cable in the box.
Buy the Samsung BAR Plus 256GB if you want a stick that plugs straight into the port with room to spare, or the BAR Plus 128GB if you just want to meet Lucid’s minimum for the least money. Drive Recorder saves clips of 2 minutes at most, so either stick holds a lot of them. Clear out starred clips now and then, and let the car do the formatting.
Driving a Tesla or a Rivian instead? Our Tesla Model Y USB drive guide and Rivian R2 USB drive guide cover their rules.
Where to Buy
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