5 ms·

I have high hopes for the electric F150. But we're still talking about a traditional automaker here. They always find a way to screw things up when it comes to

by bink 5y ago

I have high hopes for the electric F150. But we're still talking about a traditional automaker here. They always find a way to screw things up when it comes to EVs.

_ea1k 5y ago
IDK, the Mach E was their first effort and is actually doing really well. I would expect their second product to be even better.
- toast0 5y ago
  Ford made electric Rangers when GM was making the EV-1, so not entirely their first effort.
gibolt 5y ago
The screw up will be scale. Securing enough batteries and producing them in volume is not something they have (publicly) announced. Making 50k a year would barely dent their annual truck sales of 1mil.
dgudkov 5y ago
At least we know how Ford can screw things. With Rivian we don't know even that. Yet, Rivian's valuation is higher than Ford's capitalization despite many unknowns and far far smaller production rate.
beervirus 5y ago
Tesla, on the other hand, screws things up in novel and exciting ways.
waiseristy 5y ago
I would buy a car from a traditional automaker every single time when given the option between the two. I'm really excited to see how Rivian, Canoo, Lucid, and the like handle thousands of vehicles being reworked from their first year or so of shoddy production.
- rconti 5y ago
  There are pros and cons to each. I've got a couple of BMWs, but when buying an EV, going Tesla was a no-brainer. The other mfgrs just felt like a slap-dash job of bolting an electric motor to a traditional car, whereas Tesla was a slap-dash way of rethinking the entire car! :) Seriously, I was years into Tesla ownership when I saw BMW ads showing people dancing around, taking their phones out of their pocket, and holding it to the door handle to unlock the car, like this was some high tech innovation. [1] Are you joking? There are MANY things established automakers do, but innovation is not typically one of those things. 1. https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/bmw-digital-key-iphone-as-secure-bmw-car-key.html https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/bmw-digital-key-iphone-as-...
  - wombat-man 5y ago
    yeah I think a lot of traditional automakers were slow to get rolling on electrics. Feels like Ford is taking the electric f150 seriously and I think their future kinda rides on them nailing this so I hope they do.
    - rconti 5y ago
      I feel like it's been at least 5 years of people saying "Real automakers are going to eat Tesla's lunch as soon as they start delivery cars next year".. and it just keeps not happening. To be fair, it's legitimately getting closer. I have absolutely no interest in the Cybertruck, the Rivian and the F-150 lightning are equally appealing to me for different reasons. Although I don't need a truck!
    - panick21_ 5y ago
      The numbers of electric F-150 planned is pretty pitiful. Even if they take it seriously, they don't have the battery supply to truly scale it anywhere close to where they need.
  - edmundsauto 5y ago
    The nice thing about the traditional automakers’ shortcomings is they are visible before you buy the car. I prefer knowing what the trade offs are. With Tesla, I feel like an Elon edict could pull all spare parts from repair stations in order to hit new order goals. Or some other nonsense; it would be impactful and unexpected. There is still uncertainty even with a major auto mfg, but I expect their institutional knowledge to be better and less subject to the whims of Mr. Musk.

by bink 5y ago

I have high hopes for the electric F150. But we're still talking about a traditional automaker here. They always find a way to screw things up when it comes to EVs.

_ea1k 5y ago

IDK, the Mach E was their first effort and is actually doing really well. I would expect their second product to be even better.

toast0 5y ago
Ford made electric Rangers when GM was making the EV-1, so not entirely their first effort.

gibolt 5y ago

The screw up will be scale. Securing enough batteries and producing them in volume is not something they have (publicly) announced. Making 50k a year would barely dent their annual truck sales of 1mil.

dgudkov 5y ago

At least we know how Ford can screw things. With Rivian we don't know even that. Yet, Rivian's valuation is higher than Ford's capitalization despite many unknowns and far far smaller production rate.

beervirus 5y ago

Tesla, on the other hand, screws things up in novel and exciting ways.

waiseristy 5y ago

I would buy a car from a traditional automaker every single time when given the option between the two. I'm really excited to see how Rivian, Canoo, Lucid, and the like handle thousands of vehicles being reworked from their first year or so of shoddy production.

rconti 5y ago
There are pros and cons to each. I've got a couple of BMWs, but when buying an EV, going Tesla was a no-brainer. The other mfgrs just felt like a slap-dash job of bolting an electric motor to a traditional car, whereas Tesla was a slap-dash way of rethinking the entire car! :) Seriously, I was years into Tesla ownership when I saw BMW ads showing people dancing around, taking their phones out of their pocket, and holding it to the door handle to unlock the car, like this was some high tech innovation. [1] Are you joking? There are MANY things established automakers do, but innovation is not typically one of those things. 1. https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/bmw-digital-key-iphone-as-secure-bmw-car-key.html https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/bmw-digital-key-iphone-as-...
- wombat-man 5y ago
  yeah I think a lot of traditional automakers were slow to get rolling on electrics. Feels like Ford is taking the electric f150 seriously and I think their future kinda rides on them nailing this so I hope they do.
  - rconti 5y ago
    I feel like it's been at least 5 years of people saying "Real automakers are going to eat Tesla's lunch as soon as they start delivery cars next year".. and it just keeps not happening. To be fair, it's legitimately getting closer. I have absolutely no interest in the Cybertruck, the Rivian and the F-150 lightning are equally appealing to me for different reasons. Although I don't need a truck!
  - panick21_ 5y ago
    The numbers of electric F-150 planned is pretty pitiful. Even if they take it seriously, they don't have the battery supply to truly scale it anywhere close to where they need.
- edmundsauto 5y ago
  The nice thing about the traditional automakers’ shortcomings is they are visible before you buy the car. I prefer knowing what the trade offs are. With Tesla, I feel like an Elon edict could pull all spare parts from repair stations in order to hit new order goals. Or some other nonsense; it would be impactful and unexpected. There is still uncertainty even with a major auto mfg, but I expect their institutional knowledge to be better and less subject to the whims of Mr. Musk.