5 ms·

> The cheapest F150 Lightning (available today not in 2025) is $50k (vs $60k for Cybertruck), same 250 mile range but AWD standard, and is a regular pickup truc

by oooyay 3y ago

> The cheapest F150 Lightning (available today not in 2025) is $50k (vs $60k for Cybertruck), same 250 mile range but AWD standard, and is a regular pickup truck compatible with standard accessories and parts for doing actual pickup truck work. I'd like to nitpick "doing actual pickup truck work". The Lightning gets terrible mileage, to the tune of roughly 100 miles on a charge, while hauling which ICE trucks do not unless under immense load [1]. It comes standard at 7,700 lbs towing or if you pay extra 10,000 lbs. At a $50k+ price an F-150 Lightning is not even barely resembling a truck doing truck things. For context, my Tacoma cost me $32k, has 6-7k lbs towing, and is much more compact. My point is neither the Cybertruck nor the Lightning are capable of doing truck things; they are rich peoples toys - which is fine until it's conflated with why people who use trucks buy them. I would love to buy an all electric version of my Tacoma or maybe even a Tundra that for ICE price + $10k can do the same hauling and mileage. There is absolutely a market here, but the technology to do so has not showed up yet. 1: https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-f-150-lightning-range-towing-capacity-mileage-aaa-test-2023-6 https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-f-150-lightning-range-t...

jacquesm 3y ago
You can't compare an EV pick up and an ICE truck like that, unless you specify what you call 'doing actual pickup truck work'. Plenty of companies don't put more than 100 miles on a truck every day and that means that their workload is a good match for an F150 Lightning even if it is hauling. Landscapers, city fleets and so on tend to move to a spot, stay there all day and then drive back and it's probably possible to charge them on either end of that trip. And they're never going to be further away than 100 miles from their home base.
- wannacboatmovie 3y ago
  Nerds need to stop assuming what's best for tradespeople and offering unsolicited advice. Ultimately the market will decide. This usually comes up in the context of telling landscapers they should give up their gasoline powered tools and switch to battery; or, my personal favorite, "use rakes". The tradesmen will decide what is best for themselves, given the proper incentives, and we will adapt.
fshbbdssbbgdd 3y ago
My friend who’s in landscaping drives a basic F150 with an 8-ft bed. The payload capacity on his truck is less than the base Lightning. Usually he’s bringing a bunch of tools back there, and depending on the job might be carrying plants, mulch etc. In cases where he has to haul more (eg. clearing out a huge amount of overgrown plants) he might rent a utility trailer to tow. Which the Lightning is also perfectly capable of handling. For the truly heavy-duty job requiring several yards of rock, he’s going to pay someone with a dump truck to deliver it. Since all of his clients, suppliers, and the dump are local, he’ll never need to tow anything 100 miles. This is the only edge case where he’d need to wait around at a charger during a job. If there are used Lightnings for sale at a competitive price when we needs to replace his truck, he might buy one.
- chrisco255 3y ago
  It's actually quite hard to exceed the payload capacity of an F150 unless you're hauling bricks, and even then you could probably mostly fill it up. How easy is it to supercharge a F150 electric while towing a 20 foot trailer? The way I see most Tesla superchargers oriented, it seems like it would be a pain in the ass. But also, depending on where landscaping jobs take you, you might be well out of range of a supercharger when you need it most. You might need to finish 5 jobs in an afternoon, and make 3 hauls to the dump and two stops at a supply store and then get to the other side of town as quickly as possible or lose a job. A gas car can be refilled in 3 minutes. You can get another 100 miles of range from 5 gallons, which you can even carry with you for emergencies.
  - oooyay 3y ago
    Price is also a disqualifier, imo. A battery replacement on a Lightning is $30k and the battery is warrantied for 8 years or 100K miles. How long the batteries last after the warranty expires I think will have a big impact on an already more expensive truck. The reason I bought a Tacoma was because I have six feet of bed area, ~7k lbs towing, and 4x4. The general utility of the truck meant it could tackle most things I needed to do.
  - CrazyStat 3y ago
wredue 3y ago
>while hauling with ice trucks do not ????????? My truck does 12l/100km highway without hailing, 30-35l/100km while hauling. Ice trucks definitely feel it.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- oooyay 3y ago
  The article I linked shows the Lightning gets close to 100 miles per charge when hauling near the limit. My MPG certainly takes a hit, but not that big and my truck is about half the price and size of the Lightning.
coffeecloud 3y ago
Modern “truck things” are Costco runs and taking the kids to soccer practice. Maybe towing the ski boat to the lake twice a year. Real work gets done with utility vans or 15 year old trucks the size of a modern midsize suv.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- oooyay 3y ago
  I disagree. I have a Tacoma that definitely gets treated as a truck. The bed gets filled with stuff, I use the 4x4 every time I go through the Cascades, mountain passes, or washed out roads, and I've hauled closed to the limit with it several times. Would a van do some of those things? Maybe, but certainly not all, nor for the same price point.
  - valval 3y ago
    Wait until I no-true-scotsman the shit out of you.

by oooyay 3y ago

jacquesm 3y ago

You can't compare an EV pick up and an ICE truck like that, unless you specify what you call 'doing actual pickup truck work'. Plenty of companies don't put more than 100 miles on a truck every day and that means that their workload is a good match for an F150 Lightning even if it is hauling. Landscapers, city fleets and so on tend to move to a spot, stay there all day and then drive back and it's probably possible to charge them on either end of that trip. And they're never going to be further away than 100 miles from their home base.

wannacboatmovie 3y ago
Nerds need to stop assuming what's best for tradespeople and offering unsolicited advice. Ultimately the market will decide. This usually comes up in the context of telling landscapers they should give up their gasoline powered tools and switch to battery; or, my personal favorite, "use rakes". The tradesmen will decide what is best for themselves, given the proper incentives, and we will adapt.

fshbbdssbbgdd 3y ago

My friend who’s in landscaping drives a basic F150 with an 8-ft bed. The payload capacity on his truck is less than the base Lightning. Usually he’s bringing a bunch of tools back there, and depending on the job might be carrying plants, mulch etc. In cases where he has to haul more (eg. clearing out a huge amount of overgrown plants) he might rent a utility trailer to tow. Which the Lightning is also perfectly capable of handling. For the truly heavy-duty job requiring several yards of rock, he’s going to pay someone with a dump truck to deliver it. Since all of his clients, suppliers, and the dump are local, he’ll never need to tow anything 100 miles. This is the only edge case where he’d need to wait around at a charger during a job. If there are used Lightnings for sale at a competitive price when we needs to replace his truck, he might buy one.

chrisco255 3y ago
It's actually quite hard to exceed the payload capacity of an F150 unless you're hauling bricks, and even then you could probably mostly fill it up. How easy is it to supercharge a F150 electric while towing a 20 foot trailer? The way I see most Tesla superchargers oriented, it seems like it would be a pain in the ass. But also, depending on where landscaping jobs take you, you might be well out of range of a supercharger when you need it most. You might need to finish 5 jobs in an afternoon, and make 3 hauls to the dump and two stops at a supply store and then get to the other side of town as quickly as possible or lose a job. A gas car can be refilled in 3 minutes. You can get another 100 miles of range from 5 gallons, which you can even carry with you for emergencies.
- oooyay 3y ago
  Price is also a disqualifier, imo. A battery replacement on a Lightning is $30k and the battery is warrantied for 8 years or 100K miles. How long the batteries last after the warranty expires I think will have a big impact on an already more expensive truck. The reason I bought a Tacoma was because I have six feet of bed area, ~7k lbs towing, and 4x4. The general utility of the truck meant it could tackle most things I needed to do.
- CrazyStat 3y ago

wredue 3y ago

>while hauling with ice trucks do not ????????? My truck does 12l/100km highway without hailing, 30-35l/100km while hauling. Ice trucks definitely feel it.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
oooyay 3y ago
The article I linked shows the Lightning gets close to 100 miles per charge when hauling near the limit. My MPG certainly takes a hit, but not that big and my truck is about half the price and size of the Lightning.

coffeecloud 3y ago

Modern “truck things” are Costco runs and taking the kids to soccer practice. Maybe towing the ski boat to the lake twice a year. Real work gets done with utility vans or 15 year old trucks the size of a modern midsize suv.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
oooyay 3y ago
I disagree. I have a Tacoma that definitely gets treated as a truck. The bed gets filled with stuff, I use the 4x4 every time I go through the Cascades, mountain passes, or washed out roads, and I've hauled closed to the limit with it several times. Would a van do some of those things? Maybe, but certainly not all, nor for the same price point.
- valval 3y ago
  Wait until I no-true-scotsman the shit out of you.