24 ms·

Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

• vondur 10mo ago
  I would imagine for 80% of truck owners, having an electric truck is fine. However, if you are towing or carrying heavy loads, they are a bad choice. I suspect most F-150 drivers barely ever do these sorts of things. I have an F-150 but do use it to tow my travel trailer on vacation.
  • cpursley 10mo ago
    The vast majority of pickup truck owners in America don't use the capabilities enough to make them worth the purchase; the phenomenon is mostly cultural.
    • kelseyfrog 10mo ago
      > cultural Specifically for the American male, the F-150 is a form of gender expression and gender affirming transportation.
      • repeekad 10mo ago
        > cultural I think you misspelled marketing
        • cpursley 10mo ago
          Right. "You aiyunt no real mayun if you ain't got a brodozer like ur neighbor, Todd - who has a crappy truck from our competitor, anyways". It seems to work, the sportsball people with desk jobs love them (they get exposed to a lot of ads). (I'm not against pickup trucks when actually needed, but most of the time an enclosed van is better for the trades - and when heavy lifting is needed, it's better to bring in actual big trucks. For all other times, Home Depot rents them by the hour).
          • deleted 10mo ago
            [deleted]
    • XOPJ 10mo ago
      I bought an F-150 last year and compared the lightening to their new Hybrid-Powerboost models. The hybrid was better in every single way. I have the same 30amp generator hookup in the bed of the truck, but instead of finding a charger to refuel the truck I can simply put another 25gallons in the tank and head to another job/project. If they hadn't made the hybrid truck so effective the lightning would have had a chance. I get around 20+mpg on average with a ~600lb load always in the bed.
      • rootusrootus 10mo ago
        The powerboost is one of the least reliable cars on the market, way below typical F150s. It doesn't have quite the same level of pro power capacity as the Lightning, but it's close. But the Lightning outperforms it dramatically. There isn't anything short of a tuned powerstroke that pulls like a Lightning.
  • tacticus 10mo ago
    > However, if you are towing or carrying heavy loads, they are a bad choice. given the testing that has been done on this it's the aerodynamics that matter more than the weight. > I suspect most F-150 drivers barely ever do these sorts of things I would suspect that most of these oversized "angry boy" utes only ever see a non sealed surface when they're driving to park on footpaths.
    • wat10000 10mo ago
      Trouble is, while most truck drivers pretty much never tow or drive off road, most of them imagine that they will, so the truck still needs to be capable of it in order to sell. Or at least needs to appear capable.
    • rascul 10mo ago
      > given the testing that has been done on this it's the aerodynamics that matter more than the weight. At highway speeds with minimal need for acceleration.
  • sanj 10mo ago
    Hard disagree: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4ebBSjmfouGjcGqm9 https://photos.app.goo.gl/4ebBSjmfouGjcGqm9
    • xgulfie 10mo ago
      That is one truck
  • Workaccount2 10mo ago
    >However, if you are towing or carrying heavy loads, they are a bad choice The thing has 800 lb-ft of torque, it has absolutely no problem towing or pulling heavy stuff. The issue is if you need to tow stuff long distances. That's where is becomes a headache. But bringing your huge boat 30 miles to the lake will be no issue.
• charlesabarnes 10mo ago
  Wow, I was under the impression that these were selling incredibly well. I started to appreciate Ford's strategy recently after they lost my faith after they killed off sedans in the US. I'm now confused again by the company's strategy
  • nomel 10mo ago
    As with all but a few EV manufactures [1], they were losing money each sale ( >$30k)[2]. [1] https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/only-four-ev-brands-are-profitable-and-two-of-them-might-surprise-you/ https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/only-four-ev-brands-are-pr... [2] https://www.theautopian.com/ford-lost-36000-for-every-electric-vehicle-sold-last-quarter-so-was-toyota-right/ https://www.theautopian.com/ford-lost-36000-for-every-electr...
    • api 10mo ago
      The only two car companies to make any meaningful profit on EVs were founded as EV companies first? That’s not that surprising. It’s very hard to make elephants dance. If that remains true it means all these auto companies will be dead in 25 years, or eternally strung along on government support. If there were no tariffs or other market barriers I get the impression that BYD would bulldoze the entire world and there would be one car maker with >80% of the market.
      • LightBug1 10mo ago
        100% on BYD ... no one can match their current technology and pricing power. And it's possible they still will do that bulldozing, but much more slowly. Even now I'm seeing strong swapping out of Tesla's for BYD's in London.
      • nebula8804 10mo ago
        This video here describes why BYD is so competitive: They have done a splendid job vertically integrating as much as they can to get the price down. This $11,500 EV is an excellent example of how other companies should start to shift their thinking. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izvdO-zdlKg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izvdO-zdlKg
• AtlasBarfed 10mo ago
  We simply need an engineering generation of 50 mile range PHEV vehicles. It will get a huge percentage of low-efficiency driving electrified, won't be too big of a burden on the grid, educate more people on EV-style driving, adds regen braking, should still be able to provide high-torque towing and driving.
  • vondur 10mo ago
    Yeah, Ford makes the F-150 Powerboost which is a hybrid version, but no plugin capability. I'd love to see a 50 mile plug in hybrid version of their truck line (Maverick, Ranger, F150)
  • sgerenser 10mo ago
    So basically a return of the Chevy Volt? I drive one for about 5 years before I went full EV and I could do about 80% of my driving on all electric.
• ChuckMcM 10mo ago
  https://archive.ph/k2S9O https://archive.ph/k2S9O for those who have read their last free article. Interesting that Rivian seems to be doing fine in this space.
  • oconnore 10mo ago
    I was considering getting a Rivian and decided that in fact I would probably not allow the 24 year old dude at my local construction supply co to use a skid steer to drop a load of gravel into the bed of my $75k+ electric vehicle. So instead I got a used Ford F150 (gas) and when the skid steer guy drops gravel into the bed I feel fine.
    • ChuckMcM 10mo ago
      There is a lot to be said for that perspective. I wonder if any PMs have considered making the bed of the truck a FRU that you can swap out at home.
      • csours 10mo ago
        Anything can be field replaceable if your field has enough tooling. (j/k)
      • happyopossum 10mo ago
        The bed of more traditional pickups like the F-150 can be swapped out in a couple of hours by one or two dudes with a lift and an impact wrench. Heck, you can buy blank F-250s without a bed at all.
        • rootusrootus 10mo ago
          Hell, a few hours with that impact wrench and you can also lift the cab right off the frame, too.
      • westurner 10mo ago
        A modular open spec for attaching beds to trucks might be useful. What are some possible attachments? 4-6.5' Truck Bed, Trailer, Camper, Mobile Workshop / Trade Rig, Car hauler, Bed with rack and storage and 270° awning What all needs to be connected? Mechanical attachment, 4WD/AWD/RWD axle and differential, CAN bus, backup can, lights Public link: Open Truck Bed Standard Proposal https://gemini.google.com/share/1e70ae398d26 https://gemini.google.com/share/1e70ae398d26 : "Kinetic-Link" (K-Link) open spec: > The proposed Active-AWD Trade Platform utilizes a Through-the-Road (TTR) Hybrid architecture to decouple the mechanical drivetrain while maintaining synchronized propulsion via a Vehicle Control Unit (VCU). By integrating high-topology Axial Flux or Radial-Axial (RAX) in-wheel motors, the system achieves exceptional torque density within the limited packaging of a trailer wheel well. The control strategy relies on Zero-Force Emulation, utilizing a bi-directional load cell at the hitch to modulate torque output via a PID loop, ensuring the module remains neutrally buoyant to the tow vehicle during steady-state cruising. In low-traction environments, the system transitions to Virtual AWD, employing Torque Vectoring to mitigate sway and Regenerative Braking to prevent jackknifing, effectively acting as an intelligent e-Axle retrofit. This configuration leverages 400V/800V DC architecture for rapid energy discharge and V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) site power, solving the unsprung weight damping challenges through advanced suspension geometry while eliminating the parasitic drag of traditional passive towing. A modular truck bed could have Through-the-road TTR AWD (given a better VCU) and e.g. hub motors or an axle motor.
• izend 10mo ago
  I am actually surprised they cancelled the F150 Lightning, I see a lot of them the Metro Vancouver area where a lot of contractors, (gardeners, pool maintenance, labourers, etc...) are driving them as electricity is super cheap here and gasoline is quite expensive.
  • cogman10 10mo ago
    That's exactly where I expected this thing to sell like hotcakes. It's a perfect fleet vehicle for many businesses. I think the price just wasn't right.
    • privong 10mo ago
      I thought the same thing too, when it was announced. But I suspect, in addition to the price, that not being able to buy a medium or long bed version also harmed fleet sales. The short bed being the only option is probably a pretty big limitation for groups who are buying them as fleet vehicles.
      • izend 10mo ago
        Just speculation but maybe the fact the world is in an oil glut right now and with the prospect that Russian oil could re-enter global market causing even more glut caused Ford to believe that gasoline will remain fairly cheap compared to 2008 era for the next decade.
    • ponector 10mo ago
      How it is better than a van?
    • turnsout 10mo ago
      Wasn't the original announced price like $39k? Did they ever hit that?
      • rootusrootus 10mo ago
        Not really. The Pro was about that, maybe a couple grand more, but I don't think it was ever 39K.
• Andrex 10mo ago
  The Maverick used to be the truck but they've jacked it by like almost twice the price since debut. With so much "upmarket momentum" the e-F150's days were numbered. Now I'm sitting here wondering when we'll get another small Ford truck again. This same exact story played out with the Ranger and the decades without a smaller option sucked then too.
  • bigstrat2003 10mo ago
    > Now I'm sitting here wondering when we'll get another small Ford truck again. This same exact story played out with the Ranger... It's so bizarre to me because the Ranger used to be small. But then they became the size that an F-150 used to be (i.e. sane truck size), while the F-150 became enormous. Supposedly it's due to perverse incentives from regulation, so I wouldn't hold my breath for a smaller truck if that is indeed the case.
    • oconnore 10mo ago
      I'm not sure which dimensions you're talking about, but in terms of bed size the F-150 has been very consistent over the years (although I think Crew Cabs — although they always existed — have become more popular). The Ranger still cannot fit a full sized sheet of plywood flat in the bed. Quick research: the new Ranger's bed size has only increased 0.9" (width) relative to the 1990 version. Bed length seems to be the same.
      • cogman10 10mo ago
        The 1998 ranger was the right size. 6 ft bed while not being monstrously sized. The new rangers have the height of the old F150 which makes their beds look just weird.
      • rurp 10mo ago
        Everything except the bed size has grown enormously on modern consumer trucks. Nowadays truck beds look proportionally tiny compared to trucks from 20-30 years ago when the bed made up a much larger percent of the vehicle. Ford knows their market. Most F-150 buyers aren't looking for a functional truck, they want a comfortable commuter car that looks like a cool truck.
• tigranbs 10mo ago
  Maybe it is just me, but the “universal” platform architecture seems a bit inefficient. I think, with a software-first mindset and modularity in Hardware products, it is insane to think efficiency first, especially when the goal is to make it cheaper to produce and operate.
  • nebula8804 10mo ago
    Its speed of execution. Tesla made designs and parts common across Model3/Y and BYD are excellent at this. However Tesla/BYD seem to move at the speed of a silicon valley company while legacies keep thinking in Model years. You can't do that in an era where the tech is rapidly evolving.
• jermaustin1 10mo ago
  That is a disappointment. I was hoping that they would be introducing a new smaller EV truck in either the Maverick or Ranger line. I have no need for a large truck when something half the size handles all the hauling/towing I need.
  • anticorporate 10mo ago
    Ditto. I'm a current Ranger owner, now seriously considering the Slate if it actually ever makes it to market.
    • psunavy03 10mo ago
      I know they're marketing on price, but they really whiffed not offering AWD on that thing. Living in the Northwest, that's a total dealbreaker both from a skiing perspective and a getting-to-work-when-it-snows perspective.
  • Spivak 10mo ago
    > Ford still plans to produce a midsize electric pickup truck with a target starting price of about $30,000, to be available in 2027. That will be the first of the “affordable” electric vehicle models it’s currently designing at a skunkworks studio in California, which are slated to use a “universal” platform architecture that will make the vehicles cheaper to produce. Wish granted?
    • bpt3 10mo ago
      I wonder how many people will be scared off by them killing off the lightning pretty quickly. I'm in the market for an EV truck but none of the current offerings have made me want to pull the trigger, and my 10 year old ICE truck keeps chugging along just fine so far.
• dyauspitr 10mo ago
  That’s too bad, I love my lightning. I spend about $20/month on home charging, love the acceleration and it’s good enough to haul all the things I need for my small farm. Also, it’s great for long distance recreational drives (from a very specific perspective)- I like driving 250-300 miles in a day and then parking at an RV spot for the night instead of a hotel room. I can run the heat and AC all night as well as have a “full tank” ready to go.
  • Loughla 10mo ago
    I would've loved to get a lightning when we replaced the farm truck this year. If would've been great to be able to charge it while our solar array was pumping out power. But the price on those things is eye wateringly high. We got a gas f150 for about half the price of the lightning. I'm not sure who they were trying to sell those to, to be honest.
    • dyauspitr 10mo ago
      I got my extended range for $51,000
      • rootusrootus 10mo ago
        Hello fellow Flash owner. I assume (that's basically what I paid for my 2024 Flash; I was a little under that, but close enough).
        • dyauspitr 10mo ago
          2023 ER Pro actually
          • rootusrootus 10mo ago
            Oh! Forgot they made ER pros. A great truck! All the battery without the dorky screen ;-)
  • 10mo ago
• xoa 10mo ago
  I've been in the market for an electric truck for a solid 5 years now to replace my aging Nissan Frontier. There has yet to be anything attractive at all that has made it into production at any price I've been able to find. Everything seems to be a gas truck with some electric stuff shoehorned in not taking advantage of the new design opportunities at all, and generally with a little 4' bed instead of 6.5 or 8 that I need. So far the best design I've seen was from the startup Canoo [0, 1], but as is unsurprisingly typically the case with a car startup (a really high capex challenging area) they have since gone bankrupt. The Cybertruck at announcement looked sorta promising, with a decent sized bed (6.5 at the time), decent top range (500 miles), and cab moved forward for better visibility with no engine in the way. And in principle there are some really good fully offline "cyber" sorts of features that an ambitious company could do, like making liberal use of modern screens to enable "look through your hood" and better all around awareness, built-in FLIR for enhanced animal detection at night, etc. A self-parking feature that was really solid would be good too, zero general public road self-driving needed for that to be handy. But of course the Cybertruck ended up downgrading in every respect, having mediocre build quality, being heavily delayed, full of Tesla spyware and stupid shit, and in general being made by a vehicle & power company that oddly doesn't actually seem interested in vehicles or power anymore. It's frustrating seeing all the potential and then having to wait and wait for somebody to finally execute. Same as with PDAs/smartphones until Apple finally shook things up or countless other examples throughout tech history. Maybe it'll be China who actually does it this time around, and a small silver lining might be that could also go along with some actual anti-feudalism and pro-privacy laws in the US if we're very lucky :\. ---- 0: https://www.greencars.com/expert-insights/all-electric-all-american-canoo-ev-pickup https://www.greencars.com/expert-insights/all-electric-all-a... 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzjqfQdj3sM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzjqfQdj3sM
  • cogman10 10mo ago
    Yeah, there's really no reason why something like the Isuzu Elf couldn't be electrified for cheap. Car manufacturers wanting to make EVs premium products is what I think hurts them the most. That along with tariffs keeping the price of Chinese batteries much higher then they should be.
  • 10mo ago
• _jzlw 10mo ago
  [flagged]
• hnburnsy 10mo ago
  From Ford... Ford Follows Customers to Drive Profitable Growth; Reinvests in Trucks, Hybrids, Affordable EVs, Battery Storage; Takes EV-Related Charges https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/ford-reinvests-trucks-hybrids-affordable-electric-vehicles https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/ford-re... >As part of this plan, Ford’s next-generation F-150 Lightning will shift to an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) architecture and be assembled at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Production of the current generation F-150 Lightning has concluded as Ford redeploys employees to Dearborn Truck Plant to support a third crew for F-150 gas and hybrid truck production as a result of the Novelis fires. >The F-150 Lightning is a groundbreaking product that demonstrated an electric pickup can still be a great F-Series,” said Doug Field, Ford’s chief EV, digital and design officer. “Our next-generation Lightning EREV is every bit as revolutionary. It keeps everything customers love — 100% electric power delivery, sub-5-second acceleration — and adds an estimated 700+ mile range and tows like a locomotive. It will be an incredibly versatile tool delivered in a capital-efficient way.
  • kerblang 10mo ago
    Okay are we just saying they just discontinued one electric F150 in favor of another? Meh. Edit: Oh, an EREV is fancy way to say "hybrid" ok
    • ASalazarMX 10mo ago
      I get that a hybrid is attractive because of the flexibility, but still the change is a strange decision. EVs are simpler to maintain than ICEs, but a hybrid is more complex, it adds the possible EV problems atop possible ICE problems. Maybe keep the trucks as much they are now, just the essential changes to replace the engine? There's plenty of space on those huge trucks.
      • jakeydus 10mo ago
        I think it's still simpler, actually. IME the most complicated part of an ICE vehicle is the power delivery system. Transmissions are nightmares to work on. Making that all-electric and just using an engine to generate power significantly simplifies the system. I'm not a mechanic though, so take my word with a grain of salt.
• hnburnsy 10mo ago
  >Ford expects to record about $19.5 billion in special items with the majority in the fourth quarter. It is believed that this is the largest impairment ever from a company.
  • bpt3 10mo ago
    It's believed by whom? I think AOL Time Warner still has the record at over $50 billion, unless you're talking about some specific form of impairment.
    • hnburnsy 10mo ago
      CNBC
      • bpt3 10mo ago
        I'd be interested to see the article if you have it, but thanks for the reply.
        • hnburnsy 10mo ago
          It was right after the news broke and while the host was talking to Phil Lebeau they mentioned it, with the 'believed' qualifier. Looks like with hindsight it may not have been the largest.
  • rootusrootus 10mo ago
    It's such an absurd number that I strongly suspect Ford is taking this opportunity to play some accounting games. If it is a real number, then I am darkly amused at how much money they could lose and still only make three EVs.
  • missedthecue 10mo ago
    In addition to the AOL mentioned elsewhere - 1. GE took a $22B impairment in 2018. 2. Shell took a $22B write down in 2020. 3. ConocoPhillips incurred a $34B impairment in 2009.
• LUmBULtERA 10mo ago
  I wish if this U.S. administration and U.S. carmakers don't care to promote EVs, that they'd at least let in the Chinese manufacturers that are interested in them.
  • lefstathiou 10mo ago
    I think the issue is that the administration is in an adversarial relationship with China. Risky to allow a foreign power have a kill switch on critical infrastructure.
    • bflesch 10mo ago
      Just to clarify: We accept the security risk of kill switches in networking equipment, smartphones, laptops, servers, clouds, processors, bluetooth firmware and nvidia driver blobs, but we draw the line at civillian cars? And in contrast to the listed items above, for civillian cars you can choose from dozens of countries who produce them. And if you cannot accept security risk of owning a "kill switch" car then you can still go back to gasoline or diesel. I feel it's crazy to collectively accept security risks in vital electric equipment but suddenly cars are the one product that becomes a political issue. An unlike cars there are very limited alternatives with electrical equipment.
      • scottbez1 10mo ago
        This doesn’t seem that crazy to me - a broadly applicable coordinated OTA zero day applied across cars during US rush hours has the potential to result in likely hundreds of thousands of deaths in a few hours if safety critical systems like airbags can be tampered/inhibited by OTA-capable systems. The scale of car travel plus the inherent kinetic energy involved make a correlated risk particularly likely to lead to a mass casualty event. There are very few information system vulnerabilities with that magnitude of short-term worst case outcome.
        • bflesch 10mo ago
          Not really convinced by your argument. If you want to achieve your scenario you just take a sysadmin from the Tesla shanghai plant and next time they go to the US HQ they gain access to a coworkers laptop and deploy an OTA update to the tesla fleet. And this is assuming that the Tesla OTA update deployment mechanism is actually separated between countries, and not simply accessible from the Tesla intranet. No need to design & ship another low-cost car model for this.
• exabrial 10mo ago
  I expected the "T word" to come out in the article, however this fails to address any of the practical reasons it isn't a good replacement for the value-engineered F-150: * The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive * They're difficult to repair. A regular F-150 is designed to be repaired; these things are designed like iPhones to be disposable. * Parts availability is scarce, contrasted with a regular F-150 (even junkyards are full of spare parts, that aren't software constrained) * They're loaded with useless/barely-functional interior electronics that are poor copies of Tesla * They're bloated with parts that don't need to exist (excessive exterior accent lighting, badges, over-complicated blinkers) Oddly enough, single-charge range issues are pretty much non-existent (for non-towing applications).
  • bink 10mo ago
    > The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive They definitely aimed for the luxury market, like Rivian. Who knows how successful they would've been if they aimed for mid-range like Scout. That's the market they claimed to be entering when they started taking reservations. They also could've offered a fleet ready version without the luxury features, but must've decided not to. > They're difficult to repair How so? They are far simpler to maintain than a normal F-150. They're new so they do have parts issues for the electronic components, I'm sure, but I think that's a fair trade-off. In any case, I don't think offering a hybrid version makes the vehicles easier to maintain or repair. If anything it's the opposite. > Parts availability is scarce, contrasted with a regular F-150 (even junkyards are full of spare parts, that aren't software constrained) I thought one of the advantages of the F-150 was that most parts were shared with the standard F-150? The battery and motors, maybe not.
    • tracker1 10mo ago
      Significant portions of the body and interior were not shared with general F-150 models... At least those parts most likely to be damaged in minor accidents... imagine having your work truck in the shop for 2-3 months for want of a corner light fixture.
• hnburnsy 10mo ago
  How much of the aluminum supplier issue played into this? >As Ford Authority recently reported, an aluminum plant in New York, owned and operated by Ford supplier Novelis, recently suffered its third fire since September, making many wonder if the facility was still on track to reach full-scale production by December. Turns out, that is indeed the case, but in the meantime, there's no denying that Ford F-150 production has been impacted - which is also true of several other Blue Oval models.
• galkk 10mo ago
  I think that trucks are in worst position for moving to EV. Customer base is quite conservative in how the truck should look like. For example,F150 lightning had to look like F150. While a look of truck (and even ordinary car) is defined by the function - need to have beefy, but somewhat serviceable/accessible engine in the front. There is no need for this in the ev truck like at all. It's all dead space now. I suspect that proper EV trucks eventually will look like current box-over-engine trucks (similar to kei trucks). Like Super crew truck with standard bed will probably have the same dimensions as current short bed truck, with better turn radius. But it won't look cool, and probably have the same stigma as minivans.
  • tracker1 10mo ago
    FWIW, plenty of work trucks in lots of Companies are boring Vans or Pickups... Even so, the issue comes to fit for use, cost (initial, ongoing), repairability and value. The F-150 Lightning only checked the fit for use box, since parts backlogs made it unrepairable for potentially months. The initial cost was okay at initial list price, but the actual price for purchase after dealer gouging and the factory raising prices through the roof was kind of insane... on top of a minor fender bender keeping your truck off the road an excessive amount of time killed a lot of momentum.
  • SkyPuncher 10mo ago
    So, one of the main reasons it needs to look like a truck is because it needs to have a structure like a truck to be compatible with basically all of the aftermarket parts. I want a truck with flat bed rails so I can put a cap on it. It needs to have a proper frame under the bed so it’s not bending with point loads. I need a bed that’s a separate piece from the cab so they have flex for uneven grades.
  • rootusrootus 10mo ago
    > It's all dead space now. Yeah, it's one of my favorite spaces in the whole truck. A great big trunk protected from the elements and not part of my passenger compartment. I hope we always have that feature.
• amarant 10mo ago
  The comments in this thread are far more interesting than the article. It really shows why selling EV's in America is difficult, especially in the pickup segment I think. The amount of arguments that are clearly just justifying an opinion held without ever actually considering an alternative is unusual for this forum. It appears America is not ready for electrical pickups. Maybe other markets will be more eager for them?
  • philipwhiuk 10mo ago
    America is the pickup market. Europe doesn't do pickups.
• TrevorFSmith 10mo ago
  It's a shame they didn't ship an EV that fit the uses the F-150 serves. The Lightening is a luxury item. The F-150 is a tool, regardless of whether it's ICE or EV. I hope this puts more people in the market for the Slate truck. It won't serve everyone with an ICE F-150 but I suspect a bunch of farm and ranch vehicles that don't do many highway miles could be Slates.
• QuiEgo 10mo ago
  Not surprising. For what it cost you could get a Model Y and a gently used gas truck. Running your house off it in a power outage was a super cool idea, but man that price.
  • rootusrootus 10mo ago
    Huh? My Model 3 cost more than my Lightning. LOL. > Running your house off it in a power outage was a super cool idea Yes, it is fantastic, can confirm.
• theLegionWithin 10mo ago
  good, it was a bad idea anyways. want an ev? just get a Tesla
• happyopossum 10mo ago
  So they’re not killing the lightning, they’re adding a range extender? I guess that’s not gonna get as many clicks, but it hardly seems controversial given market reception of the current lighting (basically everyone who wanted one bought one and then sales tanked).
  • rootusrootus 10mo ago
    Yes, they're killing the Lightning. They are replacing it with a new Lightning EREV, there will not be a BEV version. It's not just a new option they are bringing to the existing truck.
    • Dylan16807 10mo ago
      How much are they actually changing though? We could imagine they take literally the same design and stick a generator in the corner. Making that mandatory would not be "killing" the Lightning. At the other end is a total redesign that cuts most of the battery, which would be killing it.
      • rootusrootus 10mo ago
        They have a patent for a range extender under the bed, behind the axle. Which I guess could work, depending on how big an engine it needs to be. By my math it probably needs to make around 50hp, though for towing maybe double that. But it doesn't need to be a full size 400hp V6 or anything like that. If they can throw it under the bed, keep the weight under control, maintain a decently big battery, and not lose the frunk ... then I'll be an optimist about this. I'm planning to keep mine another 7 years, though, and they only announced the current lighting 4.5 years ago, so a lot can change before I'm in the market again.
    • 1970-01-01 10mo ago
      The EREV is a BEV. The EV in EREV means it will use a battery for the powertrain. No transmission on the engine.
• etempleton 10mo ago
  I remembering thinking it was a curious choice. The demo for consumer F150s often doesn’t even like electric vehicles. On the commercial side the electric version is obviously limited.
• deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
• sh34r 10mo ago
  The EV pickup obsession is so bizarre. Even moreso than the gas pickup obsession. The obvious next step was to take their brilliant EV Transit and scale up production. You don’t have to convince truck bros. There’s no cultural hang-ups. No issues with towing. Just make a nice cargo van with 120v hookups for $50k that’s easy to drive in the city and easy to convert into a camper. Could’ve built three vans with the lithium it took to build these obscenities. And you know, I’m already compromising here, because it really ought to be a wagon instead of a van, if Detroit had any brains left. Can’t wait until someone figures out how to smuggle those $15k BYDs in from Mexico. The North American car market needs to be disrupted badly. By China, not by some meme stock.
• MPSFounder 10mo ago
  Not a good thing. I think Ford has quality issues, but EVs with 500 miles of range are viable. Most pickup owners do not tow. This was an American foot in a market that the Japanese own
  • rootusrootus 10mo ago
    Ford's quality is about average. Not great, not terrible. They should have put a bigger battery in the Lightning, like GM does with the Silverado (and gets north of 400 miles of range). Instead, they are giving over the market to GM.
    • MPSFounder 10mo ago
      I had terrible experiences with Ford. Silverado EV is also not selling well from what I have seen
• molsongolden 10mo ago
  Pretty surprised here and I think it was really just bad marketing or I guess unsustainable unit economics. Price out the cheapest F-150 (XL) with a supercrew cab and 4x4 and you are looking at $50k. Trucks are just expensive. The Lightning is expensive but not that much more than any other truck and the Ford incentives + EV credit brought it down quite a bit. The Lightning Flash (extended range) was routinely selling OTD < $60k with 0% financing. I'd put off buying a pickup for a decade because I couldn't find the right one and the Lightning is awesome. I was skeptical at first due to range concerns but there are chargers in the middle of nowhere in 2025. I think a lot of the other commenters might change their thoughts if they drove one for a bit. Edit: I get somewhere around 50mpg (dollar equivalent when charging at home) in a full-size truck that fits my whole family and our gear + handles better in the snow than any ICE truck + can do plenty of hauling and light towing.
  • rootusrootus 10mo ago
    > The Lightning is expensive but not that much more Indeed, I paid 50K for mine. The powerboost F150 I had been shopping for was a good bit more expensive.
  • sroerick 10mo ago
    I think the Lightning is pretty cool but there's about 5 vehicle classes I'd want to buy before "electric pickup"
    • molsongolden 10mo ago
      It could definitely be a niche thing with me squarely in the niche. It was my top pick for our mix of activities in the mountain west.
• skullone 10mo ago
  This is a shame. Coworker got a Lightning and he loves it. He doesn't tow with it but he does field work for fiber optic stuff, usually back home every day. Runs his computers, tools, ventilation for going down manholes, he even powered a sump pump from it, without needing to haul a generator. The hybrid truck can now do the same, but it's a really nice truck
  • jeffbee 10mo ago
    The plain old ICE F-150 has had power outlets as an option package for more than ten years, i.e. 7 years before the Lightning even existed.
    • skullone 10mo ago
      The lightning and power boost can do up to 50amps though, the old trucks had to be running and you had to have a second or hight output alternator added. Having the battery/hybrid with their nice inverters was nice
• moneycantbuy 10mo ago
  Electricity seems as expensive as gasoline in California, especially considering the cost of installing a charger. Also relying on fascist elon's network is a no go.
• homeonthemtn 10mo ago
  These trucks were a boondoggle to begin with
• rsync 10mo ago
  We don't want your electric car ... we want your car, but electric. We want an electric F150 or an electric Suburban or v90 wagon or whatever. But instead we get e-initiative i-mobiles. We get TRON-cars. We get iModels. There is a reason for this: The incumbent auto makers understand fully that the ICE version of whatever model they electrify will suffer enormously. They believe that they can somehow retain all of the sales of the existing ICE model while adding growth sales of a different electric model. And, of course, they are wrong: because nobody wants an "electric F150". They just want an F150. But electric.
  • godelski 10mo ago
    I really miss all the short trucks. For a long time I had a F150 supercab (made in the 90's) and while it was a great truck it was just excessive for 99% of what I used the vehicle for. That includes the vast majority of times I used it to haul and tow! I always envied my friend's smaller truck. Over a decade I think my truck was the better vehicle in only a handful of situations. (Far better to rent one for the day at that point) I absolutely hate all the new trucks. That supercab was too large and trucks today feel bigger. Especially the front huge grill (which is also incredibly dangerous). That truck I had was already hard to drive. I loved having a truck but parking is an absolute nightmare, especially in cities where lanes and spaces are not only shorter but narrower. All these big trucks are even harder to drive but people love them because they feel safer (in a perverted and most American arms race imaginable) But I do like things like power outlets in the bed. I don't give a shit about the infotainment system, but the sockets in the bed is actually helpful. I'd have used that a much larger portion of the time than I used the actual size of my truck. Just being able to plug in a drill (or charge one) is really helpful to more /general/ "truck activities". Not to mention all the things like camping or other things where you take a vehicle like that. But even in those situations you don't need a huge vehicle 99% of the time. Side note: I now drive a small compact sedan and am absolutely pissed by how many people drive with their high beams on and are putting in projector bulbs and not properly aiming them. I'm very close to installing a mirror to reflect peoples highbeams back into their own car. Blinding me may increase your visibility, but it also decreases both of our safety. Your brighter lights make you feel safer, but they make you less.
• class3shock 10mo ago
  The F-150 is in one of the markets I think ev's will take over first (small commercial vehicles) but it just was not the right vehicle to start with. To expensive, even when the tax incentives were still a thing, and Ford suffers from having corrupt dealers taking a large cut on top of that. So you are selling to either the top 5% or bigger businesses. If you are a top 5% buying this you want it to tow your expensive toy somewhere which ev's suck at currently or you want it to drive to "insert outdoorsy vacation destination", which means long distance in a remote area with few charging stations. So not a great sell. If you are a bigger business I think this probably makes sense in some cases. You aren't dealing with the maintenance of an ICE, you can keep it "running" inside a building, it can provide on site power, probably has cost benefits in cities where the lack of emissions and noise is helpful. But the expensive really narrows down your customers. Many are also looking for range and towing, which doesn't help, and people that would show up for the ev part probably would be better off with a van. If they had done a small e-transit, in the $30-35k range and sold it direct for actual msrp they would have had a much better chance at dealing with where we are now (high interest rate and low support for ev's).
  • kevin_thibedeau 10mo ago
    90% of F-150s are daily driver grocery-getters. That was the target for the Lightning, not truck stuff.
    • hypercube33 10mo ago
      Meanwhile Chevy has a 400 mile range, unknown but more than the 100 mile range the lightning has for towing and is a work truck at about 70k or something street price last I saw. Its compelling, where the lightning is not.
      • mattmaroon 10mo ago
        The Silverado EV does have a big battery, but for actual real world use you’re keeping it within a band of about 60% (20-80) so 400 is really 240 with an emergency reserve. (This is common to all EVs). You lose about half your range towing so you’re still going to drive two hours, stop for 30-45 minutes, repeat. So it’s still far from compelling for anyone towing or doing truck stuff.
• strawhatguy 10mo ago
  Article says the next F-150 Lightning will be an EREV-style plugin hybrid. Which, if so, makes a lot of sense. EVs are great, but not so much for trucks. I was always bothered about how cars were either supposed to be all electric or all ICE. Working together is the smart way forward.
  • xgulfie 10mo ago
    Chevy Volt my beloved
    • rootusrootus 10mo ago
      Which wasn't actually an EREV. They wanted it to be, but it was more efficient not to.
      • klardotsh 10mo ago
        BMW i3 is a true EREV and I absolutely love it. Always drives like an electric, but can pound highway miles on gas. Best of both worlds. I hope to never go back to pure one or the other, until battery and/or charging tech leaps forward a ton.
        • NetMageSCW 10mo ago
          How fast can you go on the highway running the REx?
          • klardotsh 10mo ago
            The REx hold up for about 60-65mph on flat ground without climate control. Change those parameters and you’ll still eat battery, just less of it. In the NA config of the car where the REx only comes on at 7% battery, this is a critical failing, but OBD coding the car to enable on-demand REx at any point below 75% (and then hold state of charge) transforms it into a whole new beast that’s extremely road trip capable.
  • 10mo ago
• honkycat 10mo ago
  Hicks with overpriced trucks don't want EVs, shocker! They are a status symbol for middle class workers with no taste
  • rootusrootus 10mo ago
    Alternatively, they are the most versatile vehicle on the road. But kids on HN have real trouble seeing outside their tiny bubble.
• analog8374 10mo ago
  F150 turned to poo after the 90s. Nonsignificant news. Look elsewhere for your electric truck.
• diogenescynic 10mo ago
  They botched it entirely. If they made it for $40k even if it only got 50 miles of range, they could have sold these. Instead they priced themselves out of the market. It's a clear example of the Innovator's dilemma, but now instead of cannibalizing their own market they'll just let it slip away to Tesla.
  • NetMageSCW 10mo ago
    Tesla isn’t taking the market with the Cybertruck, they also are letting it slip away. GM seems poised to take most advantage if they stay the course.
    • diogenescynic 10mo ago
      Toyota should make a hybrid plug in single Tacoma. They could own the market if they did that.
• hitekker 10mo ago
  I've said this before: if you go to Beijing or any developed city in China, you'll be amazed by their progress on EV's. It's on a scale beyond America, that America is no longer capable of achieving. Time will tell of their sustainability.
• 0xbadcafebee 10mo ago
  This is fine, for three reasons: 1. Electric trucks don't make sense. In the "I drive my truck to pick up groceries" sense, it's fine. But as a work truck, it's not ideal. You lose both payload and towing capacity owing to that huge battery. Gets worse in winter and at elevation. The bigger the truck, the more it weighs, the worse the EV part does (which is why nobody's making an F350/F550 electric). ICE trucks get over twice the range, more payload, more towing. And if you're using it for work, you can't waste part of the day charging it, you need to gas up and go. It's taking most manufacturers a long time to develop more rugged/capable versions of EVs, so stalling to prepare for an eventual better launch kinda had to happen anyway. 2. In theory, plug-in hybrids could be converted to all-electric, but you get way more utility out of a hybrid. The ability to use either fuel source solves a lot of problems. I wonder if we'll eventually maneuver these away from gas towards LPG; they already sell LPG trucks, why not LPG plug-in hybrids?. 3. We simply aren't ready for mass adoption, practically speaking. Apartments are 40% of all homes and there's no way they can plug-in. There's not nearly enough public chargers and jockeying for position is a joke. The software for chargers and route management is still a huge mess. It will take more government investment, which is dead for the next three years. Selling more EVs with no simultaneous infrastructure investment would be a disaster waiting to happen.
  • pensatoio 10mo ago
    If a shelf stable fuel like LP could be integrated into an EREV, I think that would be the perfect combo. All the dynamics of an EV with the extended range and easy fuel availability. I’ve owned a M3P and MY, and I really want a truck, but it needs to be more capable than the electric offerings. An EREV truck would be fantastic.
  • 4fterd4rk 10mo ago
    Electric trucks make perfect sense and are ideal for what most F-150s are actually used for. The problem is that the F-150 is a fashion accessory for low IQ types that cosplay as rancher/cowboy/whatever. They're buying the appearance of being tough. They're insecure. The electric F-150 doesn't make them feel better about their pathetic lives.
• LeoPanthera 10mo ago
  I have not once followed a link to Wired without it saying "You’ve read your last free article." Is the limit supposed to be zero?
• tonymet 10mo ago
  $20b capital write down means that consumers paid that much more for all vehicles to subsidize redundant and insolvent EV product lines . Tesla is the only company making money off of these products . People keep complaining about the AI bubble but we sustained an EV bubble for 15 years without it popping .
  • missedthecue 10mo ago
    How did they lose $20B on this? Gigafactory was $10B.
  • iknowstuff 10mo ago
    EVs are >30% of the global car market and rapidly rising. There is no bubble. America is a bubble of lagging OEMs.
    • tonymet 10mo ago
      that seems off
      • iknowstuff 10mo ago
        >50% in China
        • tonymet 10mo ago
          lol
          • iknowstuff 10mo ago
            98% in Norway
• laweijfmvo 10mo ago
  I’ll never buy a Ford after dealing with a dealership during the pandemic pricing (sold my pre-order to the highest bidder).
• xivzgrev 10mo ago
  No one in top comments is mentioning a key point. It was cheap looking. How the truck looks is important. Outside the bottom end of market, it's a status symbol. I got a tundra TRD earlier this year and I've gotten multiple compliments on it because it's a good looking truck. The F150 lightning looked cheap. The grill is this crappy plastic. And there was no upgrade feature to make it cooler. If they had the option to make it look like the Raptor or one of their higher end F150s, it may have sold better.
  • mitthrowaway2 10mo ago
    It doesn't need a grille at all. There's a trunk in the front.
  • ryukoposting 10mo ago
    Meh, it just looks like any other truck to me. It even has a sprinkle of the silly "wow very technology!" aesthetic pandering that's typical of EVs. But plenty of strong-selling EVs do that (see: Hyundai). But you're right! An electric pickup truck is a status symbol, but an F-150 isn't a status symbol. The F-150 brand, and the blue oval itself, is associated with being an appliance. The branding is at odds with the starry-eyed futurism that drives EV sales. Don't get me wrong, plenty of folks buy F-150s and Rams and Silverados who don't need them. But, those people are cosplaying their imaginary blue-collar grandfathers. An electric car goes against that retrospective way of thinking. As for folks who actually need a pickup for practical reasons, they don't want a Lightning. Ford doesn't sell it with an 8 foot bed. Every time you get plywood or drywall or whatever, it's gonna hang out the back. Can't wait to see the look on your face when a ladder falls over onto the hood of your $75,000 truck.
    • xur17 10mo ago
      > It even has a sprinkle of the silly "wow very technology!" aesthetic pandering that's typical of EVs. I've never heard it referred to that way, but you nailed the description.
  • unethical_ban 10mo ago
    The Toyota Silverado? The Chevy Tundra? I can't get over how much Toyota fashioned their trucks after GM. Tacoma is a spitting image of the Colorado. I'd still buy a Toyota before a GM 10/10.
• partiallypro 10mo ago
  I think an electric full sized truck was always a mistake. To me the market is in the Tacoma/Ranger size for an EV truck. It's pretty simple. Those don't need to haul anything, they are smaller, more aerodynamic, can look sportier because they are more compact, etc. The Tacoma even today gets like 20mpg, which is absolutely abysmal for a 4-cylinder, it's so ripe for an electric motor. The obvious obstacle to overcome is longevity, given Tacomas especially are known to last practically forever.
• deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
• danans 10mo ago
  I still think that if they'd released an electric Ford Maverick sized pickup instead of the monstrosity that is the Lightning, they would have done much better, but everyone had to run after the story Elon was spinning with the Cybertruck, and unsurprisingly, they are similarly unsuccessful.
• burnt-resistor 10mo ago
  Detroit will continue creating crappy EVs rather than good one to defend their "whale oil" business by gaslighting people into believing "EVs suck" when they're strategically sabotaging products in this category. Been happening since the EV-1 and the horrific styling of the original Prius. They don't like change and don't care about the long term survival of the species if there's no profit in it.
• ycui1986 10mo ago
  Plug-in Hybrid with a small engine for charging purposes probably makes the most sense at the moment, although full electric is sexy, the range anxiety is real.
• arunkumars91 10mo ago
  That seems to be the right direction in my opinion.
• pytonslange 10mo ago
  Great news! We just started seeing theese dangerous huge ass US trucks on the streets in Norway the last year or so. The non-electric versions were priced out of market due to the emissions they put out.
• jillesvangurp 10mo ago
  Lots of speculation in this thread. Not a lot of talk about the international market where Ford has been mostly a no-show with the F-150 lightning. Internationally, Toyota and BYD are starting to dominate the electric truck market. The electric Hilux is launching next year and the BYD Shark is doing well in e.g. Australia and Mexico. That's a range extended vehicle similar to the new F-150 sold at an aggressive price point. There are a few other Chinese vendors getting ready to market their vehicles as well. It's a popular car type across South America, Africa, Australia, etc. And Toyota used to dominate that market. The market clearly exists and it's rapidly electrifying. Internationally the trend is actually towards battery electric vehicles that are more affordable than their ICE or hybrid equivalents. If such non electric models are available at all. That's becoming true for a growing number of cars in especially the EU, Australian, or Asian markets. The cheapest cars in the EU are electric at this point. There's a growing number of cars priced well below 20K Euro. And not just from China. 2025 saw a few models for which that was true. 2026 will feature a lot more. How is this possible? Batteries are now cheap. Electric motors were never that expensive. And the rest of the car is what it always was a bunch of wheels, window wipers, and other components. The cheapest car is the simplest car. That's going to be an electric one from 2026 onward. Why did the F-150 electric flop? It was more expensive than the petrol variant. You have to pay a very steep premium for them. Ford never really figured out how to source cheap batteries. And even at that steep premium they never figured out profitability. It seems they are getting out of battery joint ventures even and reducing investment. They are giving up and ceding the market to others. Just as others are figuring this market out and are proving it is real. Technically, if they ever wanted to make a cheaper version of this new range extended truck, all they'd have to do is junk the range extender and cram the vehicle full of cheap LFP batteries. As much as they can get away with. But that would require that they figure out how to source/make cheap batteries. Clearly that's not a problem that is solved in the US yet. They might get back to this topic in a few years.
  • WorldMaker 10mo ago
    The article points out that apparently Ford's plan for Europe is rebadging Renault's EVs, which sounds like just giving up on Europe in all but (brand) name.
• brikym 10mo ago
  These kind of vehicles, electric or not, should be killed or taxed heavily simply because they are the epitome of hostile individualism. They're designed to be a fist on wheels and it's known that they run people over.
• gorgoiler 10mo ago
  I bought some LiFePo power packs this summer. They are just 1kWh things, the size and mass of a crate of beer but having a power pack with mains voltage output is mind bending. Suddenly you can do all sorts of things you never could do before. It feels as bizarre as it might feel going camping with a magic tap that has permanent running water, or to have a bag of rice that never empties. I set up a tent with a household table lamps. It felt both weird and exciting. The electric F-150 promised to be 100x and it was very appealing. It would have been a vehicle that was also a mobile untethered power station, and much more capable one than my power pack or even a mains outlet. Presumably with the right connections you could drain the battery at the same rate as the wheel motors. What could you do with a mobile 100+kW electricity supply? Brushless (corded) chainsaw, mobile log splitter, and charge my phone! It’s a world I’m looking forward to. More utility EVs please.
  • greenie_beans 10mo ago
    electric chainsaws no fun
    • gorgoiler 10mo ago
      If you mean battery powered, then yes, but I was hoping for some hypothetical 50kW device powered by a cable from my equally hypothetical all-electric F-150. That would be fun.
• deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
• hbarka 10mo ago
  Ford and GM made massive investments in tooling for EV manufacturing and just started production. CEO Farley then meets with the current administration and suddenly Ford is pulling the brakes on those factories, laying off thousands and taking $20B in accounting write-down. Imagine doing that. What pressure was must have been exerted on Farley.
• hshdhdhj4444 10mo ago
  Let’s assume that this is the correct decision in terms of the viability of the electric F-150 (I have no reason to believe Ford is wrong here). The real problem with this decision is that the F-150 is pretty much Ford’s only foray into EVs. It raises the question of how Ford expects to compete in the EV market, which is a bigger concern given that the world market is showing a clear preference for EVs, especially once they allow the world EV leaders from China to enter their markets. This further reinforces the Galapagosification of the American auto makers who are getting wiped out pretty much everywhere outside the US where they are competitive thanks to government protectionism.
  • NetMageSCW 10mo ago
    The Mach-E is pretty popular.
  • rattus_rattus 10mo ago
    The Ford Mach-e would like to have a word - it was the first Ford EV. It was available for the first year as a 2021 model, while the Lightning was available as a ‘22. The Mach-e is still available and I think the ‘26 models are already out there. According to Car and Driver the Mach-e was the 4th most popular EV so far this year (around 42k sold) and the Lightning was the 7th (23k units sold.) Anecdotally I see a ton of Mach-e on the road where I live, and Lightning too. We got a Mach-e this summer and it has been excellent.
  • WorldMaker 10mo ago
    Yeah, per the article Ford seems to have indeed decided that the current state of US politics mean that it can keep kicking the can down on the road on EVs, rebadge Renault's EVs as Ford to not entirely give up on Europe (but, uh, very much giving up on Europe manufacturing in everything but brand name still seems like giving up to me). Ford presumably isn't going to also give up on the Mach-E, at least not it is not mentioned in this announcement, but yeah this signals a lack of confidence in America competing with the EV market. (Ford's recent breakup with SK On, splitting custody on plants, presumably dropping the volume of batteries they are capable of producing, presumably is an influencing factor as well on giving up on the electric F-150.)
• DiabloD3 10mo ago
  Weird way for Ford to announce they're going out of business.
  • NetMageSCW 10mo ago
    You seriously overestimate the impact of BEVs for the next few decades.
    • DiabloD3 10mo ago
      When (not if) Ford goes under, it's not going to be overnight. I would be surprised if they don't have enough gas in the tank (ha) for another two decades, no matter how bad their decisions are; there's always customers willing to buy their products.
• 1970-01-01 10mo ago
  But they didn't kill it? Everyone is missing the other side of the coin. It will still exist as a battery electric vehicle with the addition of a generator. You can still plug it in and drive just on battery pack power from the grid.
  • conorcleary 10mo ago
    Media does media
  • NetMageSCW 10mo ago
    They have nothing to announce on the availability of the EREV version.
  • hcurtiss 10mo ago
    I saw that too. If that’s their plan, I’m pretty bullish on Ford. All the advantages of an EV with a range extender. Like the Chevy Volt version of the F-150. I’d be all over that.
  • WorldMaker 10mo ago
    From my experience (driving one for more than a decade) an EREV is a step back at this point, and a worst of both worlds. Focusing on EREV models isn't going to keep Ford relevant in competition to Tesla and Rivian, much less most of what is going on in Europe and Asia today.
• matty22 10mo ago
  *Ford:* Makes giant, electric pickup truck that you can't purchase for less than $85,000 and your normal, weekend warrior has no need for to make their Home Depot runs. *Also Ford:* WhERe aRe all tHe cUstOmerS?! I don't understand what's so hard to understand about selling EVs like hotcakes. Make a reasonably sized vehicle, with a reasonable range, at a reasonable price point. They already have the Maverick. An excellent truck for day-to-day driving and weekend tasks. Make a Maverick, but put an electric motor in it instead of the gas-hybrid engine. Sell it for $10k more than the gas model (~$40k). That truck would sell gangbusters. Instead they think they are Rivian and can sell trucks at Rivian prices, but they aren't Rivian. They aren't a sexy new EV startup who makes something truly new and bespoke. And who can, as a result, charge bespoke prices. They are Ford. They are a known entity. Dare I say, they are boring. Their strength is in volume, not bespokeness. They need to sell a boring truck with an electric motor at volume.
  • 1970-01-01 10mo ago
    MSRP is a red herring. Their King Ranch sells just fine at $95k. The problem was and is buyers being gun shy about EVs. The EREV takes away all the excuses. As in the only practical reason to buy an ICE F-150 will be noise.
    • matty22 10mo ago
      If you were gunshy about trying out VR. You'd never even worn a pair before and you wanted to give it a shot. Would you be more willing to spend $300 on a Quest or would you rather spend $3500 on an Apple Vision Pro? Now let's pretend we're in an alternate timeline and the $300 Quest never existed. The only option available to you was the $3500 option. Are you still interested in trying out VR? MSRP might not be the only factor, but it's pretty damn important. Not a lot of people can "risk" $85,000.
      • 1970-01-01 10mo ago
        Apples and oranges. You can lease a vehicle. You cannot lease a VR headset.
• zcw100 10mo ago
  I've never understood electric pickup trucks. If those fugly wheel covers make a significant difference to your range on a highly aerodynamic sedan how does a pickup truck make any sense?
• smeeger 10mo ago
  they were impossible to buy