Photo: Ford/Jim Farley
After Ford launched the F-150 Lightning and announced deliveries in the next few days, we learned about a curious situation at the event: a power outage. At this point, we have no idea if it was on purpose or something unexpected. The deal is that the event did not have to stop, thanks to the bidirectional capacity of the electric pickup truck.
Phoebe Wall Howard, from the Detroit Free Press, tweeted about that and said it was caused by a problem with DTE Energy, the Michigan power company. Jim Farley confirmed that and said that the F-150 Lightning came to the rescue, supplying energy for the event. The apparent inconvenience was so convenient to show this side of the electric pickup truck that it is only fair to wonder if it was not a clever marketing stunt. Howard said it was definitely by chance.
If other people in the same region where the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center had the same issue, it would be fair to say it was a real event and that DTE Energy would never cut supply just to help Ford demonstrate the bidirectional capability of the F-150 Lightning. If it was restricted to the plant, the possibility that it was staged increases. If you live around there and can tell us more about this power outage, we’d be really grateful.
Regardless of the cause, the possibility of using the F-150 Lightning to power a house for up to three days cannot be underestimated. Jim Farley even joked that it could help Tesla owners in need of charge if they have friends who own the electric pickup truck. In January, Jason Fenske demonstrated that it is a much better idea to buy an F-150 Lightning Pro than a Tesla Powerwall.
We now wonder how many pickup trucks were necessary to keep things going and if they powered the entire factory or just the part that was hosting the event. Ford may tell us more about it in the future if we ask them. We’ll give it a thought.
If other people in the same region where the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center had the same issue, it would be fair to say it was a real event and that DTE Energy would never cut supply just to help Ford demonstrate the bidirectional capability of the F-150 Lightning. If it was restricted to the plant, the possibility that it was staged increases. If you live around there and can tell us more about this power outage, we’d be really grateful.
Regardless of the cause, the possibility of using the F-150 Lightning to power a house for up to three days cannot be underestimated. Jim Farley even joked that it could help Tesla owners in need of charge if they have friends who own the electric pickup truck. In January, Jason Fenske demonstrated that it is a much better idea to buy an F-150 Lightning Pro than a Tesla Powerwall.
We now wonder how many pickup trucks were necessary to keep things going and if they powered the entire factory or just the part that was hosting the event. Ford may tell us more about it in the future if we ask them. We’ll give it a thought.
Yes, there was an actual power outage during the #F150Lightning event today. But the show went on, with a little help from Lightning ?????? https://t.co/bLBsa2UdAd pic.twitter.com/UMT2bboxyj
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) April 26, 2022
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