On May 19, 2021, Ford revealed that it would sell an electric pickup truck by spring 2022. People criticized the carmaker for announcing it almost two years after Tesla presented the Cybertruck – it would arrive after its competitor. On April 26, 2022 – spring, remember? – Ford launched the F-150 Lightning and made fun of Tesla (almost) without mentioning it.
To start with, Ford made sure UAW was present at the event. One of its representatives, Laura Dickerson, was there to state how competitive the electric pickup truck was despite some executives saying that vehicles made by unionized workers would cost more than they should. It was a slap in Elon Musk’s attempts to prevent unionization in its Fremont plant and other Tesla factories, such as Giga Grünheide, in Germany.
Dickerson also invited Jim Farley to go to stage talk about the electric pickup truck. He mentioned all the important stuff Ford built over the years, starting with the Model T. He also talked about the B-24 Liberators the company produced during WWII. Still, the master teasing came when he spoke of the ventilators Ford manufactured during the pandemic. Musk promised Tesla would do that, but it never did.
Farley then said that the F-150 Lightning was not “a vanity project” or “gimmicks.” Ouch… He also stated it was not “for PR or for Wall Street” but rather a truck “for the many, not just the few.” The Cybertruck was promised with starting price of $39,990 for “late 2021.” Prices are no longer presented on the website, and production may begin in 2023, but that is not for sure. This is why Ford said the F-150 Lightning is “the only full-size electric pickup available now with a starting price less than $40,000.”
The Ford CEO continued by stating that the F-150 Lightning is a truck that people could use in their daily lives while doing things only the electric powertrain and its battery pack can offer. After all, the electric pickup truck is a 9.6-kW“smart power plant on wheels,” thanks to bidirectional capability. That gives the F-150 Lightning the ability to power a house for three days or even “charge other EVs - for your friends that own Teslas.” There you have it why we said the Tesla-poking process almost did not mention it: Farley did that, even if only once.
All that Ford had to talk about the pickup truck has already been disclosed, such as the production capacity of 150,000 units per year by mid-2023, the massive frunk, and a 0-to-60-mph (97 kph) acceleration time “in the mid-4-second range.” Deliveries of the F-150 Lightning Pro will start in the next few days.
The nice touch was that Ford invited future F-150 Lightning owners to the premiere. Among them is Sergio Rodriguez, whom our readers have already known for quite some time. Rodriguez tried to own a Tesla Model X two times and got rid of his two SUVs because they were lemons. He later discovered and told us his last Model X was heading to Ukraine.
Nowadays, Rodriguez drives a Ford Mustang Mach-E and will soon also have the F-150 Lightning. He was particularly happy to be able to power his electric scooter, which fits in the frunk of the electric pickup truck. We’ll ask him about the ownership experience as soon as he gets his new EV.
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