Following a red-hot start to its ambitious EV plans, Ford is now facing a bit of a lull as early adopters have moved on and the automaker must now find a way to not only convince others that all-electric vehicles are the future, but also find ways to make those vehicles more affordable and easy to charge for the average consumer. Ford CEO Jim Farley has previously compared this transition to the one Henry Ford faced when marketing the Model T, complete with bumps in the proverbial road – including a recent delay in the automaker’s plans to produce 600k EVs annually, all while instead pumping up hybrid sales in the interim, though apparently not plug-in hybrids. Now, the Ford CEO himself is apparently ready to show America that EVs like the Ford F-150 Lightning are suitable road trip vessels, as he explained in a recent LinkedIn post.
“A few of us are setting off this week across the American West in an F-150 Lightning to go and see researchers, businesses, dealers, salespeople, EV conversion shops, EV drivers, and communities,” Farley wrote. “There are things you can’t learn in an office or from a PowerPoint.”
This journey is set to begin in Silicon Valley and move south to Los Angeles before the Blue Oval team heads east on Route 66 and ultimately, on to Las Vegas. Along the way, the Ford F-150 Lightning will utilize various charging stations to “fuel” this trip – including at least one Tesla Supercharger – all while stopping to share the team’s experiences along the historic route.
“Long hauling in an electric truck is an act of pioneerism, not because it’s hard or dangerous, but because it’s a new way to experience America,” Farley said. “Shifting from fueling stations to charging stations requires new behaviors and opens new possibilities. Thanks to the technology in the Lightning, I’ll be able to get work done from the road, just like so many of our customers do every day.”
We’ll have more on Jim Farley and the F-150 Lightning soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, F-150 Lightning news, and non-stop Ford news coverage.
A potentially life-saving idea.
A very nice example of the large and luxurious ride.
A far more profitable venture at the moment.
He looks a little startled.
After lobbying against Ford's efforts to used licensed Chinese tech.
The same HOSS 3.0 setup present in the discontinued Wildtrak trim.
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A bad CEO driving a bad vehicle, fitting. What a sad publicity stunt. #BudLightEVs
What's an example of a good CEO and a good vehicle?
Sam Walton and his '79 F-150
Hope he enjoys the charging network that always disappoint. I am glad he is going out to experience it himself.
I'm sure there will be an entourage of company-paid security and their vehicles that will take care of any issues.
This next weekend, I begin a cross-country trip from Las Vegas to northern Vermont in my 2022 Lightning. I'm sure it will be interesting and at times challenging with the charging networks.
Love this guy! Great to be unlike 95% of CEOs and see what it’s actually like in the real world. True car guy.
Please do us a favor and pull a trailer too. Let’s see how that factors into the long haul experience with E-trucking.
I work for a Ford dealer and recently had the opportunity to drive an F150 Lightning on a 287 mile road trip between two dealers. There was some apprehension on my part, but I charged along the way, adding 50 miles of range in 15 minutes. There were no problems and I arrived with 87 miles of range left. There is a place for these vehicles in our market, even though they may not be right for every customer.
Good luck let me know how much longer it takes as opposed to a gas car and call me when you run out of electrical power.
Don't call Jim if you run out of gss. He will sell you the Lightning if you di call!
Rural areas have limited charging stations and/or slow 50 or 62.5 kW Charge points stations. Would like these pr drives done off the beaten path deep in rural America
Jim is following Claire Ford, not Henry. She established the first distance records driving her Detroit Electric. And it was safer than her husband's gas cars, too.
Lol what a joke, a road trip thru California and to Las Vegas, which is close to California is not particularly challenging… how about take a road trip thru rest of the US where it isn’t as easy for an EV and where ford has bigger market share.
Farley made the very public disparaging statement that Tesla's Cybertruck is just for people from Silicon Valley....and then Farley does this publicity stunt with the Lightning and where does he start the journey? In Silicon Valley!