While the electric pickup segment is still in the early stages of getting established, the Tesla Cybertruck has been notably absent, having been repeatedly delayed after being originally introduced in 2019. Since then, the Ford F-150 Lightning debuted and rolled out to dealers, with the 2024 model year set to introduce a standard heat pump, among other things. But the Lightning will now legitimately face the Cybertruck on the open market, as the first examples of the pickup were delivered on November 30th, 2023. In light of its official rollout, Ford CEO Jim Farley opted to tip his hat to CEO Elon Musk, in an act of reciprocity over one year in the making.
Congrats, @ElonMusk and @Tesla team
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) November 30, 2023
Farley’s congratulatory act follows a similar move Musk made back in May 2021, when the Tesla CEO congratulated Ford upon the debut of the Lightning. Currently, the Cybertruck is expected to launch with an estimated MSRP of $79,990 for the all-wheel drive variant, which should be available in 2024. A cheaper rear-wheel drive model with a $60,990 price tag is on track for 2025, a timeframe which may coincide with the launch of the second generation Ford F-150 Lightning. That said, the Cyberbeast high-end model will arrive in 2024 as well with an estimated $99,990 MSRP. Preliminary range estimates for the Cybertruck start at 250 miles for the rear-drive model, 340 miles for the all-wheel drive model, and 320 miles for the Cyberbeast.
While Farley was cordial in his tweet, Both executives have issued some hot takes over each other’s electric pickups over the last year and a half. As Ford Authority previously reported, Farley dunked on the Tesla CEO upon the Lightning’s launch in 2022, saying “take that, Elon Musk.” This summer, Musk claimed that the F-150 Lightning was too expensive, an interesting comment considering the Cybertruck will launch with slightly higher pricing than the Ford, although Tesla has not finalized its exact cost as of this writing. Additionally, Farley thinks the Cybertruck is for “Silicon Valley people,” or buyers with no intention to use their pickups for serious work.
Amid all the back-and-forth banter over the pickups, the relationship between both companies took an interesting turn this year when Ford outlined its intention to adopt the North American Charging Standard for current and future EVs. The agreement will open up the Tesla Supercharger network to current generation Ford EVs via an adapter, while future models will come equipped the NACS connector. Most automakers have since followed suit. In any event, the Tesla Cybertruck’s official media event arrives while demand for non-Tesla EVs has seemingly softened, which prompted Ford to roll back some of its planned investments.
We’ll have more on the Cybertruck soon, so subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford news updates.
Comment
No electric truck is “too expensive” if you subtract the maintenence and energy savings for at least ten years. Any gas truck will cost the owner much more just in oil changes. And many EV owners charge for free. So you pay a bit more buying an electric truck, but spend much less in long term operation.
I have a 2014 Fusion Hybrid and I spent less than half of my gas costs from a previous sedan. And the only part changed in ten years is the oil filter once a year (less than $400 in oil changes). No other car except an ele