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Ford throws shade at Tesla and GM, says F-150 EV will be a ‘real’ work truck

(Credit: Ford Motor Company/YouTube)

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5 years ago

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Ford, the maker of America’s most popular pickups, recently threw some shade at its competitors in the electric pickup market like Tesla and GM. In a recent statement, a Ford executive remarked that the electric F-150 will have an edge against its competitors because it will be a “real” work truck, not a “lifestyle” pickup like the Cybertruck or the upcoming Hummer EV.

During a media briefing this Wednesday, Kumar Galhotra, president of the Americas and international markets at Ford, highlighted that the electric F-150 will be built for heavy-duty hauling and towing. The truck will be fun to drive like its rivals from companies like Rivian and Tesla, but the vehicle’s heart will be all about work, not recreation.

“While all other electric pickups are competing for lifestyle customers, the all-electric F-150 is designed and engineered for hard-working customers that need a truck to do a job… We have a very substantial amount of brand equity in the ‘Built Ford Tough’ F-150 both in terms of design language, capability, and the name itself,” he said.

A Ford F-150 EV prototype. (Credit: Ford Motor Company)

A lot is riding on the electric F-150. The pickup series is arguably the company’s most successful vehicles to date, and for good reason. Just last year, nearly 900,000 F-Series pickups were sold in the United States, generating $42 billion in revenue as per data from the Boston Consulting Group. This is a notable amount, considering that Ford’s entire automotive revenue for 2019 was $143.6 billion.

Yet for all its pedigree, Ford will likely be releasing the electric F-150 significantly later than its rivals. Even today, the American automaker expects the electric F-150 to be due around the middle of 2022. By this time, the electric pickup market will be active, with vehicles from Rivian and Tesla already competing in the market. Rivian expects to start deliveries of the R1T in June 2021, while leaks from Giga Texas have revealed that Tesla may start the Cybertruck’s trial production around May 2021.

Ford’s mid-2022 target is also a bit late compared to the estimated delivery target for the Lordstown Endurance, an all-electric pickup that is targeted towards fleet customers. GM, Ford’s longtime rival, has also confirmed that it is designing an electric pickup that’s expected to be more work-focused than the Hummer EV.

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Tesla Cybertruck giving test rides at Los Angeles unveiling event, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)
Tesla Cybertruck giving test rides at Los Angeles unveiling event, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)

In a way, Ford’s recent statement seems to be a partial admission that the company has started its focus on the electric F-150 program a little too late. With old and new rivals poised to beat the electric F-150 to market, Ford seems to be relying on the F-150’s rock-solid reputation to boost its upcoming EV’s sales. This is a pretty good strategy considering the strength of the F-Series’ brand, but it also leaves the vehicle pretty open for disruption.

The Cybertruck, for example, may have the characteristics of a “lifestyle” pickup, but it has been promoted by Tesla as a real work truck despite its futuristic looks. An electric Chevy Silverado, which seems plausible given GM’s hints about a more work-focused pickup, would also be a legitimate challenger for Ford’s upcoming electric F-150.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Cybertruck

Tesla begins wide rollout of Full Self-Driving v14 to Cybertruck

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3 hours ago

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November 3, 2025

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Credit: Weibo (via YYDS on X)

Tesla has officially begun the wide rollout of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 to the Cybertruck about a month after the company started rolling it out to other vehicles in the fleet.

On Monday, Tesla officially started rolling out v14.1.5 to Cybertruck owners, the first FSD v14 rollout for owners of the all-electric pickup.

Owners have been anxiously waiting for Tesla to begin the wide release of v14 to Cybertruck, as the company said it would refine the suite for the vehicle.

Tesla has finally started rolling out to many owners, who are reporting that their Cybertrucks are downloading Software Update 2025.38.8.5, which contains FSD v14.1.5:

Tesla has to be more cautious with rolling out FSD on the Cybertruck than on other vehicles for a few reasons. Initially, the Cybertruck utilizes an all-wheel steering system that turns differently than the S3XY lineup. This creates a challenge for the Tesla AI team as they have to cater to this specific maneuvering change.

Additionally, the Cybertruck is much larger, and the exterior cameras responsible for seeing the vehicle’s surroundings are placed differently than those of the other vehicles.

This requires additional calibration to ensure safety.

The full release notes for Full Self-Driving v14.1.5 are as follows:

  • Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.
  • Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances).
  • Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.
  • Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.
  • Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.
  • Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).
  • Improve handling of several scenarios including: unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school buses.
  • Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and recover smoothly from degraded operation for enhanced reliability.
  • Added alerting for residue build-up on interior windshield that may impact front camera visibility. If affected, visit Service for cleaning!

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Elon Musk shuts down Tesla ‘AMG’ division speculation: ‘Focus is autonomy’

“I think it’s best to leave that to the custom shops. Tesla’s focus is autonomous cars, building futuristic autonomous cars. We want the future to look like the future.”

Published

5 hours ago

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November 3, 2025

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Credit: Unplugged Performance

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was asked by Joe Rogan late last week whether the company would ever consider establishing an “AMG division” like Mercedes-Benz has established for powerful, race-inspired vehicles.

However, Musk turned down any talk of that, highlighting that the company is laser-focused on autonomous vehicles, seemingly hinting that any distraction from autonomy would be a detriment to the future.

Rogan drives a Tesla Model S himself, but it is not your run-of-the-mill all-electric sedan. Already outfitted with the Plaid powertrain that Tesla developed, Rogan took his vehicle to Unplugged Performance for a true performance outfitting.

The vehicle is completely overhauled with performance parts and seats. Known as the Model S-APEX, Rogan took delivery of it from Unplugged in January.

Rogan asked Musk on Friday during his most recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast whether Tesla would ever establish an “AMG division” that would focus on catering Teslas to performance-based standards.

Musk said:

“I think it’s best to leave that to the custom shops. Tesla’s focus is autonomous cars, building futuristic autonomous cars. We want the future to look like the future.”

Tesla fans have said for years that the company should consider acquiring Unplugged Performance and its Upfit Tesla division, which recently outfitted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s fleet of Cybertruck cruisers.

However, it seems Tesla will keep things separate. Musk is primarily focused on autonomy, which will drive the technology forward and drive shareholder growth. Something like an outfitter for performance would be a cool thing for the owners who have the interest and the money.

It’s not a tremendous revenue driver or anything that would contribute to the financial state of the company. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is more accessible for consumers as it sold over 140,000 units from its AMG brand in 2024.

Tesla Model Y driver starts race in reverse, still wins against AMG SUV

It helps with driving revenue higher by as much as 15 percent compared to similar models that are not AMGs. However, would Tesla see this much of a benefit? Likely not, because the Performance trim already caters to many owners.

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Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck fleet takes over at SpaceX’s Starbase

Interestingly, the Cybertruck uses the same exterior, a stainless steel alloy, as SpaceX rockets. This synergy between the two companies and their very different products shows a very unified mentality between Musk companies.

Published

6 hours ago

on

November 3, 2025

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Credit: @derek1ee | X

Tesla Cybertrucks have taken over at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas, as hundreds of the all-electric pickup trucks were spotted late last week rounding out a massive fleet of vehicles.

The Cybertruck fleet is geared toward replacing gas vehicles that are used at Starbase for everyday operations. The only surprise about this is that it was not done sooner:

Deliveries have been going on for a few weeks, as Cybertrucks have made their way across the state of Texas from Austin to Starbase so they could be included in SpaceX’s fleet of vehicles at the facility.

Interestingly, the Cybertruck uses the same exterior, a stainless steel alloy, as SpaceX rockets. This synergy between the two companies and their very different products shows a very unified mentality between Musk companies.

However, there are some other perspectives to consider as SpaceX is utilizing such a massive fleet of Cybertrucks. Some media outlets (unsurprisingly) are seeing this as a move of weakness by both Tesla and SpaceX, as the aerospace company is, in a sense, “bailing out” lagging sales for the all-electric pickup.

It’s no secret that Tesla has struggled with the Cybertruck this year, and deliveries have been underwhelming in the sense that the company was anticipating between 1 million and 2 million orders for the vehicle before it was widely produced.

A lot of things changed with the Cybertruck between its 2019 unveiling and 2023 initial deliveries, most notably, price.

The price of the Cybertruck swelled significantly and priced out many of those who had pre-ordered it. Some have weighed the option of whether this purchase was a way to get rid of sitting inventory.

However, it seems more logical to consider the fact that SpaceX was likely always going to transition to Teslas for its fleet, especially at Starship, at some point.

It doesn’t seem out of the question that one Musk company would utilize another Musk company’s products, especially considering the Cybertruck has been teased as the vehicle that would be present on Mars.

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