Connect with us

News

F-150 Lightning vs Tesla Cybertruck vs Rivian R1T: How Ford’s new EV stacks up against younger competitors

Published

on

Ford recently unveiled the F-150 Lightning, marking the entry of another legacy automaker into the all-electric pickup truck market. The Ford F-150 is an iconic pickup truck, and its transition to the electric vehicle spectrum is a big step for American auto manufacturing.

However, as the Ford F-150 enters a new playing field, the OEM will be met with new contenders from startup EV makers such as Rivian and Tesla. While the Ford F-150 has been the standard for pickup trucks, Tesla has made a name for itself in the EV space. Rivian seeks to forge its own path in the EV market by delivering the first all-electric pickup truck to customers as well.

Rivian aims to start deliveries of the R1T Launch Edition in June 2021. As such, the Rivian R1T will be the first all-electric pickup truck to hit the market. Rivian told Teslarati that it has started contacting reservation holders in preparation for deliveries. Along with the start of deliveries, Rivian plans to launch a 4-month Demonstration Drive program across the United States to help new owners navigate their R1T pickup trucks. 

The Tesla Cybertruck will be produced in Gigafactory Texas, which has been progressing rather quickly. Tesla has also started reaching out to Cybertruck reservation holders and reiterating its late 2021 delivery goal for the Tri-Motor AWD and Dual-Motor AWD variants.

Ford still has about a year to go before producing the all-electric F-150 Lightning at its Rouge plant. The legacy automaker plans to produce four variants of the F-150 Lightning, including one specifically produced and priced for business owners. Ford has not listed the price of the Lariat or Platinum yet. However, it did state that the Lightning’s MSRP starts at $39,974 and goes up to $90,474.

When it comes to function and utility, each of the electric pickup trucks has its advantages. For instance, Rivian made the R1T for owners who seek adventures outdoors. To accommodate future R1T explorers, Rivian has included certain features like the Gear Tunnel for muddy or wet items and an air compressor with a maximum pressure of 150 psi for tires or inflatable items.

On the other hand, the Ford F-150 Lightning seems geared more towards business owners. Ford seems to know its customer base very well as it added certain details to the F-150 Lightning that would be useful on the job site, like enhanced zone lighting and a slew of power outlets both front and back.

In a unique twist, the OEM also built the F-150 Lightning with Ford Intelligent backup power, allowing the vehicle to off-board up to 9.6 kW of peak energy. Ford estimates that the F-150 Lightning can power an entire home for three days or up to ten days if the power is rationed. Its estimates are based on home usage of 30 kWh per day using the F-150 Lightning’s extended battery.

The Tesla Cybertruck seems to tread the middle ground compared to the Rivian R1T and the Ford F-150 Lightning. Each Cybertruck variant could meet the need of explorers or business owners. Tesla also has its unique software system for Cybertruck owners, which has become an ecosystem of its own with features like Camp Mode, Dog Mode, Sentry Mode, and Tesla Theater, among others.

Advertisement
-

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com or reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Tesla slims Cybertruck offerings to only its most expensive trim

Published

on

Credit: u/dregonzz/Reddit

Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.

After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.

Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.

Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.

Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.

Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”

Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.

Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.

Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing

Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla exec hints at a wild fix for Robotaxi’s biggest weather problem

Tesla VP Lars Moravy says focused lasers could keep robotaxi cameras clear instead of wipers.

Published

on

By

Tesla Cybercab in a rainy Austin, Texas rendering

Tesla may one day use lasers instead of wiper blades to keep its robotaxi cameras clear. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, floated the idea in a new episode of Jay Leno’s Garage released Monday, where he and design chief Franz von Holzhausen walked Leno through the Model Y L.

“If you fire them in a focused area, you can clean the sheet of water and create a barrier,” Moravy said. “When you think about autonomy, it might be a good solution to only clean the area where the camera is.” He added that clearing an entire windshield would take too many lasers to be practical.

The comment brings back one of Tesla’s stranger patents. The company filed for “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” in May 2019, and the U.S. Patent Office granted it in September 2021. An updated divisional version was granted on March 31, 2026. The system detects debris on the glass, identifies what it is, and pulses the laser at a calibrated rate so the beam never penetrates deeper than the glass itself. The filing names windshields, side windows, camera lenses and solar panels as possible targets.

Lasers were once rumored for the Cybertruck, which appeared at its November 2019 unveiling with no wipers at all. Tesla eventually settled on a single oversized blade, and Elon Musk admitted the wiper was the part of the truck that troubled him the most. That production line is now scheduled to shut down around mid 2027 to make room for more Cybercab output.

Advertisement
-

What has changed since then is who is in the vehicle. A privately owned car has a driver who can notice a smeared windshield and do something about it. A Cybercab heading to its next pickup has nobody on board to check. Tesla has been chipping away at that problem with conventional hardware. Model Y Robotaxis in Austin were spotted with washers on their side repeater cameras in January, and a lens cleaning patent granted in May describes a fluid and wiper assembly for vehicle cameras and Optimus’ eyes. A laser would remove the fluid and the blades, both of which need regular replacement across a fleet.

The same episode gave Leno his first ride on Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The Model Y L pulled over on its own when an ambulance approached with its sirens on. “We got it on self-driving mode! I’m not touching anything,” Leno said. Moravy and von Holzhausen also explained that owners remain responsible while using FSD (Supervised), while Tesla takes responsibility for Robotaxi rides because it acts as the operator. Tesla launched the Model Y L in the U.S. in July at $61,990.

Moravy gave no timeline, and he described the laser setup as something Tesla is considering rather than a confirmed feature. The fleet it would serve keeps getting bigger, though. Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio on Monday, its eighth city, and expanded its Austin service area to roughly 443 square miles on the same day. Several of those markets, including Houston, Miami and Tampa, see heavy seasonal rain.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Robotaxi enters its newest city, reaching San Antonio

Published

on

Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio, Texas, on November 9, 2026, with the first rides beginning at 5 a.m. local time.

The company’s official Robotaxi account on X posted the announcement just after midnight, sharing a map that outlines a large operational zone covering much of the city. The geofence is roughly 274 to 275 square miles, making it Tesla’s largest day-one Robotaxi service area to date.

The zone centers on downtown, covers nearly everything inside Loop 410, and extends north to Loop 1604 between Interstate 10 and U.S. 281, with further reach west past State Highway 151, east beyond I-35, and south toward I-37. This area encompasses about one million residents and hundreds of thousands of jobs.

San Antonio International Airport lies inside the geofence, though Tesla is not currently offering airport pickups or drop-offs. This hopefully will happen soon, as ride-sharing to and from the airport can be expensive.

The launch makes San Antonio Tesla’s eighth unsupervised Robotaxi city and its fifth in Texas, joining Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. Florida markets in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa are also live.

Service uses modified Model Y vehicles operating without a safety driver in the vehicle, consistent with recent unsupervised expansions. Cybercab two-seaters remain limited primarily to Austin for now. It’s worth noting that Dept. of Transportation officials in Texas have already ok’d the Cybercab’s operation in Austin, and one official called it “a tangible example of how quickly our transportation system is evolving.”

San Antonio was previously listed among near-term targets in Tesla’s October 2026 Robotaxi safety materials, alongside Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Jacksonville. The rapid Texas rollout follows Fort Worth’s unsupervised debut on November 2 and builds on Austin’s original launch in June 2025.

The 274-square-mile debut remains substantially larger than Waymo’s local footprint and marks continued progress in Tesla’s unsupervised autonomy efforts after starting the year with no such rides. The company has stated ambitions for broader 24/7 operations by the end of 2026 as vehicle counts and software reliability improve.

Continue Reading