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Ford CEO pledges to keep EV lineup affordable with no “six-digit” prices

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

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5 years ago

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With the electric vehicle segment becoming more and more crowded, Ford has announced that its upcoming EVs will be priced quite aggressively. In what seems to be a subtle dig at the $112,595 GMC Hummer EV, CEO Jim Farley noted that Ford would not be releasing electric vehicles that are in the six-figure range. Instead, Ford’s EVs will be as affordable as possible. 

“We are not going after the $100,000-plus market. These are affordable vehicles,” Farley said in a statement to Wards Auto. 

Farley later noted that the lineup of Ford EVs he has in mind would be priced between $20,000 to $70,000 before options. This is a very aggressive target, considering that even EV leader Tesla is still in the process of lowering its production costs to such a degree that it could release a $25,000 car, a vehicle that’s more affordable than the Model 3, the company’s current entry-level vehicle. 

Interestingly enough, Farley did not elaborate if his $20,000 to $70,000 price range estimate includes government incentives. Unlike Tesla and longtime rival GM, after all, Ford is yet to exhaust its government incentives, so customers of vehicles like the Mustang Mach-E will still be able to take advantage of the US government’s $7,500 tax credit. 

Farley’s recent statements bode well for the upcoming Ford F-150 Electric, a vehicle that is being promoted as a “real” work truck. Considering the CEO’s statement, it appears that the Ford F-150 Electric’s most expensive variant will start at around $70,000, allowing it to compete directly with the Tesla Cybertruck, at least in price. The Cybertruck’s tri-motor variant, which boasts over 500 miles of range per charge, starts at $69,990. 

As noted in an AutoBlog report, it is quite challenging to speculate how Ford intends to come up with electric vehicles that are in the $20,000 range. The company’s alliance with the Volkswagen group does give it access to the modular MEB platform, but even the ID.3 has not reached such a price yet. The Mustang Mach-E, Ford’s upcoming all-electric crossover, starts at about $43,995. 

While Farley noted that Ford would not venture into six-digit territory, this does not mean that the company would not produce premium vehicles for the upscale market. Ford’s luxury Lincoln brand, for one, could still offer electric cars that are priced at around the same range as the Hummer EV. Such an EV seemed to be in the works previously with Lincoln sourcing technology from Rivian, but the project was canceled this April. Lincoln executives, for their part, pledged then that they are committed to releasing an EV in the near future. 

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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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Tesla to increase Full Self-Driving subscription price: here’s when

Published

5 hours ago

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January 24, 2026

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla will increase its Full Self-Driving subscription price, meaning it will eventually be more than the current $99 per month price tag it has right now.

Already stating that the ability to purchase the suite outright will be removed, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this week that the Full Self-Driving subscription price would increase when its capabilities improve:

“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD).”

This was an expected change, especially as Tesla has been hinting for some time that it is approaching a feature-complete version of Full Self-Driving that will no longer require driver supervision. However, with the increase, some are concerned that they may be priced out.

$99 per month is already a tough ask for some. While Full Self-Driving is definitely worth it just due to the capabilities, not every driver is ready to add potentially 50 percent to their car payment each month to have it.

While Tesla has not revealed any target price for FSD, it does seem that it will go up to at least $150.

Additionally, the ability to purchase the suite outright is also being eliminated on February 14, which gives owners another reason to be slightly concerned about whether they will be able to afford to continue paying for Full Self-Driving in any capacity.

Some owners have requested a tiered program, which would allow people to pay for the capabilities they want at a discounted price.

Unsupervised FSD would be the most expensive, and although the company started removing Autopilot from some vehicles, it seems a Supervised FSD suite would still attract people to pay between $49 and $99 per month, as it is very useful.

Tesla will likely release pricing for the Unsupervised suite when it is available, but price increases could still come to the Supervised version as things improve.

This is not the first time Musk has hinted that the price would change with capability improvements, either. He’s been saying it for some time. In 2020, he even said the value of FSD would “probably be somewhere in excess of $100,000.”

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Tesla starts removing outright Full Self-Driving purchase option at time of order

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8 hours ago

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January 24, 2026

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has chosen to axe the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright from a select group of cars just days after CEO Elon Musk announced the company had plans to eliminate that option in February.

The company is making a clear-cut stand that it will fully transition away from the ability to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that has brought differing opinions throughout the Tesla community.

Earlier this week, the company also announced that it will no longer allow buyers to purchase Full Self-Driving outright when ordering a pre-owned vehicle from inventory. Instead, that will be available for $99 per month, the same price that it costs for everyone else.

The ability to buy the suite for $8,000 for a one-time fee at the time of order has been removed:

This is a major move because it is the first time Tesla is eliminating the ability to purchase FSD outright for one flat fee to any of its vehicles, at least at the time of purchase.

It is trying to phase out the outright purchase option as much as it can, preparing people for the subscription-based service it will exclusively offer starting on February 14.

In less than a month, it won’t be available on any vehicle, which has truly driven some serious conversation from Tesla owners throughout the community.

There’s a conflict, because many believe that they will now lose the ability to buy FSD and not pay for it monthly, which is an attractive offer. However, others believe, despite paying $8,000 for FSD, that they will have to pay more money on top of that cost to get the unsupervised suite.

Additionally, CEO Elon Musk said that the FSD suite’s subscription price would increase over time as capabilities increase, which is understandable, but is also quite a conflict for those who spent thousands to have what was once promised to them, and now they may have to pay even more money.

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Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys

These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.

Published

11 hours ago

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January 24, 2026

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Credit: David Moss | X

Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature that is not available on typical Model Ys that people like you and me bring home after we buy them. The feature is something that many have been wanting for years, especially after the company adopted a vision-only approach to self-driving.

After Tesla launched driverless Robotaxi rides to the public earlier this week in Austin, people have been traveling to the Lone Star State in an effort to hopefully snag a ride from one of the few vehicles in the fleet that are now no longer required to have Safety Monitors present.

BREAKING: Tesla launches public Robotaxi rides in Austin with no Safety Monitor

Although only a few of those completely driverless rides are available, there have been some new things seen on these cars that are additions from regular Model Ys, including the presence of one new feature: camera washers.

With the Model Y, there has been a front camera washer, but the other exterior “eyes” have been void of any solution for this. For now, owners are required to clean them manually.

In Austin, Tesla is doing things differently. It is now utilizing camera washers on the side repeater and rear bumper cameras, which will keep the cameras clean and keep operation as smooth and as uninterrupted as possible:

These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.

This is the first time we are seeing them, so it seems as if Safety Monitors might have been responsible for keeping the lenses clean and unobstructed previously.

However, as Tesla transitions to a fully autonomous self-driving suite and Robotaxi expands to more vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet, it needed to find a way to clean the cameras without any manual intervention, at least for a short period, until they can return for interior and exterior washing.

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