Connect with us

News

Ford F-150 Lightning details reveal surprising premium over Tesla Cybertruck

Credit: Ford Motor Company and Eric Rihlmann/Instagram

Published

on

The Ford F1-150 Lightning is arguably one of the most impressive all-electric pickups on the market today. Starting at a very aggressive price and designed for the F-150’s classic buyers, the Lightning seemed like a great shoo-in as the electric truck market’s next best-seller. Ford, however, has been quite reserved about the Lightning’s full pricing details, at least, until now. And if the recent information about the F-150 Lightning proves accurate, it would appear that Ford’s electric pickup will command a pretty steep premium over the Tesla Cybertruck. 

Users at the Ford enthusiast F150Gen14 forum recently shared a questionnaire that was reportedly sent by the veteran automaker. The questionnaire, which seemed designed to determine which features are preferred by consumers, featured a list of available F-150 Lightning variants and their respective options and prices. This included every trim of the Lightning, from the Pro base model to the top-tier Lightning Platinum series. 

Credit: u/ilata via F150Gen14 forum

Based on the information from the carmaker, non-commercial buyers of the Ford F-150 Lightning could expect to shell out about $53,000 for the XLT trim, but that’s a truck with a conservative 230 miles of estimated range. Customers who prefer an XLT Lightning with longer range could expect to pay an additional $7,000 for its 300-mile battery pack. This is true for the XLT + Premium Package and Lariat variants as well.

This is quite interesting considering that the Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat was already listed with a starting price of $67,474, or close to the starting price of the 500-mile tri-motor Tesla Cybertruck, which starts at $69,990. That’s quite pricey for a vehicle that still starts with only 230 miles of range. Fortunately, Ford’s 300-mile battery becomes standard with the F-150 Lightning Lariat + Premium Package, but that starts at $79,474. 

Credit: Ford Motor Company

The Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat + Premium Package does not only come with the company’s 300-mile range battery. It also comes with a twin-panel moonroof, the company’s BlueCruise driver-assist system, and Phone-as-a-Key features. Interestingly enough, these specs are pretty comparable to the middle-tier Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD, which is expected to have a range of 300+ miles, as well as standard features like a full glass roof, basic Autopilot, and Phone Key functions. 

The notable difference between the Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat + Premium Package and the Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD, of course, would be their price. Based on the information reportedly sent by Ford to its customers, the F-150 Lightning Lariat + Premium Package starts at $79,474, while the Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD starts at $49,990 before options. That’s a premium of nearly $30,000 for the F-150 Lightning. With such a price gap in mind, Ford may have to rely more on its reputation and pedigree as a truck-maker to ensure that the Lightning becomes successful like its internal combustion-powered predecessors. 

Do you have anything to share with the Teslarati Team? We’d love to hear from you, email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla has best month ever in Turkey with drastic spike in sales

Tesla managed to sell 8,730 Model Y vehicles in Turkey, outpacing almost every competitor by a substantial margin. Only one brand sold better than Tesla in August in Turkey, and it was Renault.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla had its best monthly performance ever in Turkey in August, thanks to a drastic spike in sales.

Tesla saw an 86 percent bump in sales of the new Model Y in Turkey in August compared to July, dominating the market.

The performance was one of Tesla’s best in the market, and the company’s sales for the month accounted for half of all EV sales in Turkey for August, as it dominated and led BYD, which was the second-best-selling brand with just 1,639 units sold.

Tesla managed to sell 8,730 Model Y vehicles in Turkey, outpacing almost every competitor by a substantial margin. Only one brand sold better than Tesla in August in Turkey, and it was Renault.

Electric vehicles are, in some ways, more desirable than their gas counterparts in Turkey for several reasons. Most of the reasoning is financial.

First, EVs are subject to a lower Special Consumption Tax in Turkey. EVs can range from 25 percent to up to 170 percent, but this is less than the 70 to 220 percent rate that gas-powered vehicles can face. The tax is dependent on engine size.

Elon Musk courted to build a Tesla factory in Turkey

Advertisement

Additionally, EVs are exempt from the annual Motor Vehicle Tax for the first ten years, providing consumers with a long-term ownership advantage. There are also credits that can amount to $30,000 in breaks, which makes them more accessible and brings down the cost of ownership.

Let’s not forget the other advantages that are felt regardless of country: cheaper fuel costs, reduced maintenance, and improved performance.

The base Model Y is the only configuration available in Turkey currently.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update

“This upgrade builds upon your vehicle’s superior crash protection by now using Tesla Vision to help offer some of the most cutting-edge airbag performance in the event of a frontal crash.”

Published

on

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla is upgrading airbag safety through a crazy software update, which will utilize the company’s vision-first approach to enable better protection in the event of an accident.

Over the years, Tesla has gained an incredible reputation for prioritizing safety in its vehicles, with crash test ratings at the forefront of its engineers’ minds.

This has led to Tesla gaining numerous five-star safety ratings and awards related to safety. It is not just a statistical thing, either. In the real world, we’ve seen Teslas demonstrate some impressive examples of crash safety.

Everything from that glass roof not caving in when a tree falls on it to a Model Y surviving a drive off a cliff has been recorded.

However, Tesla is always looking to improve safety, and unlike most companies, it does not need a physical hardware update to do so. It can enhance features such as crash response and airbag performance through Over-the-Air software updates, which download automatically to the vehicle.

Advertisement

In Tesla’s 2025.32 Software Update, the company is rolling out a Frontal Airbag System Enhancement, which aims to use Tesla Vision, the company’s camera-based approach to self-driving, to keep occupants safe.

The release notes state (via NotaTeslaApp):

“This upgrade builds upon your vehicle’s superior crash protection by now using Tesla Vision to help offer some of the most cutting-edge airbag performance in the event of a frontal crash. Building on top of regulatory and industry crash testing, this release enables front airbags to begin to inflate and restrain occupants earlier, in a way that only Tesla’s integrated systems are capable of doing, making your car safer over time.”

The use of cameras to predict a better time to restrain occupants with seatbelts and inflate airbags prior to a collision is a fantastic way to prevent injuries and limit harm done to those in the vehicle.

The feature is currently limited to the Model Y.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk says this Tesla project will make up vast majority of company value

“~80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus,” Musk said.

Published

on

(Credit: Ryan Lash/TED)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has not shied away from the idea that the company’s value is not reliant on its performance as an automaker.

That idea is even more prudent in today’s landscape than ever, especially as Tesla leans more on its prowess as an AI, autonomy, and robotics company rather than one that just makes electric cars.

Musk solidified that point on Monday, as he revealed that he believes the vast majority of Tesla’s valuation will rely on a project that the company has been developing for several years.

The CEO has long discussed how robotics will revolutionize the labor landscape in factories, households, and other workplaces.

He believes Optimus, as it is rolled out in the coming years, will truly take over as the main contributor to Tesla’s valuation, being worth about 80 percent of the company’s total market cap:

Advertisement

This is a point Musk has previously discussed, but he has never listed a specific number in terms of what Optimus could mean to Tesla. In the past, he’s mentioned Optimus’s ability to generate long-term revenue potential, its value to the company, and its impact on the market overall.

Musk has said Optimus has the potential to be worth over $10 trillion in revenue:

Advertisement

“It’s one of those things where I think long term, Optimus will be — Optimus has the potential to be north of $10 trillion in revenue, like it’s really bananas. So, that, you can obviously afford a lot of training compute in that situation. In fact, even $500 billion training compute in that situation would be quite a good deal.”

Optimus has been a main point of discussion amongst analysts who cover the company. Piper Sandler recently released a note that said “Optimus should be moving/staging parts within Tesla’s facilities” by this time next year.

Analysts also said that Optimus could be a major benefit for companies to bring in to handle tedious tasks in manufacturing settings. If it is able to work 18-hour shifts, the firm believes Tesla could price it at $100,000 per unit.

Tesla talks Semi ramp, Optimus, Robotaxi rollout, FSD with Wall Street firm

Other firms, like Morgan Stanley, have said Tesla could replace its own staff by 10 percent with Optimus, saving the company $2.5 billion.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending