

News
Ford is in ‘deep development’ of its next-generation EV pickup truck
Ford is in “deep development” of its next-generation electric vehicles, including a new, full-size EV pickup that will complement the automaker’s already-successful F-150 Lightning.
Ford has been working on several new developments for its “Model e” division dedicated toward EVs in hopes of creating an industry-leading platform. One of these developments, revealed last year, was an all-new pickup design that packs a completely new nameplate and is rumored to be a completely fresh slate for Ford to build upon.
Electric trucks have become a growing part of the overall EV market in the United States. Rivian, Ford, and General Motors all currently have competitive offers available, with Tesla, Lordstown Motors, and others planning to release additional pickups within the next year.
On last night’s Ford Earnings Call, CEO Jim Farley hinted toward the new EV pickup, and his comments seemed to solidify reports from late last year that indicated the company’s next electric truck would not be a transitional model that sports the same name as a gas model:
“Now, we are deep in the development of our second-generation EVs, including our next-generation electric full-size pickup, which, by the way, is awesome.”
Farley’s vague and relatively undetailed comments are unsurprising, but they absolutely catalyze plenty of potential for a carmaker like Ford. The company has been selling the most-popular pickup brand in America for 46 consecutive years and America’s best-selling vehicle 41 times in the F-150 series.
The F-150 Lightning has also been a Ford EV pickup concept (Credit: Tyler Kwon), selling 15,671 units of the all-electric pickup in its first year on the market.
Ford F-150 Lightning wins MotorTrend’s 2023 Pickup Truck of the Year award
While details are scarce at the current time, Ford did detail some of the plans it has for the next-generation EV architecture, which will be developed completely from scratch. Farley said the new platform would encourage simplification, which should improve manufacturing and engineering through various streamlined processes. Ford will need it, too, especially as the company is planning to reach a volume potential of 1 million units with “just a handful of orderable combinations.”
Other things can be optimized. “We didn’t know that our wiring harness for Mach-E was 1.6 kilometers longer than it needed to be. We didn’t know it’s 70 pounds heavier, and that that’s worth $300 of battery. We didn’t know that we underinvested in braking technology to save on the battery size,” Farley added later in the call.
While the two-row crossover is what Farley referred to as “the core civic of the EV business,” it still wants to focus on profitability, of course. Still, it intends to continue offering a strong and marketable product at a price that is attractive to customers and viable for Ford to continue bringing in profits.
Ford is still working through the kinks, and its business overall has plenty to optimize. …We left about $2 billion of profit on the table due to cost and especially continued supply chain issues,” Farley said. “These are the simple facts. And to say I’m frustrated is an understatement.”
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Quotes provided by The Motley Fool.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets $475 price target from Benchmark amid initial Robotaxi rollout
Tesla’s limited rollout of its Robotaxi service in Austin is already catching the eye of Wall Street.

Venture capital firm Benchmark recently reiterated its “Buy” rating and raised its price target on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) from $350 to $475 per share, citing the company’s initial Robotaxi service deployment as a sign of future growth potential.
Benchmark analyst Mickey Legg praised the Robotaxi service pilot’s “controlled and safety-first approach,” adding that it could help Tesla earn the trust of regulators and the general public.
Confidence in camera-based autonomy
Legg reiterated Benchmark’s belief in Tesla’s vision-only approach to autonomous driving. “We are a believer in Tesla’s camera-focused approach that is not only cost effective but also scalable,” he noted.
The analyst contrasted Tesla’s simple setup with the more expensive hardware stacks used by competitors like Waymo, which use various sophisticated sensors that hike up costs, as noted in an Investing.com report. Compared to Tesla’s Model Y Robotaxis, Waymo’s self-driving cars are significantly more expensive.
He also pointed to upcoming Texas regulations set to take effect in September, suggesting they could help create a regulatory framework favorable to autonomous services in other cities.
“New regulations for autonomous vehicles are set to go into place on Sept. 1 in TX that we believe will further help win trust and pave the way for expansion to additional cities,” the analyst wrote.
Tesla as a robotics powerhouse
Beyond robotaxis, Legg sees Tesla evolving beyond its roots as an electric vehicle maker. He noted that Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, could be a long-term growth driver alongside new vehicle programs and other future initiatives.
“In our view, the company is undergoing an evolution from a trailblazing vehicle OEM to a high-tech automation and robotics company with unmatched domestic manufacturing scale,” he wrote.
Benchmark noted that Tesla stock had rebounded over 50% from its April lows, driven in part by easing tariff concerns and growing momentum around autonomy. With its initial Robotaxi rollout now underway, the firm has returned to its previous $475 per share target and reaffirmed TSLA as a Benchmark Top Pick for 2025.
News
Tesla is testing a new way to eliminate a rare but concerning Supercharger issue
Tesla is testing a new way to end a rare issue at Superchargers, and its internal pilot program has already started.

Tesla is now testing a new way to eliminate a rare but concerning issue that can arise at Superchargers, especially as the company’s vehicles become more popular.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network is the most robust in the world, but the company has opened it up to other manufacturers, which makes the network even more congested than it already is.
Superchargers are continually being built, and existing stations are undergoing expansion in congested areas. However, there is one rare issue that still arises from time to time, and that’s the case of drivers cutting in line to charge before another vehicle that arrived before they did.
Tesla is rolling out a new ‘Supercharger queue’ in an effort to end one issue
A few months ago, Tesla said it would start testing a “virtual queuing” system that would tell cars what their position is in line. This would eliminate any instances of confusion between drivers and would also keep cutters from butting in front of those who arrived before them.
Now, Tesla is officially testing the program, according to Max de Zegher, the company’s North American charging head:
Pressure testing virtual queuing with the awesome @TeslaCharging teams, including for corner cases & bad actors. Public pilots next. If we get this right, it will be a big improvement for those rare cases with a wait. https://t.co/mxpFarYgJi pic.twitter.com/IgVVH2wiOe
— Max (@MdeZegher) June 26, 2025
Public pilots will begin soon at select sites after Tesla completes its internal testing. Admittedly, this is an incredibly rare issue, but it is something that is worth confronting because it will eliminate confrontations at Superchargers.
Elon Musk
Tesla still has two major milestones on track before end of Q2
Tesla still is on track to complete two monumental achievements as Q2 nears its end.

Tesla still has two major milestones it is on track to complete before the end of the second quarter, according to statements made by the automaker earlier this year.
With the launch of the Robotaxi platform in Austin on Sunday, Tesla has already completed perhaps its biggest milestone of 2025.
However, these are not the only things the company hopes to accomplish before we head into the latter half of the year, as there are two major things the company said it is aiming to complete before the third quarter starts next week.
Affordable Models
Tesla said earlier this year, on two separate occasions, that it is still on track to develop, build, and unveil the first affordable models that will be built on both the next-gen platform and also have aspects of the current vehicle platform.
Potential affordable Tesla “Model 2/Model Q” test car spotted anew in Giga Texas
In the Q4 2024 Earnings Call in January, the company said:
“Preparations are underway across our existing factories for the launch of new products in 2025, including more affordable models.”
The company continued:
“Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up.”
Although there are only a few days left, Tesla has yet to confirm that these affordable models are delayed, so we can expect that they’ll be arriving before the quarter ends.
The company might have been hinting toward one recently at the Fremont Factory, but it is more likely that the vehicle seen was the new Model Y Performance trim:
Tesla’s apparent affordable model zips around Fremont test track
Tesla delivers itself to customers
Back in late May, CEO Elon Musk said that the first Tesla to self-deliver would happen in June:
For the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents.
A month ahead of schedule.
Next month, first self-delivery from factory to customer.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2025
Tesla just launched its Robotaxi platform on Sunday, so this would be a tremendous step if it can, in fact, make this happen.
The customer would likely be extremely local to Gigafactory Texas. In the future, the company would load the vehicles onto haulers and then drive to customer homes from delivery centers, showrooms, and repair centers.
Teslas will self-deliver to customers, Elon Musk says: here’s when
Tesla has a few days left to complete both of these tasks, and then it will report delivery figures for the second quarter next week.
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