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Tesla’s pickup truck and Rivian’s R1T can topple the mighty Ford F-150
The mighty Ford F-150 might see a legitimate challenge in the near future, if the veteran automaker neglects to prepare adequately for the arrival of two all-electric pickup trucks on the market — the Tesla Truck and the Rivian R1T.
The disruption of battery-powered pickup trucks was highlighted in a note from Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas on Thursday. Addressing the firm’s investors, the analyst stated that an electric pickup successfully launched by a new player like Tesla or Rivian “could be a serious problem for the Detroit-based traditional automakers.” With the arrival of compelling vehicles, Jonas noted that experienced carmakers like Ford could lose the opportunity to gain a “first mover advantage” in the electric pickup market.
Promising Challengers
The Wall St analyst’s points hit the nail on the head, considering that the innate characteristics of electric vehicles such as instant torque and generous towing capacity are factors that are vital to the pickup truck market. The Rivian R1T, for example, is listed with a towing capacity of 11,000 pounds, though CEO RJ Scaringe noted in a recent interview that the truck could tow far beyond its official rating. Thanks to the R1T’s four electric motors, the truck is also able to hit 60 mph in just 3 seconds.
The Tesla Truck, on the other hand, has been mentioned several times by Elon Musk in recent months. Last year, Musk held a Twitter brainstorming session with his social media followers to list down features that are important for pickup truck owners. By the end of the session, Musk noted that the Tesla Truck would have two electric motors and dynamic suspension, a range of 400-500 miles per charge, four-wheel steering, a 240-volt connection for heavy-duty tools, and even an air compressor to run other equipment. Musk also noted that the vehicle could tow as much as 300,000 pounds.
Tesla’s Acid Test
Anyone skeptical of the potential disruption from an electric vehicle does not need to look very far. Over the past year, Tesla’s Model 3 midsize sedan all but shook the United States’ passenger car market, creeping up on ubiquitous vehicles like the Toyota Camry and dominating in revenue rankings. By the end of 2018, the Model 3 was the US’ best-selling luxury vehicle, despite being a sedan in a market that prefers SUVs and pickup trucks.
With a battery-powered pickup truck that is reasonably priced and well-equipped with features, carmakers such as Tesla and Rivian could challenge even the US auto industry’s biggest sellers, including the Ford F-150. One thing that would be a hindrance to this potential disruption, of course, would be the capability of electric car makers to scale production, especially considering the demand for pickups in the US. In this light, Rivian must still prove itself, since the production of the R1T is yet to begin. Tesla, on the other hand, is already learning the art of mass production, as shown by its growing pains with the Model 3 ramp.
A Way to Maintain the Status Quo
Despite the upcoming challenge and Wall Street’s recent warning, Ford does have a way to maintain the status quo in the pickup truck market. Last month, Jim Farley, Ford’s president of global markets, announced that the F-series would be going electric. Farley later added that the decision to adopt all-electric and hybrid power is a way to “future-proof” the company’s most successful vehicle line.
If recent sightings are any indication, it appears that Ford is at least testing an electric prototype of the F-150. As noted in a recent sighting, a camouflaged electric F-150 has been spotted charging at a station. The vehicle looked a lot like a regular truck, save for its charging port and its higher ride height, which appeared to be the result of batteries installed underneath the vehicle. Provided that Ford does not show some ill-timed hubris by giving the electric F-150 mediocre specs and range, the company could very well weather the storm of electric trucks coming its way.
The Tesla Roadster unveiling is getting hyped up by the company’s CEO Elon Musk, who has been a big reason the product has such high expectations due to delayed timelines and a constant need to make it even more insane than before.
Tesla announced on September 12 that it would officially unveil the Roadster in Waco, Texas, on October 1, ending years of patience for fans and reservation holders who have waited for the all-electric supercar to enter production since 2017.
Musk has said that this event will be well worth the wait on several occasions, and last year on the Joe Rogan Experience, he said that there should be a closing chapter to supercars- the end of cars that aren’t focused on safety.
He said:
“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one. I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever. This is some crazy technology in this car. Let’s just put it this way: if you took all the James Bond cars and combined them, it’s crazier than that.”
Musk’s teases have continued, and now that the event is roughly two weeks away, it seems like Roadster is finally going to show up and blow some minds:
It’s out of this world
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 13, 2026
Excitement guaranteed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 13, 2026
Tesla has definitely dragged out the development of the Roadster, but there is a good reason for it.
Tesla has been working on many other projects, most notably self-driving efforts to increase passenger safety, and those simply took priority over the Roadster, a low-volume, high-performance sports car that has a lightning-fast acceleration rate of 0-60 MPH in just 1.1 seconds, could potentially fly, and contributes very little to the company’s mission.
However, many people have the Roadster on pre-order through the referral program or with their own money, and it is time that Tesla delivers on that.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Company has big plans for Las Vegas by year’s end
Elon Musk’s Boring Company says Vegas Loop stations will double by year end once again.
The Boring Company says the Vegas Loop’s station count will double by the end of the year, tying the target to a hiring push for drivers and operations managers in Las Vegas. “Vegas Loop is getting bigger – the station count will double by end of year!” the company wrote in a post on X, attaching listings for a Loop driver and a senior Loop operations manager.
The number checks out against what’s already public, with the Vegas Loop currently running 14 operational stations, while the Boring Company’s own project page lists 28 as the target for the end of 2026.
Vegas Loop is getting bigger – the station count will double by end of year!
Urgently hiring exceptional and enthusiastic Drivers and Ops Managers.
Apply here!
Driverhttps://t.co/ZUPXBYTONb
Senior Loop Ops Managerhttps://t.co/mV6V22V8jH pic.twitter.com/IZ9FqIw8WY
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) September 14, 2026
Much of that growth is tied to tunnels that are already built and waiting on an opening date. A roughly two-mile dual tunnel system under Paradise Road, connecting Westgate to a planned station at 4744 Paradise Road, is expected to open in stages over the coming weeks, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority chief executive Steve Hill told the Review-Journal last week. New stations at 4744 Paradise, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and the former Gordon Biersch site would come online with it, several of them built to speed up rides to Harry Reid International Airport ahead of Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Clark County entitled Vegas Loop for 123 stations after approving 19 more in August, as Teslarati reported at the time. Entitlement and construction move at different speeds on this project, so county approval alone does not guarantee a station opens on any particular schedule.
Clark County approved 18 additional stations back in 2023, part of a plan that pushed the system’s target to 69 stations across 65 miles, doubling the network on paper for the first time. The target kept climbing after that, to roughly 93 stations by the end of that year and 104 by last year, before August’s vote pushed it to 123. This week’s announcement is the first time that doubling language has been attached to stations actually running rather than stations merely approved on a county map.
Ridership gives some sense of what a denser network could carry. Boring Company executive Mike Baier said in July that the Vegas Loop already moves around 40,000 passengers on busy convention days, a total that tops most light rail systems in the country despite the system running on a fraction of its planned tunnel mileage. Company leadership has projected ridership could triple or quadruple once the airport connector tunnels fully open.
Boring Company did not say which stations beyond those already under construction would open by year end, or whether the hiring push points to a fleet expansion alongside the new stops.
Tesla is looking to expand into a new Asian market, strengthening its presence in a region that has been bullish on electric vehicles as a whole.
Tesla officially filed to establish a subsidiary of its business in Vietnam, a report from Reuters suggests. Tesla named the entity “Tesla Motors Vietnam Limited Liability Company.”
The planned entrance into the Vietnamese market is a good sign and move for Tesla, as it has become one of the fastest-growing EV markets in Southeast Asia. It is already among the leaders in the region in both volume and electrification rate. In the first half of this year, Vietnam led Southeast Asia in battery-electric passenger car sales at about 116,000 units, up about 71 percent year over year.
Currently, Vietnamese EV drivers rely on VinFast’s V-Green network, which has about 150,000 ports, but these are primarily reserved for VinFast vehicles. Public third-party charging is fragmented and unreliable for those who do not own chargers that are dedicated to a certain manufacturer’s vehicles.
Tesla has had mixed results in Asia as a whole, and as China remains the core part of its story in Asia, the company is evidently working on expanding its footprint on the continent. Tesla’s domestic retail deliveries fell about 12 percent year over year through the first eight months of 2026.
Model Y remains a standout individual product, holding its position as one of, if not the, best-selling vehicles in the world. However, Model 3 has been weaker than it has been in past years.
Gigafactory Shanghai, the company’s Chinese production facility, still performs very well. Wholesale volumes in terms of exports have more than doubled and now exceed domestic retail sales; Giga Shanghai builds vehicles for Europe, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and other markets. South Korea has been an explicit bright spot, with registrations doubling year-to-date and Tesla frequently appearing as the top imported brand.
Tesla just did something in South Korea that no foreign carmaker has ever done
Tesla’s entrance into Vietnam signals a broader effort to take over the Asian market and grab more market share from rivals.
Tesla Roadster unveiling is getting hyped up by Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Company has big plans for Las Vegas by year’s end
