Elon Musk Still Thinks Reduced Ford F-150 Lightning Is Still Too Expensive
Elon Musk seems to have thoughts on everything. While some might say he has his hands full with his own electric truck starting production, the Tesla CEO took to Twitter to criticize the newly reduced price of the Ford F-150 Lightning, saying, “The Ford Lightning is a good vehicle, just somewhat expensive, especially given the high-interest rates these days for any kind of loan.” While this is pretty tame, considering the way the “techno king” usually speaks about his competitors, it’s a strange thing to criticize, considering he has yet to get the Tesla Cybertruck in the world yet.
How much does the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning cost?
The 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro now starts with an MSRP of $49,995 before fees. Ford has raised the price of the Lightning a number of times. Now the Oval has announced a new set of lowered prices. The price slashing varies depending on which trim you look at. The base Lightning is finally getting close to its original price of $40k. The previous price for the same trim was nearly $60k with fees. All other trims are shedding $6k from the price. This is a pretty positive step toward making trucks somewhat affordable again. But apparently, this price cut wasn’t enough to appease Musk, who will most certainly never buy one anyway.
In its fanciest Platinum trim, the Ford F-150 now costs $92k, down from $98k.
How much will the Tesla Cybertruck cost?
We can only assume that if Elon Musk is calling the Ford F-150 Lightning “somewhat expensive,” then that must mean the Cybertruck will cost less than $49,995, right? Considering that we still don’t know much of anything about the specs, trims, or configurations of the Cybertruck, making an assumption on price is quite difficult. We also have to take whatever Musk Tweets with a grain of salt. The Tesla CEO uses Twitter as a rumor mill, not exactly a place guaranteed to present hard facts.
Moving away from hip-shot internet comments from eccentric billionaires, the reality is the only way to bring prices down is volume. Inside EVs says Ford is nearing its goal of a production run rate of 150,000 units a year (12,500 per month). This proves Ford’s dedication to upping production since only 8,757 units were sold in the first half of 2023.
If we are to believe that the Cybertruck has hundreds of thousands of reservations, Tesla is surely planning a similar annual production run goal. It will be very interesting to see how Tesla deals with this challenge. Every manufacturer has struggled with production over the past few years, but Tesla has struggled more than most. Many Tesla cars were delivered last year with major fit and finish issues showing a rushed and insufficient production line.
Will the Cybertruck beat the Ford F-150 Lightning?
As with most things related to Tesla, it’s really hard to know what will happen. History says that Musk/Tesla will fumble the Cybertruck a few more times before it hits the market. Then it will still be short of the many wild promises Tweeted over the course of the past few years. That said, Tesla did manage to bring EVs onto the main stage of the automotive world. This was no easy feat. It’s because of the company’s early successes that it may not be wise to count Tesla out just yet.
The other side of the coin is Ford is one of the greatest manufacturers the world has ever known. Regardless of how anyone feels about the product, the Ford F-150 Lightning is backed by an unrivaled industrial powerhouse. Because volume seems to be the deciding factor at the moment, Ford’s chances are good of having the most successful electric truck on the market for some time.
