Ford F-150 Lightning — One Big Shocker!

$39,974!

Yes, that’s just the base MSRP and is for a version of the truck with 230 miles of range (rather than 300 miles of range), but that’s a shockingly low price for the entry Ford F-150 Lightning. No one was expecting that. I did not see a single person predicting the F-150 Lightning would come in at such a low price. On the contrary, most people who commented on it were expecting it would be $20,000–40,000 more expensive.

Furthermore, while 230 miles is not the highest range figure on the market, it is right around the range of the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus I bought in 2019 for approximately the same price (pre-FSD price). That’s a massive win for Ford’s electric vehicle team, Ford, the United States, and the world. This is a genuinely competitive, seriously competitive electric pickup truck.

Then we’ve got the fact that its quicker version is quicker than the Ford F-150 Raptor, making the Lightning the quickest Ford F-150 in history (~4.4 seconds from 0–60 mph, according to Joe Biden).

Then we’ve got the fact that it can provide 9.6 kW of backup power to help power your home or appliances in the event of a blackout or high grid electricity prices. This is a first for the market!

Of course, you have good towing capacity (“10,000 pounds of available towing capacity on XLT and Lariat trucks with the extended-range battery and Max Trailer Tow Package”), utility, and familiarity, but you also get a step into the future with a large touchscreen, Blue Cruise “hands-free driving,” and phone-as-a-key entry (no need to use an app, fob, or anything).

This is a winner. No doubt about it.

Coming back to price, remember that buyers can have the truck for a cost well below $39,974, since Ford electric vehicle buyers can still get a $7,500 federal tax credit on their purchase (or as much tax liability they have below that amount if they can’t take advantage of the full tax credit). Furthermore, the cost of operation, maintenance, and ownership overall is much lower than it is with an old-school fossil-powered F-150. So, even if the upfront cost is $32,474 (after tax credit), the overall cost to own is lower than it would be for a $32,474 fossil-fuel truck. Considering that the based Ford F-150 starts at $28,940, this basically means that the base Ford F-150 Lightning is going to be the cheapest F-150 to own!

For more on these topics, check out my discussion with Matt Pressman, cofounder of EVANNEX, and David Havasi, Tesla employee (in various roles) from 2012–2019. You can watch above via YouTube or you can listen via one of the following podcast networks: