The Ford Lightning Takes on the Tesla Cybertruck

We’ll admit it: when we first saw the Tesla Cybertruck, we weren’t sure anything else would come close to generating the kind of excitement that we saw surrounding this strange new all-electric pickup. That might seem unusual coming from your Ford electric car dealer in Albany since we’re obviously Ford fans, but the buzz around the Cybertruck was truly palpable. That was, of course, until Ford fired back with the reveal of its all-electric truck, which we now know as the F-150 Lightning. Suddenly, the Cybertruck seemed not only bizarre in terms of its design but also a strange departure from everything we expect from a truck.

So far, we’ve called the Cybertruck both “strange” and “bizarre.” For the most part, we’re really talking about its unusual overall design. Love it or hate it, you have to admit that it looks different from any other truck on the road – but we’re not going to harp on this too much. We don’t have to. The Ford F-150 Lightning has plenty going for it that sets it apart as the premier all-electric truck for this generation, and the shots fired at Tesla’s unique pickup are strong. We might be a bit biased, but we’d say the F-150 Lightning is clearly in the lead and looking to dominate the market.

All F-150 Lightning Models Feature 4×4

There are a lot of things that really stand out for the Ford F-150 Lightning and make us feel it is ready to take the industry by storm, but this feature really tops our list. Every model, regardless of trim, battery, or any other options you choose, comes with 4×4 functionality thanks to a pair of motors. This means one motor is on the front axle and one is on the rear, so you get excellent power and performance out of this pickup.

Looking at the Tesla Cybertruck, on the other hand, there are three different motor configurations available, and adding motors significantly adds to the price. The starting option has only a single motor on it, which means it has rear-wheel drive. Rear-wheel drive is often standard on conventional trucks, of course, but it shows you how this falls short of the F-150 Lightning. There is a dual-motor option for the Cybertruck, with two motors and all-wheel drive, but you have to choose it at an additional cost.

This perfectly illustrates the way that Ford just gets truck owners. For a bold, new EV pickup, you want to see 4×4 as the standard configuration. Can you still get impressive power and performance from the Cybertruck? Of course – but you end up paying a lot more for it. Tesla knows the EV market, certainly, but if they understood truck owners as well as Ford does, then they’d know that a dual-motor setup should be standard.

Simple, Straightforward Battery Options

There are two different batteries available for the Ford F-150 Lightning, which impacts your range and charging times, as well as overall performance. You can go with the standard-range battery, which can go about 230 miles from a full charge. If you need more range than that, then you can choose an extended-range battery that pushes that up to about 300 miles from a full charge. Charging times depend on the type of charger you are using, though both of them can get up to 80% battery charge in less than 45 minutes using a DC Fast Charging station.

To us, this is a great design because it means you get a pair of powerful motors on the F-150 Lightning regardless of the range you are looking for. You can then choose the battery setup that best meets your needs based on how far you typically need to go without stopping for a charge. This puts the freedom in your hands to get the right configuration.

With the Tesla Cybertruck, the battery and motor configurations are linked, so it lacks the freedom to get exactly what you want. The standard single-motor setup has about 250 miles of range, while the dual-motor configuration gets about 300 miles from a full charge. You can see these numbers are pretty similar to the two battery options from Ford, but they’re also linked to the motor setup. So if you only need a bit over 200 miles of range from a full charge, you still get two motors with the F-150 Lightning while you’re stuck with a single motor on the Cybertruck.

A Luxurious, Useable Interior

We’ll admit, some of this will come down to personal preference, but to us, the interior of the F-150 Lightning is far more practical than what’s inside the Cybertruck. Looking inside Tesla’s offering, it’s a sparse, minimalist design with essentially a plain, featureless dashboard that includes a rather rectangular steering wheel and a single display screen on the dash. It’s a nice, big display, of course, but it leaves us wondering: where’s the rest of the interior?

By comparison, the inside of the F-150 Lightning feels like a truck interior – you get a comfortable steering wheel, plenty of buttons to control all of its features, and an available 15.5-inch portrait-oriented infotainment display. This is in addition to a customizable digital driver display and an available 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium sound system. Plus, there’s a large front center console area that is perfect for setting up a laptop or other devices, letting you use the Lightning as the ultimate mobile office.

Amazing Extra Features

The initial reveal of the Ford F-150 Lightning was impressive enough, but since then, it has continued to blow us away with each additional detail. For example, Ford has expanded the Pro Power Onboard system found in the standard F-150 to let you use the Lightning as a mobile generator for all of your devices. It features up to 11 outlets inside and out that include four 120V outlets and even a 240V outlet for more demanding machinery. This makes the Lightning not only incredibly powerful but also practical.

Ford has gone even further with their exclusive Ford Intelligent Backup Power system, only found on the F-150 Lightning. This lets you use the Lightning as a battery for your home in case of power failure. A fully charged Lightning can provide full-home power for up to three days or keep your lights on for up to 10 days if you’re rationing power. This is not only an impressive new innovation but one that could literally save lives in the years ahead.

The Tesla Cybertruck, by comparison, is surprisingly lacking. Yes, it has impressive power and performance and a built-in tonneau cover, but beyond that, we haven’t seen much that really inspires us. We certainly haven’t seen anything that approaches the ingenuity of what Ford has created in the F-150 Lightning. We’re not saying they’re riding on their laurels and the reputation of the Tesla brand, but we’re not not saying that either.

The Price

Speaking of the Tesla brand, if there’s one thing their vehicles are known for, it’s a pretty steep entry fee. The Cybertruck is no exception: it starts at nearly $40k, which really isn’t that bad for a new truck, and the Ford F-150 Lightning is expected to start at a similar price point. Remember, however, that this is for a single-motor model; a dual-motor one will bump that price up about $10k, whereas the Lightning starts with two motors. The added freedom that you get to configure the F-150 Lightning how you want it, and the features it has available, simply pushes it beyond what Tesla has to offer and sets it atop the market in terms of the EV truck options out there.