Why Choose the F-150 Lightning Over the Tesla Cybertruck?

That’s a great question and one that, as a NY Ford EV dealer, we get asked pretty frequently since Tesla is a big name in the EV market and the Cybertruck makes a lot of headlines. We’re not going to try to say the Cybertruck is a terrible pickup or anything like that; the numbers speak for themselves, and it definitely has a lot to offer. However, there are also some notable downsides to going with a Cybertruck, which you can avoid by choosing the Ford F-150 Lightning and everything it brings to the road. The two biggest reasons to pick the F-150 Lightning over the Cybertruck, as far as we’re concerned, are the price and the fact that you don’t have to wait three years to get one. Let’s take a closer look at these two trucks and the kind of performance you can get with an electric pickup right now.

Electric Performance and Range

Before we dig into some of our top reasons to go with a Ford F-150 Lightning for getting around NY in style, let’s check out some of the specs on these two trucks because they highlight how impressive the future of EV pickups looks. One of our favorite things about the F-150 Lightning is that every model comes with a pair of motors for electric all-wheel drive (eAWD), which is perfect for a truck. Beyond that, you have two different battery options to choose from, and each one affects not only the range of the F-150 Lightning but also the kind of power it offers. The starting option is a Standard Range battery, while the available Extended Range battery does just what it says and boosts performance with this truck.

Going with the 98 kWh Standard Range battery, the pair of motors delivers 452 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque, which is remarkable compared to a truck with a conventional gas-powered engine. If you choose a model with the available 131 kWh Extended Range battery, then you’re looking at 580 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque. As you can see, you can’t go wrong with either of these; while the Standard Range battery allows for up to 240 miles from a full charge, models with the Extended Range battery can get up to an estimated 320 miles from a full charge. This lets you go wherever you need around New York, even when your truck is loaded up with stuff.

By comparison, options with the Tesla Cybertruck are a bit of a mixed bag—some of it’s fantastic, but some are surprisingly underwhelming. For example, the starting option is a rear-wheel drive Cybertruck with only a single motor, though it does get up to an estimated 250 miles of range. Getting a pair of motors for the all-wheel drive Cybertruck costs more, but it does boost range to an estimated 340 miles while making for a better driving experience thanks to eAWD. We won’t lie: the available Beast model with three motors is an impressive option with a lot of power packed into it, though that cuts its range down to 320 miles at best.

Towing and Payload

We all know that towing is one of the most important things for many truck owners, so an EV pickup needs to be able to handle however much weight a person needs. This is something that Ford understands better than anyone since their F-Series of trucks have been the best-selling vehicles in America for more than 40 years. Looking at the F-150 Lightning, its Standard Range battery can handle up to 7,700 lbs of maximum towing capacity, with a payload capacity of up to 2,000 lbs. Going with the Extended Range option not only gets you more power but also up to 10,000 lbs of towing capacity, though the added weight of the improved battery drops payload down to 1,900 lbs.

Tesla might not have the kind of legacy in the auto industry and the truck game that Ford has, but their engineers clearly understand how important this sort of capability is for owners. And yet, that starting single-motor option falls short of what the F-150 Lightning can do with 7,500 lbs of maximum towing capacity. To be fair to the Cybertruck, models with two or three motors have improved capability and can handle up to 11,000 lbs of towing. That’s an impressive number, and we can’t wait to see how Ford responds in the years ahead—the war for maximum towing in conventional trucks has been waged for decades, so it looks like a new battlefield has arrived, and everyone is drawing their battle lines.

A Difference in Pricing

So far, it’s fair to say the Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck are neck-and-neck in terms of what they offer, but here’s where we see things start to fall apart for Tesla. When the Cybertruck was originally announced and revealed in 2019, early pricing was estimated at about $40k for a single-motor model, about $50k for a dual-motor option, and $70k for one with three motors. Those numbers were a bit optimistic, but they painted a picture of accessible EV trucks for drivers to enjoy. That’s changed…

Recently when Tesla revealed the first Cybertruck models rolling out of the Gigafactory in Texas, ready for delivery to customers, they also announced revised pricing. The single-motor Cybertruck now starts at almost $61k, with the dual-motor model at almost $80k, and the three-motor Cyberbeast kicking off at just shy of $100k. Are those numbers unreasonable? That’s not for us to say, but there’s no denying they’re quite a bit different from what Tesla originally aimed to be able to offer their Cybertruck for. We’re sure the folks who reserved the first batch of Cybertrucks are wondering what happened to those original prices.

For the 2024 model year, the Ford F-150 Lightning starts at under $55k, which is less than the Cybertruck, and you get dual-motor eAWD in every F-150 Lightning model. So when you compare this to what you’d need to pay for a Cybertruck with a pair of motors, Ford’s truck is about $25,000 less. In fact, for the price of the dual-motor Cybertruck, you could upgrade the F-150 Lightning to the LARIAT trim with the Extended Range battery and get an incredible EV truck with amazing features inside and out.

Getting Your Truck When You Need It

Finally, we come to one of the biggest reasons we’d suggest the F-150 Lightning over the Cybertruck: you can get it sooner. While you’ll want to order a 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning as soon as possible to get it quickly, at the moment, you’re looking at a several-year-long waiting list for the Cybertruck. Tesla has said that it won’t be available for anyone reserving one right now until 2027—that’s a bit longer than we typically like to wait when we need a new truck.

If you’ve got a truck that you love and know you’ll be able to count on for several more years and want to reserve your next one, and then revisit it in a few years when you’re reminded that you were once interested in it, then that’s certainly an option. We’d rather place an order for a 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning and get it this year, or, better yet, drive a 2023 model off our lot right now rather than wait at all. Good luck trying that with a Cybertruck.

Ready to Step Into the All-Electric Future?

Some people are excited about the Tesla Cybertruck, and we get it: it certainly looks different than anything else out there, and the three-motor option is a powerful novelty built to impress. That being said, there are quite a few issues with the Cybertruck and its availability at the moment that create a real problem for anyone who wants a truck before two years into the next presidency.

If you want an all-electric truck this year (or now if you’re interested in a 2023 model) for driving around NY and enjoying everything it has to offer, then you can’t beat the Ford F-150 Lightning. And if you’re still not sure that an EV pickup is right for you, then you should come visit us at DePaula Ford to see one for yourself, give it a test drive, and experience what the future of the auto industry feels like.