On June 22nd, Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company, dismissed Tesla’s electric pickup truck Cybertruck in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, stating that it was designed for “Silicon Valley people” rather than “people who actually do real work.” Farley stated that Tesla’s pickup truck cannot compete with Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning.
Cybertruck is Tesla’s first electric pickup truck, which is expected to be delivered later this year but has been delayed multiple times. Ford is one of the few car manufacturers that has already produced electric pickups. Last year, Ford said it had delivered more than 13,000 electric F-150 pickups and was accelerating production to meet about 200,000 orders. Although Tesla dominates the overall electric car market in the United States, the pickup truck market is one of the most profitable markets in the country.
In an interview, Farley said, “The reality is that Americans love losers — and we are the market leader in electric pickups and trucks, and we know these customers better than anyone else. If he (referring to Tesla CEO Elon Musk) wants to design a Cybertruck for Silicon Valley people, let him do it.” Farley also described Tesla’s pickup truck as “a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel” and said, “I don’t make that kind of car. I make cars for people who really do things. That’s a different kind of car.”
Tesla has not yet announced the official price of the Cybertruck, but Kelley Blue Book estimates it will start at around $50,000, about $10,000 lower than the F-150 Lightning scheduled for release in 2023. Musk has said that Tesla plans to deliver the Cybertruck later this year and confirmed during the quarterly earnings call in April that deliveries are expected to start later this year. The billionaire has changed the delivery date multiple times since he first announced the vehicle in 2019, two years later than his initial prediction.
Earlier, Ford announced plans to adopt Tesla’s charging standard and began using the company’s supercharging network. Farley said he had no hesitation in this partnership because it benefits users.
