Ford F-150 Lightning beats Tesla Cybertruck among truck fans

Rivian’s electric truck came out in October, but attention is still on the electric Ford F-150 Lightning and other future electric trucks. The Lightning is not arriving until 2022, but the anticipation for the first Ford electric pickup is growing. 

Autolist, a car shopping website, surveyed over 1,100 shoppers at the end of October and early November on their electric truck preferences. The site asked about the Ford, Chevy Silverado EV, Tesla Cybertruck, GMC Hummer EV truck, and Rivian R1T.​​

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In almost all categories Ford came out on top. 

Overall, 38 percent of those surveyed said they’d buy an electric Ford truck. Next up was the Chevy e-truck with 26 percent, followed by the Cybertruck with 20 percent, the Hummer with 11 percent, and Rivian trailing with only 5 percent.

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For first-time EV buyers, it was the Ford that most intrigued them (39 percent) compared to the Cybertruck with only 20 percent of the vote. But current EV owners are also into the Ford with 33 percent choosing the e-truck. The Cybertruck earned the next-most votes with 28 percent.

Those who’ve owned a truck in the past or currently have a truck went with the Lightning — 41 percent. Then it was Chevy’s truck with 29 percent before Tesla came in with 16 percent. 

For first-time prospective truck buyers, 34 percent also chose Ford, followed by 26 percent for the Tesla truck.

Tesla’s dystopian, cyberpunk e-truck has been delayed until the end of 2022, but that hasn’t stopped younger customers from prepping for the newest Tesla. Those 35 and older prefer the Ford pickup, but 18- through 35-year-olds picked the Cybertruck as their top truck choice. For the youngest demographic of 18- through 23-year-olds, 32 percent said they’d buy a Cybertruck while only 23 percent said they’d go for the Lightning. 

Darren Palmer, general manager of battery electric vehicles at Ford, isn’t surprised by the widespread appeal. In a phone call this week he said, “It’s for everyone,” describing the Ford F-150 Lightning. He credited the accessible starting price of $39,974 that gets you quick acceleration, features like the power frunk, and 230-mile range.