When it comes to pickup trucks, one of the best-selling body styles in many markets around the world, especially North America and Australia, two names stand out: Ford and General Motors. The former company has captured a large share of the segment with its famously iconic F-Series models. With electrification taking over the segment and Tesla threatening to upend it with the upcoming Cybertruck, Ford isn’t worried about losing its market share.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has slammed the Tesla Cybertruck, saying it’s not a real truck at all. In an interaction with CNBC, he also said that the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck will not steal customers from the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup. Farley’s comments come as the Tesla Cybertruck draws closer to its scheduled start of production this September, having experienced multiple dramatic delays since its debut in November 2019. Additionally, Tesla Cybertruck prototypes have been randomly spotted in abundance over the past few months.
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As he lashed out at the Tesla Cybertruck, the Ford CEO said the electric car might look like a cool, high-end product parked in front of a hotel, but his company is making a case for the ones that actually do the work. People build trucks. “If he wants to design a Cybertruck for people in Silicon Valley, fine. It’s like a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel. But I don’t build trucks like that. People build trucks,” Farley said.
Tesla has long been eager to enter the electric pickup market, and the Cybertruck is the result of that ambition. Pickup trucks have long been the best-selling vehicles in North America. The practicality of pickup trucks and their ability to cross terrain attract many customers. Ford itself has launched the F-150 Lightning electric pickup, which will be one of the Cybertruck’s direct competitors once it hits the market.
First published date: Jun 25, 2023 at 09:12 AM EST
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