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#Tesla #TSLA #FordLightning

There was nothing but criticism when the CyberTruck was released, but it’s a groundbreaking design that solves a bunch of otherwise pointless problems.

Cybertruck is cheaper to build, as I explained in my video about why it costs half, and all the complaints are silly, as I explained in my two videos about why the issues raised are silly. Check those out if you want to learn more, but if you want to know why the Ford Lightning is a joke, stay tuned for that, because here we go…

It’s too big.
Yep, you heard me right. The CyberTruck was heavily criticized for being too big, but the Ford Lightning is even bigger, and there have been all of zero complaints I’ve seen, and I follow this stuff closely.

Weight costs money. Not just for the driver in terms of efficiency, though there’s definitely that, but also as a manufacturer. Steel isn’t free. Ounces mean dollars. If this is as heavy as it looks to be, it’s going to destroy Ford’s margins.

So let’s talk about the batteries. Where do they expect to get them? Yes, I know they’re working on their own supply chain, but Tesla has been developing theirs for a decade, and even they struggle to get enough cells to meet their demand, and they buy from everyone. Ford just thinks they’re going to snap their fingers and have batteries? Crazy talk.
The F150 series sells around a million trucks a year. Their batteries will be twice as big as the Model 3. So to electrify the entirety of it would require 4x Tesla's global supply of batteries from 2020. Those don’t grow on trees. Come on man. You can’t just magically acquire more than the entire global output of batteries.

Ford isn’t vertically integrated, so they’re stuck paying a markup, and they’re entirely at the mercy of their suppliers. Tesla trades technology for production, so they can cut costs. Can Ford actually get to 4x Teslas 2020 battery figures? Sure, but it’s going to cost a fortune, and it’s going to take absolute ages. Unlike motors which could be ramped quickly thanks to ready supplies of iron and other common metals, batteries are complicated to make, and rely on elemental supply chains with known, finite resources. To put it more plainly, if I gave you $5m and the blueprint, YOU could start making ICE components next year. The same simply isn’t true with batteries.

And can we dispel this myth of the Tesla Killer once and for all? The Mustang MachE should never have been named a Mustang. It’s too tall, too heavy, and has too many doors by at least two, but three if we’re being honest. Yet they still called it a Mustang, and wouldja look at that, Tesla’s Model Y is still selling every unit they can build, breaking records in market after market, while the MachE is now outselling… the Mustang. They cannibalized themselves.

The Lightning Doesn’t Have Crumple Zones!
Sorry, nobody said that. It’s true, but nobody said it. They said it about the CyberTruck, but if you get smacked by this 4-ton beast, you’re gonna die. And you WILL get smacked by it, because it lacks the automated situational awareness that comes standard with every Tesla. There are no crumple zones. This is a straight up killing machine. Most trucks are, historically, this wasn’t even a point of contention until CyberTruck came along and was somehow held to a higher standard never seen before, or apparently since.

It’s too expensive… hear me out.
The Lightning will apparently start at $40,000, but it won’t. Not in any meaningful way. Ford’s fleet trucks are not like their retail trucks. They lack power windows and doors, lack the center infotainment console, and often lack even a radio. Even cruise control cost extra, which is beyond ridiculous. Fleets don’t need any of that, but fleets usually pay closer to $20k for their trucks, not $40k. If a fleet is paying double for their truck, they’re not going to be super jazzed about having to install a bunch of 220v chargers to juice them back up overnight on top of it.

This base truck will have very little range, still weigh an absolute trio of tons, and won’t have any of the creature comforts that come standard in the base model Cybertruck. It will be bigger, heavier, inferior on all performance specs, look boring as hell, and basically be a double-priced work truck. You can’t save $20k on gas over the life of this vehicle. It’s going to be a tough sell.

Somebody will buy it, for sure. And if they had an unlimited supply of cheap batteries, or even the expensive ones they plan to use, maybe they could sell it to loads of people. But they don’t. It’s an inferior product in every regard, and even at those ideal prices, they can’t even build them.