If you can't tow your trailer 200 miles to your fishing camp, or you live 50 miles outside of Lost Springs, Wyoming*, that's a problem
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Ford is considering scrapping the electric version of its F-150 pickup — once billed as the future of American trucks — after racking up billions in losses and watching demand collapse.
Executives are in active talks about axing the money-losing F-150 Lightning altogether, sources told the Wall Street Journal, in what could become the first major casualty of America’s faltering electric vehicle revolution.
The Lightning, launched with fanfare in 2021 and hailed by CEO Jim Farley as a ‘smartphone that can tow,’ was supposed to mark a new era for Ford. President Joe Biden even took one for a spin, calling it ‘quick as hell.’
But the hype faded fast. Mainstream truck buyers balked at the steep price tag — starting closer to $50,000 instead of the promised $40,000 — and worried about the trucks’ limited range, especially when towing or driving in cold weather.
In October, Ford sold just 1,500 Lightnings nationwide — the fewest of any F-Series model — compared with 66,000 gas-powered trucks. The company has lost around $13 billion on electric vehicles since 2023.
‘The demand is just not there,’ said Adam Kraushaar, owner of Lester Glenn Auto Group in New Jersey. ‘We don’t order a lot of them because we don’t sell them.’