121–130 of 153 posts
They designed a $70,000 electric pickup that ended up costing $100,000 not too long ago. You don't see them on the road.
You see the cybertruck, because you can't help it.
Meanwhile the F-150 lightning outsold the cybertruck.
Simple. You strip out all the bullshit and don’t put a 100 kWh battery into it. There, I’ll await my check.
The other key lesson from the Skunkworks book, which is applicable, is that to the greatest degree possible, one should not reinvent the wheel. Reuse parts from other high production vehicles, which have proven their reliability. Focus the innovation tactically.
I live in Germany and am sure as hell that I will never be driving a $30k electric pickup here. They'll make sure nothing like this ever becomes legal to import or drive on German roads until after there's a German car brand on it, and it costs 10x that while being identical, just to subsidize lots of local jobs that are low-wage, high-tax, and taking away manpower from other sectors/fields where it's more needed.
They designed a $70,000 electric pickup that ended up costing $100,000 not too long ago. You don't see them on the road.
You don't SEE them on the road, because they look like other F-150s. You see the cybertruck, because you can't help it. Meanwhile the F-150 lightning outsold the cybertruck.
They designed a $70,000 electric pickup that ended up costing $100,000 not too long ago. You don't see them on the road.
Simple. You strip out all the bullshit and don’t put a 100 kWh battery into it. There, I’ll await my check.
The list of 14 rules for running a skunkworks program and how they apply here is great and well worth reading the article, regardless of how you feel about the likelihood of Ford ever successfully executing on a $30k ev truck
I think Ford is technically capable of building a $30k EV truck and have been for some time. The F-150 Lightning was surprisingly close and only the overshot the mark in the direction most of the rest of the F-150 line has leaned in the same years. I think Ford still hasn't solved its Dealer Problem that it currently would not have dealers willing to sell a $30k EV truck in the US.
They designed a $70,000 electric pickup that ended up costing $100,000 not too long ago. You don't see them on the road.
Slate seems closer to shipping a ~$30k electric pickup: https://www.slate.auto
I will believe when I see it, until then it's just vaporware, let's see the price if they ship at all by the end of 2026/beginning 2027 maybe.
The issue is that Slate has completely underestimated customer preference for four door vehicles.
Two door vehicle variants have absolutely died off in the market and I’d say with good reason.
Find a two door Jeep Wrangler. You’ll find 20-30 four door jeeps before you find a two door.
Can you even imagine in 2026 the idea of an Accord Coupe, a Camry Solara, Volkswagen Eos/Cabriolet, Ford Explorer/Bronco 2-door, Civic Coupe, Ford ZX2, Chevy Cavalier 2-door, the list just goes on and on.
Back in the day chopping off two doors was a semi-legitimate way to get a barebones base model or I guess look cooler or something. Honestly, I don’t understand how the practicality trade-off ever made sense.
Maybe in the days before heavily automated assembly lines, two door vehicles were legitimately cheaper to make?