How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks • Hacker News Board

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#131

Post by yellowapple » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 2:35 AM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #71

Lvl999Noob wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if you catch my drift Not OP but I don't. What do you mean? How do you make the kei truck an object they aren't in the business of taxing when they are, in fact, in that very business? Or maybe I have some deeper confusion about the issue here.

> What do you mean? I think they mean it’s easier than many of us suspect to register an imported car as something close enough and get away with it. The most challenging bit would probably be maintenance.

That depends a lot on the state. I hear in Utah it's very easy to register a kei truck/van as street-legal. Here in Nevada it's quite the opposite, at least according to those I've talked to who've attempted it.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#132

Post by yellowapple » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 2:37 AM UTC

throwaway2037 wrote: post #68

CalRobert wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds similar to the lamentations of American buyers who want Japanese kei trucks. It’s protectionism all the way down I guess. Though I see tons of US pickup trucks in the Netherlands, and have seen even lifted ones in Germany too for that matter.

> American buyers who want Japanese kei trucks. It is crazy when I hear people say they want to drive a kei truck on American roads. American SUVs and trucks are enormous in both height and weight. The kei truck does not offer the necessary crash protection.

> American SUVs and trucks are enormous in both height and weight.

That has nothing to do with actual consumer preference and everything to do with regulatory capture.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#133

Post by Grombobulous » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 2:43 AM UTC

kotaKat wrote: post #38

Can't wait for Ford's $40,000 electric pickup. Pepperidge Farm remembers the $19,995 MSRP Ford Maverick with its standard hybrid drivetrain. Missed my chance to buy one, watched the price bloat out and nope.

To be fair to Ford, the Maverick launched in 2022 right before a period of accelerated inflation, especially in the car industry.

You’d be hard pressed to find any new vehicle that hasn’t seen a significant price increase since that time.

It’s still a truck you can get for $26k-28k and is only about $3k more than the cheapest cars sold in America.

I think your sentiment is an understandable bit of cynicism around EVs, and one that US consumers have felt for a while. It seems like the whole concept of the EV is dead. Nobody wants it, carmakers are pulling back.

Meanwhile, EVs are exploding in popularity and value basically all the other markets outside of the United States.

In my opinion, the idea that a good and affordable EV product will not become mainstream is sticking around because American car buyers have been starved of new EV models due to a market of weak demand and revoked incentives. This is going to change soon, and this change will hit the consumer market relatively suddenly. A lot of the cost challenges with EVs have evaporated.

In other words, yeah, Ford is easily going to make a $30,000 EV pickup. I totally believe it.

Remember when Toyota said they’re done bothering with EVs? Then all of a sudden the 2026 bz refresh is a legit EV, and now the new Lexus ES is launching with the EV model being the highest performance and cheapest model.

The Rivian R2 is yet another huge deal about to launch on the premium side of the market. I’d have a hard time figuring out why what I would choose something like a gasoline BMW X3 over the R2 - they’re pretty much in the same price range.

In other words, the era of EVs costing $10-20k more than an equivalent gasoline car is abruptly ending.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#134

Post by yellowapple » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 2:45 AM UTC

mft_ wrote: post #4

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need Ford per se, but you do need an experienced manufacturer to take a concept car to mass production, and you need mass production to make something affordable.

I'm watching Slate [0] with interest; they aren't following a path according to your assumptions. [0] https://www.slate.auto/en

It's almost exactly what I want out of a truck… except I'm no longer seeing non-RWD options (could've sworn there used to be a 4WD option; did I hallucinate that or are they just not showing it anymore?).

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#135

Post by toast0 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 3:55 AM UTC

cucumber3732842 wrote: post #76

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What do you mean? I think they mean it’s easier than many of us suspect to register an imported car as something close enough and get away with it. The most challenging bit would probably be maintenance.

I meant just register it in one of the slightly less than half of states that let you do that. Even if some Karen narcs on you to the tax man unless it's an especially slow day the tax man will say something along the lines of "It's a what? We don't register those" The registration/tax people aren't in the business of giving a shit about the nuances of the vehicle code. They're in the business of collecting money. It…

If you title and register your kei car in washington (where you can register it, usually) and keep it and drive it in California (where you can't register it), there's a chance some officer who hates kei cars is going to find it and raise a stink. And then you've got to pay fines, and maybe your car gets towed and you have to flatbed it out of state. Plus fines, I'm sure.

If it's cheap enough or fun enough, it might be worth the risk; but I don't know that I would risk it.

I know someone who got pulled over, and then a ticket for driving in California with washington plates and changing 3 lanes at once. "Anybody who drives like that must live here"

Not sure what a kei car would be doing on a freeway 3 lanes over though.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#136

Post by toast0 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 4:03 AM UTC

iNerdier wrote: post #2

Who says you need Ford to do it? Aging Wheels tried a prototype of a small electric pickup a year ago from a team making one without the support of a huge car company. I have no dog in this fight, other than wanting more of transport to go electric but if Americans refuse to buy vans which probably make more sense for transporting goods this might be a good option. Video: https://youtu.be/1OgN_qctcGs

> Americans refuse to buy vans

I don't know that that's true. Van popularity comes and goes. So does van manufacturing. When van sales are high, we get more makes, when sales slump, some of the exit. People who buy vans don't like to buy new ones unless the old one is totalled or falls apart...

I don't think you can buy a Ford or Chevy minivan right now, but Honda, Toyota and Chrysler usually have one. VW has one now, too. I just missed the window to a get Ford Transit Connect when my 2017 Pacific died, so I ended up with an 81 VW Vanagon... But I also have a pickup with a 6 foot bed. Sometimes you want your load enclosed; sometimes outside is better.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#137

Post by toast0 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 4:11 AM UTC

Grombobulous wrote: post #130

Markoff wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think Slate can get it shipped, that won’t be the issue. 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, V…

> Two door vehicle variants have absolutely died off in the market and I’d say with good reason.

People looking for a four door will walk away from a two door, and people looking for a two door will grudgingly accept it? Because either you get a small four door truck, or you pay for a f-150 cause you can still get that with two doors... but not if you want any of the neat features... no electric single cable f-150, no single cab f-150 with the generator output. (at least when I last looked)

But if part of the pitch for the Slate is it shouldn't be very long, you can't put four doors and have any bed left. Unless you go cabover, but I don't know how many people would consider a cabover these days... VW and Toyota vans were cabover through the 80s, but I don't know how you pass safety tests when the drivers knees are the crumple zone.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#138

Post by throwaway2037 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 5:34 AM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #105

throwaway2037 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You raise some interesting points. A different way to look at safety: Why do car companies bother at all? Why isn't it a race to the bottom for car crash safety? "Oh, it's expensive to have cars with crash safety. Let's reduce our materials cost."

> Why do car companies bother at all? Why isn't it a race to the bottom for car crash safety? More safety, always, is usually a feel-good measure. If people aren’t trading in their old cars for the newer, safer ones, because the latter are too expensive, it’s not actually helping people. Same if the cheapest car someone can get for their commute is bankrupting them.

I did more research on this matter and found a this PDF: https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document/policy-bulletin-mv...

    > Kei Vehicles are not compliant with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Therefore, they are not “street legal.” Kei Vehicles are barred from titling and registration.

I found other sources on Google saying you can cheat this rule by finding a state that does not strictly enforce FMVSS rules for titling and registration. Then, you can (illegally) drive the kei truck in another state. To be clear: This is illegal, but you need to be caught. Also, it looks like there are auto body shops that will modify a kei truck/car to make it street legal. I have a seen a bunch of YouTubers driving kei trucks/cars with California license plates. Thus, I assume the work was done to make them street legal.

Thus, we can conclude that FMVSS prevents a race-to-the-bottom in vehicular safety for cars in the US. Honestly, I expect all highly developed nations to have similar rules. Why? For the safety of children, more than anything. Even if a parent wants to drive an unsafe car, most societies will prioritise the safety of child passengers over the "liberty" of the parent/owner/driver.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#139

Post by WorldMaker » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 5:34 AM UTC

pilotneko wrote: post #128

WorldMaker wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Where did you see a F-150 Lightning new for less than $40k anywhere?

I didn't, I said that $40k is closer to $30k than many would give it credit and that I believe that at least $10k-$20k more expensive than necessary for "luxury trim reasons" seems to be the current F-150 brand.

Re: How do you design a $30k electric pickup? Inside Ford's skunkworks

#140

Post by retired » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 6:31 AM UTC

Grombobulous wrote: post #130

Markoff wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think Slate can get it shipped, that won’t be the issue. 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, V…

> I don’t understand how the practicality trade-off ever made sense.

I did over 100k kilometers in two/three door vehicles. Back seat never had any passengers in them. Meanwhile it was easier to get into my car, visibility was better and the car overall looked better. Less things to break. Less weight. In my specific vehicle the three door variant had pillarless windows.

No downsides for me.