Business Maverick

Business Maverick

Musk Accepts Ford Challenge to Apples-to-Apples Truck Tug of War

Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk plainly says his pickup is a “better truck than an F-150.” Ford Motor Co. is taking issue with that claim.

While releasing a series of specs last week for Cybertruck, which is scheduled to start deliveries as soon as late 2021, Musk called up a video of the the pickup in a tug-of-war against Ford’s best-selling F-150. He tweeted a clip of the test on Sunday showing his vehicle pulling a screeching Ford model up a hill.

Ford thinks Musk was making an apples-to-oranges comparison. The video the Tesla chief executive officer tweeted appears to show a two-wheel drive version of the F-150 against an all-wheel drive Cybertruck. Other details that could have factored in which pickup won out include curb weight and tire type.

Sundeep Madra, vice president of Ford X, the automaker’s unit for developing new business models, challenged Musk on Monday to send Ford a Cybertruck. He linked to a post by the car-enthusiast site motor1.com that questioned whether Tesla’s test was “fair game.”

Musk responded to Madra: “Bring it on.”

Tesla and Ford have been at this before. More than a year after Musk tweeted a boast about how much weight Tesla’s truck would be able to tow, Ford released a promotional video of an electric F-150 prototype dragging more than 1 million pounds of double-decker rail cars.

Here’s a breakdown of how Ford’s most popular gasoline-fueled F-150 stacks up against Tesla’s most commonly ordered Cybertruck as of Saturday, according to a Musk tweet.

Cybertruck

F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4X4

Drivetrain

Dual motor all-wheel electric drive 3.5 liter EcoBoost V-6

Price

$49,900 $47,150

Range

300+ miles 684 miles

Bed length

6.5 feet 6.5 feet

Towing capacity

10,000+ pounds 12,700 pounds

Ground clearance

Up to 16 inches 9.3 inches

Suspension

Adaptive air Independent double-wishbone front, leaf spring and solid axle rear

Body panels

High-strength stainless steel High-strength aluminum

Approach angle

35 degrees 25.5 degrees

Departure angle

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

MavericKids vol 3

How can a child learn to read if they don't have a book?

81% of South African children aged 10 can't read for meaning. You can help by pre-ordering a copy of MavericKids.

For every copy sold we will donate a copy to Gift of The Givers for children in need of reading support.

A South African Hero: You

There’s a 99.8% chance that this isn’t for you. Only 0.2% of our readers have responded to this call for action.

Those 0.2% of our readers are our hidden heroes, who are fuelling our work and impacting the lives of every South African in doing so. They’re the people who contribute to keep Daily Maverick free for all, including you.

The equation is quite simple: the more members we have, the more reporting and investigations we can do, and the greater the impact on the country.

Be part of that 0.2%. Be a Maverick. Be a Maverick Insider.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options