Tesla CEO Claims Electric Pickup Will be Better Than Ford F-150, Porsche 911

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

When it comes to CEOs, Tesla's Elon Musk is one of the more outspoken ones. Musk isn't one to shy away from making an insane statement on Twitter or making statements that draw the ire of both investors and journalists. And now, Tesla's CEO is back at it again. If you happen to take Musk's claims to be true, the upcoming electric pickup truck sounds like it will be a segment leader in not only the truck segment, but for vehicles as a whole.

Better Than An F-150 And A 911

During an interview with Ryan McCaffrey on the latter's "Ride the Lighting" podcast, the outspoken CEO spoke extremely highly of the brand's upcoming electric truck. "It's going to be a truck that is more capable than other trucks," Musk stated in the interview, reports The Drive. "The goal is to be a better truck than an F-150 in terms of truck-like functionality and be a better sports car than a standard [Porsche] 911. That's the aspiration."

Even if your not an enthusiast that lives and breathes cars, that's an insane benchmark. The Porsche 911 is one of the few raw sports cars on the road, and, is well, a sports car. Then there's the Ford F-150, which has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for multiple years. The F-150 continually ranks at the top of the pickup heap because it usually offers best-in-class figures of towing, payload capacity, fuel economy, and power. Having one car to take on two of the best in their respective segments is silly.

Affordable Pricing Is Key

The kicker, though, is the price. Having something that can out haul and out tow an F-150, while being more enjoyable and quicker than a 911 sounds like it would be expensive, right? Nope, Musk is aiming at a price tag of $50,000. "We don't want [the pickup] to be really expensive," said Musk. "I think it's got to start at less than $50,000, it's going to be like $49,000 starting price max, ideally less. It just can't be unaffordable."

Tesla's electric cars are a lot of things – luxurious, tech forward, incredible, efficient. But they're certainly not affordable. The Model 3 is the most affordable car in the brand's lineup, and the sub-$35,000 just came out and even that's not really sub $35,000. So a healthy dose of skepticism should accompany Musk's latest claims.

Tesla isn't the only automaker looking into electric pickup trucks. Two of America's largest automakers – General Motors and Ford – are looking into electric trucks. General Motors officially announced that an electric pickup was on the way, while Ford invested $500 million into Rivian, an electric startup that has showcased a few electric pickups in the past. 

If Musk's claims are true, the electric pickup segment is about to heat up and consumers are going to have a couple of excellent options to choose from.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods