Ford CEO says Tesla Cybertruck is for 'Silicon Valley people' — 'I make trucks for real people who do real work'

Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company is not threatened by
Tesla’s Cybertruck.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images and REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Ford’s CEO said Tesla’s Cybertruck is for “Silicon Valley people” not “real people who do real work.”
Jim Farley said Tesla’s pickup truck won’t compete with the F-150 Lightning.
Tesla is expected to release the EV pickup later this year, but it’s been delayed several times.

Ford CEO Jim Farley dismissed concerns that Tesla’s Cybertruck could pose a threat to the automaker’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck during an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday.

“The reality is, America loves an underdog — and we are the market leader for EV trucks and vans, and we know those customers better than anyone,” Farley said. ‘”And if he wants to design a Cybertruck for Silicon Valley people, fine.”

The Cybertruck will be Tesla’s first electric pickup truck. Up until recently, Ford has been one of few automakers to produce an EV pickup truck. Last year, Ford said it delivered over 13,000 electric F-150 trucks as the company worked to ramp up production and fulfill about 200,000 reservations. Tesla has the majority of the overall EV market in the US, but the market for pickup trucks is one of the most lucrative in the country.

Farley went on to describe Tesla’s pickup truck as “like a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel.”

“I don’t make trucks like that,” Farley said. “I make trucks for real people who do real work, and that’s a different kind of truck.”

A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Tesla has yet to provide official pricing for the futuristic truck, but Kelley Blue Book places the starting price at around $50,000 — about $10,000 shy of the price for the 2023 F-150 Lightning.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the carmaker plans to release its Cybertruck later this year and confirmed during Tesla’s quarterly earnings call in April that he expects to commence deliveries by the end of the year. The billionaire has changed the delivery date — which is two years later than he initially predicted — several times since he first announced the truck in 2019.

It’s unclear whether the Cybertruck will have the same functionality as a Ford pickup. In May, a leaked Tesla report showed that the vehicle had some design flaws, including issues with suspension, handling, and braking, Wired reported. In 2019, MotorTrend reported that the Cybertruck wouldn’t market well to working professionals like contractors and plumbers due to its design.

Insider’s Nora Naughton previously reported that the Cybertruck could be “the Hummer of the 2020s” and redefine what a pickup truck can look like. Last year, the EV blog Electrek reported Tesla had over 1.5 million pre-orders for the Cybertruck. The pre-orders only require a $100 deposit.

Farley’s interview comes only a few weeks after Ford announced that it plans to adopt Tesla’s charging standard and begin using a portion of the company’s Supercharging network — one of Tesla’s key advantages in the EV race.

The Ford CEO told CNBC that he didn’t hesitate on the partnership because it’s “good for customers.”