Electric Ford F-150 prototype shown towing a freight trainElectric Ford F-150 prototype shown towing a freight train

In Ford’s first official tease of an all-electric F-150, released Tuesday—with a video here—a test mule is shown towing more than a million pounds.
The prototype electric F-150 pickup pulled ten double-decker rail cars, weighing that amount, a distance of 1,000 feet.
Then Ford loaded those cars up with 42 gas-powered F-150s, representing 42 years that the F-150 has been America’s best-selling truck, and did it again—all overseen by F-150 chief engineer Linda Zhang. The company concludes its look at the stunt by specifically stating: “The all-electric Ford F-150 is coming.”
Ford F-Series electric truck prototype
Ford has been making references to an electric F-150 pickup, and it states that “development continues” on the truck, but it hasn’t physically presented the project until now.
Chairman and family scion Bill Ford first alluded to the electric truck last September, when he told a gathering of investors and media: “When it comes to building the best trucks in the world, we never rest. Whether they’re gas, diesel, hybrid—or when the time comes fully-electric—we will ensure they power the world in a sustainable way.”
Then in January, the company confirmed that it will build the electric F-150. It is expected to debut in 2022.
Ford F-Series electric truck prototype
In April, Ford announced a $500 million investment in rival electric truckmaker Rivian, but it says that investment is part of a separate program to use Rivian’s technology rather than its hardware. The company has also said it is working on its own electric SUV, tentatively called the Mach E and plans to roll out a hybrid F-150 in 2021.
In the meantime, cross-town rival GM has confirmed it is working on its own electric pickup.
Relatively low-speed pulls like this should be taken as stunts, as they don’t entirely prove what a vehicle is capable of at highway or in hard use cycles. They merely demonstrate the vehicle’s available torque, multiplied through available gear ratios.
Tesla sets world record towing Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
For instance, Tesla in 2018 demonstrated the towing prowess of the Model X by towing a Boeing 787 and set a world record in the process. And Toyota in 2012 used a gasoline Tundra to tow the space shuttle Endeavor to its final resting place at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

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