Why Your Next Pickup Should Be an Electric Truck

Here in the States, trucks are the lifeblood of the automotive industry — seriously. Trucks make up more of new-car sales in the U.S. than any other type of vehicle by far. To put that into perspective, Ford’s most popular offering across its entire lineup is the F-Series pickup, and it beat everything else by a very large margin — 896,526 pickups vs. 448,071 Toyota RAV4s.

So it’s no wonder why automakers are readying a bunch of electric trucks for public consumption, including the Ford F-Series EV, the Tesla Cybertruck, and Rivian R1T. 

To better understand what’s coming, what’s here, and what you can expect from power, performance, towing, and charging, The Drive’s crack info team has put together this exhaustive guide to all things associated with electric trucks. Let’s do this!

An EV pickup truck is exactly what it sounds like, a fully electric pickup truck that has all the same capabilities as regular internal-combustion-powered pickups. 

There are a handful of automotive manufacturers that are currently planning  EV pickup trucks, including Ford, General Motors, RAM, Tesla, Rivian, Bollinger, Lordstown Motors, and Vanderhall. 

With every manufacturer jockeying to be the EV leader in consumer vehicles, nearly all of the major automotive manufacturers have hinted at or already revealed an EV pickup truck. Along with a handful of non-legacy automotive companies like Tesla, Rivian, and Nikola, the space is going to quickly fill up. 

And despite what Mr. Elon Musk will have you believe, there are currently no electric pickup trucks on sale right now. There are, however, many coming and many that have already opened preorder deposits. So here’s a list of every fully electric pickup truck coming down the pike. 

There’s no Escaping Tesla’s brutalist Cybertruck. It’s an elephant in the room, with its brutalist design, supposedly bulletproof windows, and Musk’s penchant for talking when no one asked him to, and aims to be the first salvo on the pickup market.

Tesla claims the Cybertruck will start at $39,990 for the cheapest model. The longest-range model will start at $69,990. 

The company states up to 500 miles on a single charge.

The company states up to Level 3 ultra-fast charging.

Level 1 Charger: 20-27 hours (estimate), Level 2 Charger: 10-15 hours (estimate), Level 3 Charger: 30-50 minutes (estimate)

Tesla claims the Cybertruck will have a max horsepower of 800 and 1,000 pound-feet of torque with the tri-motor truck.

The base model single-motor Cybertruck can supposedly tow up to 7,500 pounds, with the dual-motor and tri-motor Cybertrucks towing up to 10,000 pounds and 14,000 pounds respectively.

The company estimates 3,500 pounds.

Tesla has secured a plot of land outside Austin, Texas, and says the Cybertruck will be built in that upcoming facility. 

Rivian burst onto the scene like the Kool-aid man, straight through a wall. The company took a far different approach to its engineering and hype compared to Tesla and has been far more methodical and less after Tesla’s promised but seemingly always elusive autonomy boondoggle. The R1T shows design and engineering restraint but does so in a highly pleasing way.

The R1T will start below $69,000, but a final figure hasn’t been released. 

Rivian promises 400-plus miles, though that’s an estimated figure.

The R1T will have up to Level 3 ultra-fast charging.

Level 1 Charger: 20-27 hours (estimate), Level 2 Charger: 10-15 hours (estimate), Level 3 Charger: 30-50 minutes (estimate) 

The company claims up to 750 horsepower and 825 pound-feet is claimed. 

The company claims 11,000 pounds.

The company claims 1,760 pounds.

According to the company, the R1T will be built in Normal, Illinois, home of Illinois State University.

Did you ever doubt the makers of the most successful vehicle in the United States, the F-150, would get in on the EV truck action? Come on, son. 

Unclear. Ford is set to debut the F-Series EV sometime later this year with more details.

Also unclear. We’ll get more details soon.

Because Ford partnered with Electrify America to install more electric vehicle charging stations around the U.S, we anticipate the F-150 EV will be able to use Level 3 ultra-fast chargers.

To be announced.

Ford recently stated that the F-Series EV will have more horsepower and torque than any F-150 on the market, which means more horsepower than the 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque from the F-150 Raptor.

Unknown, but given Ford’s commitment to tradesmen, it’s likely to follow the F-Series lineage of capable trucks. 

That goes for payload, too.

Ford recently debuted the plans for a new EV truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

Oooh, baby, this was a leftfield debut. Well, announcement. Early into 2020, GM released a trailer that stated the Hummer brand would return. But instead of gas-guzzling bro-trucks, it’d return as a full battery-powered EV under the GMC banner.  

We’ve got nothing at the moment. 

You’ve got us.

Some? It’ll have some.

Speeds will exist.

Conceivably, many horsepowers and torques.

More than a bunny.

Less than an elephant.

Somewhere.

Announced during Stellantis' — Fiat Chrysler's new name since joining forces with Peugeot/Citroen — EV Day, RAM will bring an electrified offering to each of its models by 2030, including an all-electric RAM 1500 by 2024. Little is known about the e-1500, but according to the presentation, the body-on-frame truck will feature up to 500 miles per charge, on-board charging similar to Ford, among other tech. RAM's CEO Mike Koval stated, "Truck customers are open to electrification, as long as it doesn't sacrifice power, performance, or capability." He also mentioned RAM was looking to beat Ford's F-150 Lightning 10,000 lb max tow rating, so that's something.

You got us. 

RAM says its targeting 500 miles.

Unclear.

Your guess is as good as ours.

We're guessing it'll have horsepower and torque, yes. 

RAM wants to beat Ford's F-150 Lightning's 10,000 lb max tow.

More than basketball.

RAM didn't say but presumably at the company's Warren Truck Plant in Michigan.

For those who haven’t heard of Bollinger, allow us to make the grand introduction. The company is a small boutique EV builder out of Oak Park, Michigan and it has a B1 SUV, a B2 SUV, and a truck in the works. 

Are you sitting down? Good, it’s $125,000.

According to the EPA, 200-plus miles.

Up to Level 3 ultra-fast charging.

Level 2: 10 hours. Level 3: 75 minutes.

The B2 makes 614 horsepower and 668 pound-feet of torque.

Up to 7,500 pounds, which isn’t too shabby compared to the others on this list.

The B2 can withstand a whopping 5,001 pounds! That one could be a matter of life or death.

Oak Park, Michigan.

Remember those “will they, won’t they” episodes on Friends? Yeah, that accurately describes Lordstown’s history as a business, as well as the Endurance pickup truck. 

Lordstown claims the Endurance will start at $52,500.

Range is pegged at an estimated 250-plus miles.

Like the other trucks on the list, the Endurance will be capable of using Level 3 ultra-fast chargers.

Level 2: 10.5 hours. Level 3: 30-60 minutes.

Lordstown says the Endurance will have 600 horsepower but hasn’t stated torque numbers. 

Lordstown estimates the Endurance can two 7,500 pounds.

About 2,200 pounds, but that’s still an estimate.

The Endurance will be built in GM’s old Lordstown, Ohio plant. Get the name?

With the breadth of EV pickups coming, many potential customers are likely wondering the simple question, “Why?” Why go EV when diesel and gas trucks are so good at what they do? Once you get into the details,  it’s pretty easy to see why there are some serious advantages. 

One of the biggest advantages is immediate torque and power. Electricity is a lot faster than internal combustion in terms of delivery. The immediacy of an EV’s power and torque is attractive for those who have to haul or tow. Add larger-than-normal torque figures into the picture, and you could theoretically do more with an EV truck than you could with a gasoline-powered truck.

EV pickup adopters also get increased usability, as you gain a front trunk, novel storage compartments, and increased capability like Hummer and Rivian’s upcoming tank-turn functionality. There’s also the added benefit of not killing the planet any quicker than we already are.

The biggest disadvantages are range and charge speeds. Though most of the EV pickups on this list are shooting for over 400 miles worth of range, you can’t just turn up to a gas station and reclaim those 400 miles in less than 10 minutes like you would in a gas truck. Charge speeds also range and could leaving you twiddling your thumbs for hours at a charger.,.You might want to pack a sandwich.

While gas pumps have a universal flow rate, an EV’s charging rate can easily be affected by outside factors, including ambient temperature, charger type, battery size, battery depletion, and how many cars are currently charging at the same station.

As you’ll learn in a moment, the type of charger you use, whether it be Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3, will determine how quickly your car can charge.

When the mercury drops, so do charging speeds. Cold temperatures affect a battery’s chemical reactions and will slow as it gets colder and colder. Range also drops. 

Each manufacturer offers a variety of battery sizes, all with different capacities measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). For example, Tesla’s Model X is available with a long-range 100-kWh battery. That Model X will take longer to charge than Tesla’s Model 3 with a 75-kWh battery.

As you might expect, a depleted battery takes more time to charge than a half-full battery.. And to better ensure your Tesla battery’s life cycle, the car’s battery management system will slow the flow until a certain charge point to better lengthen the battery life.

When there are other EVs concurrently connected to a charging station, yeah, you’re gonna have a slower charge rate.

As there are peak and off-hours in a country’s electrical grid, delivery speed can be affected by the time of day you charge your EV. Charging during off-hours will deliver more electricity, while peak hours may slow the charge down.

What impacts the cost of charging your EV is closely related to what affects charge speed. Here’s a quick rundown of what impacts an EV’s charging cost.

Those same peak and off-hours that affect charge speed also affect pricing. When electricity is in high demand, pricing will increase. 

As you deplete a battery, you’ll need to input more energy, which will drive your bill higher. 

And just as how much energy you’ve drain affects the final cost, so too does the size of your battery. On an individual case basis, the bigger the battery, the bigger the electrical bill.

At home, while using a Level 1 or Level 2 charger, charging will cost between $15-$18 based on an average of $0.14 per kWh. Your state’s individual electricity pricing, along with the time of day and how much you charge, will affect the final outcome of your bill.

Tesla’s public Level 2 and Level 3 Supercharger charging stations assume an average of $0.28 per kWh, so your final bill will be more than if you charge at home. While other third-party chargers like Electrify America and Charge Point will have similar costs compared to Tesla’s Superchargers.

You’ve got questions, The Drive has answers!

A: None at the moment, though Tesla, Rivian, Nikola, and Bollinger will all take your deposits for one of their machines.

A: The little Power Wheels one that Timmy from down the street drives.

A: Yes! The F-150 EV we told you about above!

A: Partially. Ford dropped $500 million into the EV startup at the beginning of last year and will benefit from a platform deal to later on, including a potential EV Lincoln.

A: Like Ford, Amazon gained a partial stake in Rivian by throwing another $700 million into the company. Along with its stake, Amazon also ordered a fleet of fully electric delivery vans to be built in the near future for the trillion-dollar company.

A: According to the brand’s forum, as of December of 2019, there have been more than 10,000 pre-orders of the company’s R1T pickup.

A: Yes and no. Tesla claims that the Cybertruck will be available with bulletproof glass. However, when it debuted last year, the supposedly bulletproof glass shattered. Twice. 

A: Do you have a year to talk about the intricacies of GM’s 1990s-2000s badge engineering fiasco and how the economic downturn of 2008 nearly killed the company? No, we didn’t think so.

A: GM stated that an EV pickup truck is part of its future portfolio, which is supposed to materialize before 2023. It hasn’t released any other details of what it will entail or what model designation it will use, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it shares some components with the GMC Hummer

A: Tesla offers free Supercharging for all Model S and Model X vehicles. The Model 3 and Model Y, nor its future lineup, are free to charge. Free charging was initially offered as an incentive to entice newcomers to the land of EVs, but now that the company has traction, the extra benefit has become a scarcity.

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