---
title: "Elon Musk Accepts Ford’s Challenge to Tesla Cybertruck vs. F-150 Tug-of-War Rematch"
description: "But the victory isn't as clear cut as it seems—as we reported here—and a Ford executive later challenged Musk to a fair rematch. Musk has now accepted. This will be an interesting ride."
date: "2019-11-25"
modified: "2019-11-25"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/31207/elon-musk-accepts-fords-challenge-to-tesla-cybertruck-vs-f-150-tug-of-war-rematch"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Tesla News"
  - "Trucks"
tags:
  - "Electric Vehicle"
  - "F-150"
  - "Ford"
  - "pickup"
---

# Elon Musk Accepts Ford’s Challenge to Tesla Cybertruck vs. F-150 Tug-of-War Rematch

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/11/tug-of-war.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

There's a long tradition of automakers [emasculating their rivals](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLysG4r6ZB8>) in order to sell pickups, so naturally Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the Tesla Cybertruck in part with a video showing it handily winning a tug-of-war contest against a Ford F-150. But the victory isn't as clear cut as it seems—[as we reported here](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31186/elon-musks-tweet-showing-ford-f-150-and-tesla-cybertruck-tug-of-war-is-misleading>)—and a Ford executive later challenged Musk to a fair rematch. [Musk has now accepted](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1199090292177006592>). This will be an interesting ride.

As most people tried to comprehend what they were seeing on Thursday night, a few keen observers quickly pointed out that the F-150 tug-of-war video played during the Cybertruck reveal seemed lopsided. The scrutiny intensified on Sunday when Musk tweeted out a longer version with multiple camera angles; the Ford appears to be [a rear-wheel-drive, EcoBoost STX model](<https://www.motor1.com/news/384206/tesla-cybertruck-f150-tug-war/>) being yanked uphill by a dual-motor AWD Cybertruck. As none other than pop physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson [later pointed out on Twitter](<https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1199074711478644741>), the setup puts relatively little weight over the F-150's drive wheels and thus gives it less traction, not to mention the apparent power gap.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1198751258384818176

Ford's official channels have stayed silent, but on Monday morning Vice President of Ford X (the automaker's tech incubator) Sundeep Madra tweeted an article about the video directly at Musk, asking him to "send us a Cybertruck and we will do the apples to apples test for you." Not one to stay silent, Musk later replied with a simple "Bring it on."

https://twitter.com/_/status/1199090292177006592

Given the stakes, it's hard to imagine a risk-averse enterprise like Ford actually going through with a publicized contest like this without knowing the result. Then again, [it just broke its only Bronco R prototype truck](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/31201/prototype-ford-bronco-r-race-truck-fails-to-finish-2019-baja-1000>) in the Baja 1000, so crazier plans have slipped past management. Plus, there's something undeniably appealing about the crude primacy of a tug-of-war battle, even if it has little-to-no real world relevance as a performance indicator.

So who would win in a proper rematch? We can't say, but the Ford F-150 would a V8, four-wheel drive, a locking rear differential, a payload to compensate for the weight difference, and a literal level playing field to make it a fair fight. As of press time, [Elon Musk was still arguing](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1199093936070905856>) with deGrasse Tyson about it on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/_/status/1199093936070905856

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)