The Ford F-150 Lightning Is Now Officially in Production

Delivery-ready trucks are rolling off the line today.

byHazel Southwell|
The Ford F-150 Lightning Is Now Officially in Production
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The Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup was slated to start production today, April 26, and it sure has. The chip shortage, ongoing supply issues, and a couple of delay risks aside, Ford's got what could likely be America's most popular EV literally off the line. A handful of customers were even there to see the first trucks at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Centre in Dearborn, Michigan.

The initial batch of F-150 Lightnings off the line consists of the fleet-only Pro trim that's being touted as a roughly $40,000 commercial truck. Deliveries will start in the next few days, Ford confirmed during the launch.

The first F-150 Lightnings off the production line arrive at the launch

Back in January, Ford confirmed that it was ramping up production to an ambitious 150,000 electric trucks a year, and two weeks ago, it confirmed today would be the first production day. Here we are, with a typically rambunctious launch, from Ford's iconic Rouge factory that's now known as the Rouge Electric Vehicles Center.

“Whenever the world needed us, we met the moment with American ingenuity and American muscle," said Ford CEO Jim Farley at the launch. "Right now the world needs zero-emissions vehicles and more importantly, it needs us to bring them to the many, not the few."

Some of the metrics you might not know about the F-150 Lightning are that you can use it to get a circular saw through 20,000 sheets of ply or (I don't know who needs to hear this but) power "an off-grid wedding in Yosemite," according to Farley. He also snuck in a barb that you can use it to charge your less fortunate friends' Teslas.

The stats you do know are that the F-150 Lightning comes in at $54,669 starting price for regular folks and the fleet-only F-150 Lightning Pro model starts at $41,669 after destination. It's got a max EPA-estimated range of 320 miles, max payload of 2,000 pounds, and Farley wasn't quoting it wrong when he said it can tow a total of 10,000 pounds. All that comes courtesy of 563 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque, which really is a lot.

Rivals have tried to gain ground but Farley wasn't having it; Ram attempted to crash the party this week teasing its own electric pickup but it's Ford who's rolling F-150 Lightning trucks out of the factory doors right now. It's not quite true the first pickup delivered to customers, as the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV have been in production for months.

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