Ford F-150 Lightning gets $10K price cut, $50K MSRP as ramping supply meets demand
Ford Motor Company says it is in the home stretch of massive upgrade to its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan – soon enabling the facility to triple F-150 Lightning production. This level of scaling paired with reduced raw materials costs is now enabling Ford to cut the price of all trims of the F-150 Lightning, delivering MSRPs closer to numbers originally promised when the electric pickup first debuted. But is the price cut purely supply side?
As Ford continues to pivot its global business strategy for the all-electric age, its no wonder one of the first conversions on its to-do list was the F-150 pickup – the best selling truck in the US for nearly 50 years. Not only did Ford successfully create an all-electric version of its most popular model, but did so with specs and a price point consumers ate up – leading the EV to sell out its first tow years of production.
To keep up with growing demand, Ford committed to a global investment of $50 billion to repurpose its production facilities to build EVs – including the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC) in Dearborn, Michigan. This past March, Ford shared plans to triple Lightning production at Rouge, but while the American automaker was continuing to try and scale, other economic woes rattled its bottom line.
Raw material costs in batteries for instance as well as the costs of the aforementioned facility upgrades did affect Ford – who had to raise the price of its Lightning trims and even had to suspend new reservations at one point to come up for air.
By May, reservations had reopened, and a month later, Ford was reporting it remained on track to reach scale at the REVC by this fall – prioritizing XLT deliveries for new customers. Still, higher prices have stuck with the Lightning models – but as Ford looks to reopen the REVC, major MSRP discounts will coincide.
Ford’s plant upgrade enables lower priced Lightnings
Per news out of Ford HQ this morning, the automaker appears poised to reached scaled Lightning production promised months ago, enabling it to lower the price of all trims for new customers. The
Ford shared that the Rouge facility has been temporarily shuttered to complete the final upgrades toward its complete EV production revamp – enabling an annual output rate of 150,000 electric pickups beginning this fall.
Beginning as early as this October, new customers will be able to build their own Lightning truck to order at a price closer to what was originally promised a couple years ago. Ford cites upgrades to the REVC and improved battery material costs as the catalysts to lower MSRPs, which will now be as follows:
| Lightning Model | Previous MSRP | Updated MSRP | Savings |
| Pro | $59,974 | $49,995 | $9,979 |
| XLT 311A | $64,474 | $54,995 | $9,479 |
| XLT 312A | $68,474 | $59,995 | $8,479 |
| XLT 312A Extended Range | $78,874 | $69,995 | $8,879 |
| Lariat 510A | $76,974 | $69,995 | $6,979 |
| Lariat Extended Range | $85,974 | $77,495 | $8,479 |
| Platinum Extended Range | $98,074 | $91,995 | $6,079 |
In addition to the price cuts above, Ford customers can take advantage of an additional $1,000 bonus if they build their own XLT, Lariat, or Platinum (still no Pros, sorry) Lightning through Ford’s website or dealer network before July 31. Ford Model e’s chief customer officer Marin Gjaja spoke to the new pricing opportunities:
Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers. We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help to lower prices for our customers and shorten the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning.
It also important to note that at these reduced prices, most of the Ford F-150 Lightning models (excluding Platinum) may qualify for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Let’s also not forget that future F-150 Lightning drivers are going to have access to Tesla’s Supercharger network next year. Big wins all around, except for the the Ford (F) stock price which dropped over 4%
Electrek’s take
As we’ve said on Tesla’s many price reductions, the motives aren’t all supply side as Ford has laid out. Auto manufacturers will sell their vehicles at the highest prices the market will bear and it appears that Ford can now out-produce the demand at its previous price points.
Tesla’s Cybertruck is also set to enter the conversation later this year and the Chevy Silverado EV is now selling to fleet customers with 100+ more miles of range.
We also know that Ford isn’t yet profitable on EVs so cutting prices on F-150s would seem to be a demand-focused change.
Either way, it means lower price points for consumers which we love to see and combined with IRA discounts, this $1000 bonus and other incentives like drastically lowered cost of ownership, will spur on EV adoption.
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The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership are turning former Appalachian coal mines into clean energy hubs. They just announced new agreements with Sun Tribe Development and ENGIE to build 14 solar farms and three battery storage systems across 360 acres in Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
This marks the second round of clean energy projects launched under TNC’s Cumberland Forest Project.
These projects aren’t just about clean energy – they’re about proving that clean energy can be developed on former Appalachian coal mines in a way that benefits the environment and local communities. The solar and storage hubs are expected to bring in more local tax revenue, create short-term construction jobs, and establish a community fund to support additional local initiatives.
Brad Kreps, TNC Clinch Valley director, said, “Developing projects on former coal mines – and in a way that engages with people in the local area so that communities can benefit – takes ingenuity, skill, and determination. Ultimately, we selected Sun Tribe and ENGIE, two experienced developers that have a great interest in bringing this vision to life.”
Once online, these projects will generate around 49 megawatts (MW) of solar energy and 320 MW of battery storage – enough to power 6,638 Appalachian homes annually.
Sun Tribe’s projects will be in Virginia and Tennessee. It’s planning one 5 MW solar project and three utility-scale battery storage systems ranging from 80 MW to 150 MW. These storage projects will improve grid reliability and help cut costs for utility customers by reducing the need for future grid upgrades.
“Locating solar and battery storage on former mine lands makes perfect sense to us,” said Danny Van Clief, CEO of Sun Tribe Development. “These sites and the communities they rest within have powered our country for more than a century – all we have to do is reimagine them for today’s energy technology.”
ENGIE, meanwhile, is developing 13 community-scale solar projects across Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky that will take advantage of Inflation Reduction Act incentives to help keep costs down. They’ll range in size from 1 MW to 6 MW, bringing clean energy access to more local communities.
“ENGIE is thrilled to collaborate on the development of these projects with The Nature Conservancy,” says Kristen Fornes, ENGIE head of distributed solar and storage. “These initiatives not only contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions but also generate employment opportunities, rejuvenate local communities, and enhance access to clean energy in areas where it is most needed.”
This latest announcement builds on previous first-round work by TNC, Sun Tribe, and Dominion Energy to bring renewable energy to Appalachia. Since 2021, Sun Tribe and Dominion Energy have been working on plans to generate 140 MW of renewable energy across eight sites in the Cumberland Forest. The first project, Wildcats Solar, is a 10 MW array planned for Wise County, Virginia. Expected to start construction by 2026, it’s projected to generate $800,000 in tax revenue for the community over its lifetime. Additional projects from the first round are set to be online by 2029.
Read more: Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC
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The US State Department’s procurement forecast for the 2025 budget includes an item called “Armored Teslas” worth $400 million.
But worry not; it was approved under the Biden Administration, so Elon Musk’s DOGE will undoubtedly eliminate this waste. Right?
Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are currently examining a large amount of US government spending.
It’s unclear if he got to the US State Department’s procurement forecast because there are a few interesting lines that would give auditors second thoughts.
The most interesting one is “Armored Tesla (Production Units)”, which is worth $400 million. Strangely, the item is listed under the NAICS code “311999 – All Other Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing.”
The program has a target for delivery in Q4 through the next 5 years.
There are several other similar and strange budgeted items that are linked to the wrong categories:
You have “ARMORED SEDAN” under “Soft Drink Manufacturing,” “ARMORED BMW X5/X7” under “Bottled Water Manufacturing,” and finally, ARMORED EV (NOT SEDAN) under “Ice Manufacturing.”
However, all these other armored vehicle-related items are budgeted at a fraction of the $400 million for Tesla vehicles ($50 million, $40 million, and $40 million, respectively).
The State Department procurement forecast website mentions that the list was last updated in December – before Trump entered office.
Electrek has contacted the State Department for a comment, and we will update you if we get an answer.
Tesla has claimed that its Cybertruck is “armored” and “bulletproof”, but its armored capacity is quite limited. It can likely deflect low-velocity bullets if they hit the doors, but that’s about it.
Other companies have been planning to modify the Cybertruck with higher levels of armor, like the partnership between Unplugged Performance and Archimedes Defense – pictured above.
Electrek’s Take
I am not against armored electric vehicles. If you need armored vehicles, you might as well make them electric.
However, this is certainly weird. Why does the State Department need $530 million worth of armored vehicles? And why is it listed under a bunch of unrelated categories that don’t make sense?
Sounds like a job for DOGE? However, Elon will need to recuse himself from that one, I guess.
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