$30,000 EV Truck Spy Shots (Autopian found it)

[morgan20]

24 minutes ago, Zestyg said:

If the Skunktruck succeeds and hits the price target, it would likely be similarly difficult to put out a similar product at that price point for anybody except the Chinese. 

 

Ford's head honcho said previously that it's not a question of 'if' it succeeds and hits the price target:

 

Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company’s planned $30,000 electric truck has reached the prototype stage, describing the effort as an internal Apollo style mission with little margin for error. 

 

The question is how soon will the skunktruck arrive at Ford dealerships?

[T-dubz]

I think if it succeeds or not all depends on its design. The slate truck’s design has gone over well because it looks like your classic mini truck. Even being bare bones, made out of plastic, only two seats, and 100 miles less range, people are wanting to throw down 25k or more for it, which is slightly less than what this truck would cost. Compare that to the Telo truck which is a much more useful and user friendly vehicle, but your average buyer doesn’t care because it’s weird looking and expensive. The ford isn’t as extreme looking as the Telo, but it could be different enough that people won’t like it. Just gotta wait til that camo comes off to know for sure.
 

 

[rmc523]

15 hours ago, Zestyg said:

There aren’t any Maverick clones I think because it’s fundamentally a hard package to compete with really. The only other manufacturer I would think has the capacity and the truck credibility would be Toyota. Even then, Ford’s pricing on the Maverick is still genuinely impressive. They sell the RAV4 hybrid for $33k, could they be able to sell a hybrid compact truck for the $30k the Maverick does? Could they do an ICE for $28k? 
 

If the Skunktruck succeeds and hits the price target, it would likely be similarly difficult to put out a similar product at that price point for anybody except the Chinese. 

 

Well, Escape hybrid was at similar pricing, so if Ford could do it, I'm sure Toyota could with their vastly larger hybrid infrastructure.

 

15 hours ago, T-dubz said:

I think if it succeeds or not all depends on its design. The slate truck’s design has gone over well because it looks like your classic mini truck. Even being bare bones, made out of plastic, only two seats, and 100 miles less range, people are wanting to throw down 25k or more for it, which is slightly less than what this truck would cost. Compare that to the Telo truck which is a much more useful and user friendly vehicle, but your average buyer doesn’t care because it’s weird looking and expensive. The ford isn’t as extreme looking as the Telo, but it could be different enough that people won’t like it. Just gotta wait til that camo comes off to know for sure.
 

 

 

Reservations and actual sales are different beasts, as we've seen with many products.  I'll believe it when I see it.  I think people will get their hands on the thing and think "why am I paying this for this" ?

[Motorpsychology]

The Telo breaks new/old ground* for what a pickup can look like and be like. The Skunk Truck sounds like it has many of the Telo's features, but at substantially less estimated MSRP. Then there is Slate which is estimated to come in less than that. Interesting times, I like them all for what they are, but short hood & COE pickups were short lived in the 60's. I'll see who's viable in about ten years when I'm ready to trade in my Ranger.

 

*1956 Jeep Forward Control (FC) was the first offered to the public, followed by the Econoline, Corvair 95, and Dodge A100. 

 

[Zestyg]

1 hour ago, rmc523 said:

 

Well, Escape hybrid was at similar pricing, so if Ford could do it, I'm sure Toyota could with their vastly larger hybrid infrastructure.

 

 

The issue isn’t hybrid infrastructure, my brain isn’t working great but the reason I understand Ford could make the Maverick much more cheaply than the Escape (aside from labor costs) is that the Escape is poorly optimized cost-wise while the Maverick is not. I doubt Toyota would have such gains available from the RAV4.

Edited July 3 by Zestyg

[Sherminator98]

26 minutes ago, Zestyg said:

 

The issue isn’t hybrid infrastructure, my brain isn’t working great but the reason I understand Ford could make the Maverick much more cheaply than the Escape (aside from labor costs) is that the Escape is poorly optimized cost-wise while the Maverick is not. I doubt Toyota would have such gains available from the RAV4.

 

The pre-2020 Escape had major cost issues, but apparently it was corrected in 2020 with the new Escape. 

 

There really isn't all that much difference between the Maverick, Bronco Sport and Escape outside of some styling/interior choices. I haven't been inside of a Maverick to get a good feel for it, but in photos it came across as kinda cheap and the BS was kind of like that till I lived with one and its not that bad and equal to the Escape (which as been derided by the press because of its interior 🤨)

 

However I think the C2 still has issues cost wise vs say the RAV4 from a platform perspective, but hopefully that will be addressed what was learned with CE1 and the C2 being replaced by it in some products. 

 

[DeluxeStang]

20 hours ago, Zestyg said:

There aren’t any Maverick clones I think because it’s fundamentally a hard package to compete with really. The only other manufacturer I would think has the capacity and the truck credibility would be Toyota. Even then, Ford’s pricing on the Maverick is still genuinely impressive. They sell the RAV4 hybrid for $33k, could they be able to sell a hybrid compact truck for the $30k the Maverick does? Could they do an ICE for $28k? 
 

If the Skunktruck succeeds and hits the price target, it would likely be similarly difficult to put out a similar product at that price point for anybody except the Chinese. 

Exactly. I think it's a case where the maverick is too hard to compete again, but also because it's a more affordable product, the profit margins likely aren't great. So it's not super captivating for other brands to get in on it. 

 

But just putting it out there. 

[DeluxeStang]

20 hours ago, T-dubz said:

I think if it succeeds or not all depends on its design. The slate truck’s design has gone over well because it looks like your classic mini truck. Even being bare bones, made out of plastic, only two seats, and 100 miles less range, people are wanting to throw down 25k or more for it, which is slightly less than what this truck would cost. Compare that to the Telo truck which is a much more useful and user friendly vehicle, but your average buyer doesn’t care because it’s weird looking and expensive. The ford isn’t as extreme looking as the Telo, but it could be different enough that people won’t like it. Just gotta wait til that camo comes off to know for sure.
 

 

Agreed. Design, size, and range are gonna be the three biggest hurdles they have to clear. Personally, I like it, but that's because I'm an enthusiast who likes low, sleek utes, which this thing is. But will the general buying public respond well to this? Who knows. 

 

One of the key arguments we see come up in car vs. truck/utilities arguments is that trucks and utilities sell better largely due to their high seating position that makes it easier to see out, makes people feel safer, and makes getting in an out easier. Will a truck that's essentially the height of a hatchback still appeal to those buyers? Probably not. But I can see it finding a new audience, younger, tech savvy buyers for instance who prefer smaller cars and could trade in their civic for this. Like we saw with maverick conquest sales. 

[DeluxeStang]

4 hours ago, Motorpsychology said:

The Telo breaks new/old ground* for what a pickup can look like and be like. The Skunk Truck sounds like it has many of the Telo's features, but at substantially less estimated MSRP. Then there is Slate which is estimated to come in less than that. Interesting times, I like them all for what they are, but short hood & COE pickups were short lived in the 60's. I'll see who's viable in about ten years when I'm ready to trade in my Ranger.

 

*1956 Jeep Forward Control (FC) was the first offered to the public, followed by the Econoline, Corvair 95, and Dodge A100. 

 

The issue is these sorts of designs are hideous. That doesn't matter when you're positioning a truck purely as a commerical tool for practicality. But lifestyle truck buyers aren't gonna go for them. 

 

That being said, maybe one day Ford could do something cool with this. Like if they're able to take the learnings of CE1 and apply it to larger EVs in 5, 10, 15 years time after battery tech has improved and is a better fit for larger truck duty  Doing a bare bones ranger sized truck with a cab forward design so it had like a super duty sized bed, BoF and decent capabilities would be an awesome product for some commercial fleets. 

[T-dubz]

2 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said:

Agreed. Design, size, and range are gonna be the three biggest hurdles they have to clear. Personally, I like it, but that's because I'm an enthusiast who likes low, sleek utes, which this thing is. But will the general buying public respond well to this? Who knows. 

 

One of the key arguments we see come up in car vs. truck/utilities arguments is that trucks and utilities sell better largely due to their high seating position that makes it easier to see out, makes people feel safer, and makes getting in an out easier. Will a truck that's essentially the height of a hatchback still appeal to those buyers? Probably not. But I can see it finding a new audience, younger, tech savvy buyers for instance who prefer smaller cars and could trade in their civic for this. Like we saw with maverick conquest sales. 

I was thinking about the seating position too. It’s possible that even though the vehicle is low, maybe the actual seating position is a bit higher since it’s sitting on top of the batteries?

[T-dubz]

I think I would probably prefer a more traditional looking truck even if it costs a bit of range. I wonder if Ford did any focus groups to test this?

-traditional design, 30k, 275 mile range

or

-aero design, 30k, 300 mile range

[Motorpsychology]

2 hours ago, T-dubz said:

I was thinking about the seating position too. It’s possible that even though the vehicle is low, maybe the actual seating position is a bit higher since it’s sitting on top of the batteries?

The seat might be right on the raised floor, so your legs are relatively straight out

[jpd80]

5 hours ago, T-dubz said:

I think I would probably prefer a more traditional looking truck even if it costs a bit of range. I wonder if Ford did any focus groups to test this?

-traditional design, 30k, 275 mile range

or

-aero design, 30k, 300 mile range

And this is part of the issue, Ford making this plan B side bet as a way of cutting every cost

be that battery size, construction process and wiring electrical components. Whatever the

most aero efficient design looked like is what they are building with hope that customers choose

optimised efficiency over pure styling….

 

The upside to me is that it’s  worlds apart from that two door $25k POS,

that thing sounds great until you realise it’s all about $$ for customising.

Edited July 4 by jpd80

[Zestyg]

22 hours ago, Sherminator98 said:

The pre-2020 Escape had major cost issues, but apparently it was corrected in 2020 with the new Escape. 

 

I know that 2020 fixing the issues is common knowledge on this forum, but it sort of still doesn’t feel to totally square with the Maverick being AFAIK a higher margin vehicle. If the Maverick is both like $2k cheaper than the Escape AND a higher margin vehicle then the difference is greater than can just be explained by lower labor costs in Mexico. They sold similar amounts of non-fleet before this year. 

[Sherminator98]

1 minute ago, Zestyg said:

I know that 2020 fixing the issues is common knowledge on this forum, but it sort of still doesn’t feel to totally square with the Maverick being AFAIK a higher margin vehicle. If the Maverick is both like $2k cheaper than the Escape AND a higher margin vehicle then the difference is greater than can just be explained by lower labor costs in Mexico. They sold similar amounts of non-fleet before this year. 

 

Could it be possible that its just cheaper to build a pickup bed vs cargo area in the Escape (less materials) and I also think the Maverick has an advantage with being less complex to build due it less features/options, but I haven't dug into that too much. 

[Zestyg]

2 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

Could it be possible that its just cheaper to build a pickup bed vs cargo area in the Escape (less materials) and I also think the Maverick has an advantage with being less complex to build due it less features/options, but I haven't dug into that too much. 

A bed being cheaper would certainly incentivize Ford replacing their entry level SUVs with entry level utes. I’m just not sure. The main differences between the Mav XL and the Escape Active is that the former has steelies and the 2.0L Ecoboost, while the latter has aluminum wheels and the 1.5L Ecoboost.
 

Only one thing is clear: Holy shit why would anyone buy the Escape over the Maverick 

 

[Motorpsychology]

1 minute ago, Zestyg said:

A bed being cheaper would certainly incentivize Ford replacing their entry level SUVs with entry level utes. I’m just not sure. The main differences between the Mav XL and the Escape Active is that the former has steelies and the 2.0L Ecoboost, while the latter has aluminum wheels and the 1.5L Ecoboost.
 

Only one thing is clear: Holy shit why would anyone buy the Escape over the Maverick 

 

You can lock your stroller and/or lawn chairs in the cargo area. 

[jcartwright99]

On 7/2/2026 at 4:47 PM, T-dubz said:

I think if it succeeds or not all depends on its design. The slate truck’s design has gone over well because it looks like your classic mini truck. Even being bare bones, made out of plastic, only two seats, and 100 miles less range, people are wanting to throw down 25k or more for it, which is slightly less than what this truck would cost. Compare that to the Telo truck which is a much more useful and user friendly vehicle, but your average buyer doesn’t care because it’s weird looking and expensive. The ford isn’t as extreme looking as the Telo, but it could be different enough that people won’t like it. Just gotta wait til that camo comes off to know for sure.
 

 

 

After watching several first look videos of the slate truck and configurator, I am more convinced it is going to flop.

 

25k for inferior range, standard features, seating capacity, dealer network...etc. I just don't see it at all.  Once you start configuring it basically becomes close to 30k just to have some standard base options on virtually every other vehicle. 

 

The "look at me" crowd will buy it initially but I think it's DOA. Especially, if the Ranchero or whatever they call it base vehicle is much better.

[Zestyg]

With the exception of the SUV package the customizations on the Slate are actually rather cheap. You can customize it a good deal and still be winning on price; the base range being over 200 miles is a decent win for them. I think there are a couple missing pieces but they do have some potential. I would be surprised if they actually meet their goals though.

[Sherminator98]

30 minutes ago, Zestyg said:

Only one thing is clear: Holy shit why would anyone buy the Escape over the Maverick 

 

Styling preference for one. I'm not a truck guy either, so I wouldn't bother with it from that perspective.  

[Zestyg]

4 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said:

 

Styling preference for one. I'm not a truck guy either, so I wouldn't bother with it from that perspective.  

I’m not either but its frankly a lot more attractively styled, interesting, and fun. And I’m an Escape owner. If I had to choose again today it’d be no contest, the skunktruck seems to be going further into this area which is why its so appealing to me.

[Sherminator98]

https://fordauthority.com/2026/07/future-electric-ford-pickup-our-first-look-at-the-interior-photos/#&gid=1&pid=3

[rmc523]

On 7/3/2026 at 2:42 PM, DeluxeStang said:

Agreed. Design, size, and range are gonna be the three biggest hurdles they have to clear. Personally, I like it, but that's because I'm an enthusiast who likes low, sleek utes, which this thing is. But will the general buying public respond well to this? Who knows. 

 

One of the key arguments we see come up in car vs. truck/utilities arguments is that trucks and utilities sell better largely due to their high seating position that makes it easier to see out, makes people feel safer, and makes getting in an out easier. Will a truck that's essentially the height of a hatchback still appeal to those buyers? Probably not. But I can see it finding a new audience, younger, tech savvy buyers for instance who prefer smaller cars and could trade in their civic for this. Like we saw with maverick conquest sales. 

 

Weren't these also you?  lol

 

On 7/1/2026 at 12:06 PM, DeluxeStang said:

This side profile scares me, but I'll to keep the faith and hope it looks a lot better sans camo. 

 

On 7/1/2026 at 1:23 PM, DeluxeStang said:

 

I wanna like it, but I'm struggling lol. 

 

[DeluxeStang]

31 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Weren't these also you?  lol

 

 

 

 

31 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Weren't these also you?  lol

 

 

 

Look I'm a complicated person lol. 

[rmc523]

49 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said:

 

Look I'm a complicated person lol. 

 

Haha, I'm messing with ya.

 

We can't give final judgment until we fully see the thing.