Elon Musk on Tesla Cybertruck Vs. Ford F-150 Rematch: ‘Bring It On’

Elon Musk had a confident three-word reply for a Ford executive who offered to conduct a tug-of-war rematch between the Tesla Cybertuck and Ford F-150: “Bring it on.” 

This seemingly friendly battle for truck towing supremacy began a few days after Musk unveiled the Cybertuck, when the Tesla CEO tweeted a video clip in which the electrified pickup appears to handily drag America’s best-selling vehicle uphill. 

While the clip was no doubt designed to be taken at face value, Motor 1 pointed out that it likely wasn’t a fair fight, writing, “this is at least a mid-range Cybertruck with a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup” vs. an F-150 in lower-end STX trim “judging by the grille, door handles, and wheels. It’s obvious that the F-150 is spinning just its rear wheels and one can assume this is a rear-wheel-drive model…this leaves the 325-hp 2.7-liter EcoBoost as the most logical option.”

Celebrity physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson also replied directly to Musk’s tweet. “Electric vehicles are famously heavy – over both axles. It’s all about the weight borne by spinning tires. That’s the source of traction, not the engine power,” he wrote. 

“Electric motors also have insane torque. If we load both trucks to the max, electric still wins,” Musk retorted. 

“But high Torque just spins a tire in place if there’s not enough weight to provide traction,” Tyson responded. “Fully load the F150, giving highest traction to its rear wheels, then try to drag that up the hill. I otherwise agree: Load both to the max and the highest torque wins.”

“Agreed,” Musk said, adding that he aims “to do this next week.” 

Sundeep Madra, vice president of the Ford X innovation branch, also jumped in on the Twitter action. Madra implored Musk to send over a Cybertruck so that he could facilitate an “apples-to-apples test,” presumably against a properly-specced F-150. “Bring it on,” Musk responded. 

Of course, all of this any ensuing publicity is good for both brand’s EVs. The Tesla Cybertruck won’t enter production until 2021, while the first all-electric F-150—a prototype of which pulled a 1 million-pound train in its own hype-worthy video earlier this year—arrive as soon as 2021, according to Car and Driver. 

Whatever happens, the Cybertruck will be available with among the coolest vehicular options ever: electric ATV dubbed the “Cyberquad.” Virtually no details have been released, but Musk did confirm its existence, again on Twitter.