Ford’s CEO Jim Farley Says Tesla Cybertruck Isn’t for ‘Real Work’ – Robb Report

Ford CEO Jim Farley isn’t worried about the Tesla Cybertruck.

The executive made clear that he doesn’t really consider Elon Musk’s electric pickup a rival to the F-150 Lightning during an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer earlier this week. In fact, Ford’s head honcho basically dismissed the eagerly anticipated EV as being for “Silicon Valley people.”

Automotive CEOs don’t spend much time talking about the competition, but Farley was awfully candid about the Cybertruck during his conversation with Cramer, the host of Mad Money. The executive stressed that Ford, which is the current market leader for EV trucks and vans, actually knows what consumers what, while Tesla, which is new to the sector, does not.

“It’s like a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel,” Farley said of the Cybertruck. “But I don’t make trucks like that. I make trucks for real people who do real work, and that’s a different kind of truck.”

Time will tell if Farley’s confidence is misplaced, but there’s no denying that the F-150 Lightning and Cybertruck are very different from one another. The former is a straight battery-powered version of Ford’s best-selling vehicle, while the latter is unlike any truck—from its angular design to its promised capabilities—currently on the market. Because it is so different, it is hard to imagine the Cybertruck on a job site, but if Tesla can actually deliver an EV that can carry a 3,500-pound payload, tow up 14,000 pounds and drive 500 miles on a single charge there’s no reason it couldn’t be used to do “real work.” We won’t know until this fall, when the Cybertruck finally goes into production four years after it was first announced, if the company can keep any of those promises, though.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Robb Report.

Farley may not take the Cybertruck seriously, but the same can’t be said for Tesla—or its supercharger network. Last month, Ford announced that it was adopting Tesla’s charging connector giving its access to the company’s massive charging network starting next year. The Detroit giant seems to think the move will boost demand for its EVs, and has already tripled its inventory of the Mustang Mach-E in the month since.