Ford CEO Jim Farley learned the hard way that going woke simply does not pay, especially when it comes to the road, when he took a cross-country road trip in the automobile maker’s electric pickup truck. It didn’t take long for Farley to get a brutal “reality check” about what life is really like when you drive a woke electric vehicle.
Farley’s Woke Road Trip Fail
No surprise charging can be a challenge, but still learning a lot seeing firsthand the issues our customers face. This is why we’re working w/ @Tesla to provide @Ford drivers access to +12,000 superchargers & our EV certified dealers are installing fast chargers at their… pic.twitter.com/fES15o9orT
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) August 13, 2023
Farley took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to post a video in which he admitted that he was forced to wait forty minutes to charge his electric vehicle up to just forty percent.
“I stopped at one of the most popular charging sites in the country, I-5 in Coalinga, and a low speed charger took me about 40 minutes to get 40 per cent,” Farley said. “It was a really good reality check of what our customers go through and the importance of fast charging and what we’re going to have to do to improve the charging experience.”
Farley had to stop later that same day to charge up once again at a 350kw charger at a stop in Baker, California. At another stop, Farley had to wake up at 3am, just to make sure he would be charged up enough for another full day of driving.
On my way through LA, I was lucky to be with @TheRock when he met with the awesome team at @galpinautosport @galpinford. They work so hard, getting their hands dirty to serve our @Ford customers. pic.twitter.com/7PQvJeJXDm
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) August 14, 2023
Related: Forcing Consumers to Purchase Electric Vehicles: A New Low for the Biden Administration
F-150 Lightning
Fox Business reported that Farley took this road trip in the F-150 Lightning, which is Ford’s latest venture in the world of electric vehicles. Farley decided to embark on this road trip on Route 66 from Palo Alto, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada in the hopes of learning more about the EV experience. Before taking to the road, Farley said that he was excited to use this trip to “see researchers, businesses, dealers, salespeople, EV conversion shops, EV drivers and communities.”
After unveiling the F-150 Lightning back in May of 2021, Ford received 200,000 advance orders for the truck in what the company branded as the “Model T moment for the 21st Century.” This is all part of Ford’s pledge to produce 2million electric vehicles by 2026, according to Daily Mail.
However, the F-150 Lightning carries a price tag of $50,000, making it $15,000 more expensive than the version of it that is fueled by gasoline. Long recharging times are a major issue as well, given the fact that the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Energy state that only 15 per cent of charging points across the country allow for rapid charging.
Ford, $F, set to lose $4.5 billion on electric vehicles this year, per FOX.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) August 21, 2023
‘Consumers Are Increasingly Frustrated’
“A lack of charging infrastructure is a major negative factor and consumers are increasingly frustrated,” explained Car Coach analyst Lauren Fix. “Charging stations are limited, very few fast chargers are available, and many of those that are accessible don’t work.”
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“Really warm and really cold temperatures also shorten the battery life – especially when you use climate control – and can reduce the life by a third,” she continued.
Ford CEO Admits He Got a 'Reality Check' When Trying Road Trip with Electric Pickup Truck
So he did this … AFTER all these trucks were produced? Should be a wake-up call for shareholders. @jimfarley98
Just install a gas generator in the truck bed.🙄https://t.co/RGKd5VDoXA
— ꧁🍃🌸Ɣ🌸🍃꧂ (@V_its_me_) August 21, 2023
Ford CEO Farley tried to save face as much as she could as he attempted to make his road trip look like a fun experience, but it’s clear that in reality, he was seeing the downside of going woke with electric vehicles in real time. In the end, this all just goes to show once again that going woke simply never pays off.
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Electric is only good for special-purpose transportation in urban areas to cut the concentration of smog.
For the rest of us, a small car for stay-at-homes and kids who make short trips with their cheap home charger nearby, if you are lucky enough to have a garage ot carport. Forget about most rental housing. There would be fist fights over charger access, maintenance headaches, and curious kids getting electrocuted.
Real drivers including commercial and military need gas and diesel. The energy density and speed of transfer of these fuels is more practical. Think NASCAR, and how quickly they can gas up while the tires are being changed.
Can you imagine fast-charging an 18-wheeler or an Army tank? Maybe at a truck stop on the interstate while eating a large belly-busting meal with appetizers and dessert, but not on a battlefield.
Impractical. That’s why they dumped the first electric cars over 100 years ago.
Electric cars are just not ready for prime time. Try Hydrogen, 0 emissions, abundant supply, can be retrofitted to current internal combustion engines. In 1972 some college engineering students retrofitted a Pinto to run on Hydrogen. You would think that in 50 years, Ford could do at least as good.
Thank-you Mr. Farley for taking note of this Ford owners plight and squaring up the facts of his dilemma……Your a good CEO for being serious about your job…
DUH !!! if he;s dumb enough to let it out there , ev’s suck.
stick with gas , dependable no anxiety
I will NEVER buy an electric car . Furthermore there is NO climate change it’s called weather . Weather changes all the time. Ol Al Gore had to come up with a way to make money and this was it .He’s laughing all the way to the bank .
Yup!
I agree with you, there is not real planning or expertise yet in place to take us into a assured EV environment….but Climate being world wide, is undergoing massive changes, quake trenches are widening, Africa and the W. coast of the US, ocean flows are changing, the earth’s axis is widened and land mass shift is speeding up, this is documented…Considering earth is a living planet, it’s our turn…….I am not a climate advocate but I do look at the science…
Climate change is just weather. Weather changes all the time. There is no climate change to the extent they are saying . There was a climatologist on some news show who has written a book after studying the science for a long time and she said they are exaggerating all this , it’s to make money end of story.
I think my next vehicle will be a highbred. Best of both worlds.
I’m on my 3rd hybrid. The first was a Prius. The second and third are both Ford Fusions.
??????