A week after unveiling its all-electric F-150 Lightning truck, Ford said Wednesday, it has already received about 70,000 reservations. The first of the new trucks won't ship until next spring, and reservations aren't firm commitments to buy, just a strong show of interest paired with a $100 refundable deposit. But Ford celebrated the big numbers as a vote of consumer confidence.
The gas-powered F-150 is America's best-selling automobile, so its success or failure is seen as a litmus test for consumer adoption of electric vehicles. Ford said Wednesday that it now expects 40 percent of its global vehicle volume to be electric by 2030 and announced another $8 billion in spending on electrifying its fleet, including developing new batteries, bringing its spending to more than $30 billion by 2025.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speakIn The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcastThe Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
'Wrench attacks' are targeting wealthy crypto mogulsThe Explainer The attacks are named for physical coercion that can be used to gain crypto passwords
-
Trump is trying to jump-start US manufacturing. Is it worth it?Today's Big Question The jobs are good. The workers may not be there.
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
The end of WeightWatchers?Talking Point The diet brand has filed for bankruptcy in the US as it struggles to survive in era of weight-loss jabs
-
Visa wants to let AI make credit card purchases for youThe Explainer The program will allow you to set a budget and let AI learn from your shopping preferences
-
A newly created gasoline giant in the Americas could change the industry landscapeThe Explainer Sunoco and Parkland are two of the biggest fuel suppliers in the US and Canada, respectively
