When Ford unveiled the F-150 Lightning in May 2021, CEO Jim Farley called it "the most important vehicle Ford has ever made." The electric pickup would bring America's best-selling vehicle into the battery age, proving that Detroit could compete with Tesla while keeping its truck-dependent profits intact.

Three and a half years later, the Lightning is dead.

Ford confirmed last week that it will discontinue the electric F-150 as part of a broader retreat from aggressive EV targets. The decision, combined with approximately $19.5 billion in restructuring charges and writedowns, marks the most painful pivot in Ford's 122-year history.

What Went Wrong

The Lightning's failure wasn't a single catastrophe but a death by a thousand cuts:

Pricing Chaos: Ford launched the Lightning at $39,974 for the base model — an aggressive price point that required heavy losses per vehicle. As battery costs remained stubbornly high, Ford raised prices repeatedly, eventually pushing entry prices above $50,000. The constant changes confused buyers and damaged trust.

Range Reality: While Tesla's Cybertruck delivers 340 miles of real-world range, the Lightning struggled to exceed 250 miles, particularly when towing — the primary use case for F-150 buyers. Electric trucks that can't tow cross-country face fundamental market limitations.

Charging Infrastructure: Ford invested heavily in charging partnerships, but the reality of charging a pickup truck on America's roads remained problematic. Tesla's Supercharger network, now open to Ford vehicles, helped — but couldn't solve the fundamental issue of charging times that truck buyers found unacceptable.

The Tax Credit Expiration: Perhaps most damaging was the September 2025 expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, eliminated as part of Congress's "Big Beautiful Bill." Without that subsidy, the Lightning's already-challenged value proposition collapsed entirely.

"We believed customers would transition to electric trucks faster than they actually did. That was our mistake, and now we're correcting it."

— Jim Farley, CEO, Ford Motor Company

GM's Parallel Retreat

Ford isn't alone. General Motors disclosed a $1.6 billion impact from pulling back EV investments, delaying or canceling several planned electric models. The Chevrolet Silverado EV remains in production but with reduced volume targets. The Cadillac Lyriq, initially positioned as GM's EV flagship, has become a niche product rather than a volume play.

The combined Ford-GM retreat represents roughly $25 billion in writedowns and restructuring charges — money that was supposed to fund Detroit's electric transformation.

The New Strategy: Back to Basics

Both companies are now pivoting to what they're calling "customer-led" EV strategies — industry speak for building fewer electric vehicles while waiting for demand to materialize. In practice, this means:

  • Refocusing on hybrid vehicles as a bridge technology
  • Maintaining gasoline truck and SUV production at full capacity
  • Reducing EV capital expenditure projections by 40-50%
  • Abandoning aggressive EV sales targets

Ford's Model e division, created to focus exclusively on electric vehicles, is being reintegrated into the broader company. The separation that was supposed to bring EV agility instead created bureaucratic overhead that proved unsustainable.

The BYD Shadow

Looming over Detroit's retreat is China's BYD, which just surpassed Tesla as the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer. While American automakers pull back, BYD continues expanding globally, offering electric vehicles at price points Detroit cannot match.

The 100% tariff on Chinese-made EVs provides temporary protection, but it also highlights American automakers' cost disadvantages. BYD can profitably sell an electric sedan for $20,000; Ford loses money on every Lightning it builds at twice that price.

Investment Implications

For Ford (F) and GM (GM) shareholders, the EV retreat is a double-edged sword:

The Bull Case: Refocusing on profitable trucks and SUVs should improve near-term margins. Both companies have pricing power in segments where they're market leaders. The retreat acknowledges reality and preserves capital for a more measured transition.

The Bear Case: Detroit has essentially ceded the EV future to Tesla and, eventually, Chinese manufacturers. When battery costs fall and charging infrastructure matures, Ford and GM may find themselves playing catch-up again — but further behind than before.

Tesla (TSLA), despite its own challenges, benefits from reduced competition. With Ford and GM pulling back, Tesla's dominance of the American EV market extends further.

What Happens to Lightning Owners?

Ford committed to supporting existing Lightning owners with parts, service, and software updates for the vehicles' lifespans. But the discontinuation inevitably affects resale values and raises questions about long-term support beyond legal requirements.

Owners who bought Lightnings expecting them to be the beginning of Ford's electric future now own what amounts to a footnote — a brief experiment that didn't work out.

The Bigger Picture

Detroit's EV retreat reveals an uncomfortable truth: the transition from gasoline to electric vehicles will be longer, messier, and more expensive than almost anyone predicted in 2020's optimistic projections.

Government mandates, corporate commitments, and Wall Street pressure pushed automakers toward aggressive EV targets. But consumers, facing higher prices and charging inconvenience, didn't follow the script. The result is an industry in painful correction mode.

The F-150 Lightning was supposed to be proof that electric trucks could work — that America's favorite vehicle could go electric without compromise. Its discontinuation is proof of something different: that some compromises, at least for now, remain unacceptable to buyers.

Detroit will eventually go electric. But "eventually" just got pushed back by years, billions of dollars, and one very notable dead pickup truck.