Ford Motor shares experienced a decline on Monday following the company’s decision to reduce the price of its flagship electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning.
The move comes just days after Tesla produced its first Cybertruck at GigaTexas
Ford announced a significant price reduction, slashing the base price of the F-150 Lightning by approximately 16%, amounting to a reduction of around $9,980. The new base price now stands at $59,974 per unit. Price cuts for the higher-end Platinum version were slightly lower, around 6.2%.
Marin Gjaja, Ford’s Model 3 chief customer officer, acknowledged the reasons behind the price adjustment, stating, “Shortly after launching the F-150, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints, and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers. We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help lower prices for our customers and reduce the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning.”
Following the news that Ford cut prices of the F-150 Lightning, the automakers shares were initially down by 1.13% in pre-market trading, indicating an opening bell price of $14.81 per share.
Ford’s decision to lower prices comes amid the long-awaited release of Tesla’s Cybertruck, which was finally unveiled in Austin, Texas, over the weekend. Additionally, a broader electric vehicle price war has been ignited by Elon Musk’s automaker since late last year.
In a competitive response, Tesla recently announced a cash rebate of $500 and three months of Full Self-Driving (FSD) access for U.S. buyers of new Model 3 or Model Y sedans who use a referral link as part of the company’s ‘Refer and Earn’ program.
These developments highlight Musk’s emphasis on boosting sales volumes and solidifying Tesla’s market dominance, even at the expense of short-term profitability. This strategy aligns with Tesla’s goal of generating recurring revenue and long-term earnings growth through automated-vehicle sales in the coming years.
The price cuts come only a few weeks after Ford CEO Jim Farley dismissed the Tesla Cybertruck would be a competitor to the F-150 Lightning.
