July 08, 2026

Do electric trucks make sense?

45 minutes

For a moment in time it looked like a hard shift to the electric future was taking place. When America's best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150, is available with an electric powertrain, there were signs. But various automakers took different paths towards the electric future, and by many accounts history might show the first round of electric trucks were a failure with large price tags, sales volume that quickly cooled off, and what resulted in massive losses for automakers.

Now the next-generation of EVs are taking shape, and of course, because this is America, trucks are at the forefront. But this time things are going to be different. From how these electric trucks are being designed and built to how much they will cost, what they can do, and even what they offer in terms of features.

But do electric trucks even make sense? The Drive's Director Of Content And Product Joel Feder, Executive Editor Andrew P. Collins, and Senior Editor Caleb Jacobs break down the electric truck segment, what happened, where we are today, and what's coming next.

Stories mentioned in today's episode:

Ford F-150 Lightning EV Is Dead, Next Gen Will Have Gas Engine Backup

GM Delays Full-Size Electric Truck and SUV Redesigns: Report

Ram Gives Up On Its Electric Truck

2026 Rivian R1T Quad First Drive Review: When Too Much Is Just Enough

2024 Tesla Cybertruck Review: Impressive Engineering Hamstrung by Hubris

Spied: Ford’s $30,000 Electric Truck Caught Next to an Expedition

Slate’s $24,950 Electric Truck Gets More Range, More Tow Capacity—and 450 More Pounds

I Rode in Slate’s $24,950 Electric Truck. It Didn’t Feel Like a $24,950 Electric Truck

Pour One Out for Canoo, the EV Startup That Dared to Be Different

00:00 Intro

08:59 - Quick history lesson

13:58 - Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck paved the way into the future

16:58 - Ford's $30,000 electric truck

17:39 - Slate

19:41 - Lightning replacement