Watch Ford’s All-Electric F-150 Prototype Tow a One Million-Pound Freight Train

Bryan Hood

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The electric truck wars are really starting to heat up. Earlier this week, Ford unveiled an all-electric prototype of its stalwart F-150 that that the company proved can tow a mind-blowing one million pounds.

On Tuesday, the American automaker released a video in which an all-electric F-150 concept truck is shown towing 10 double-decker freight cars weighing more than a million pounds 1,000 feet in front of a group of skeptical owners of the gas-engine version of the truck. After pulling off the feat without so much as a murmur from its engine, 42 2019-model year F-150s were added to the load, bringing the weight to 1.25 million pounds. Again, the prototype, driven by 5-150 chief engineer Linda Zhang, had little problem silently tugging the massive haul 1000 feet.

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“’Built Ford Tough’ is all about durability, capability and productivity, and this all-electric F-150 extends [the company’s motto] to a whole new arena,” Zhang said.

While a one-time demonstration isn’t proof of the truck’s day-to-day capabilities, it’s still impressive, especially since the load was almost twice as heavy as the 560,000 pound Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner a Tesla Model X was filmed towing last year. While the company sees the value in electrifying the best-selling truck, it’s also clear they’re trying to do so without sacrificing performance. They’ll have a lot of time to figure that out, though, as an all-electric version of the F-150 probably won’t be ready until well into the next decade, according to CNET. Ford will be releasing a hybrid-version next year though.

While Ford is used to the F-Series dominating the gas-engine truck field—its consistently the best-selling vehicle in the US and Canada—things might be a bit more difficult when it makes the shift to an all-electric drivetrain. The automaker is facing stiff competition from more upscale automakers, like Tesla, which has already proved itself in the electric vehicle market, and Rivian, which has already attracted more than $1 billion of funding from companies like Amazon and… Ford.

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