It was the challenge heard around the electric vehicle world. And now it seems, the Ford F-150 versus Tesla Cybertruck tow battle that we were all ready for, probably won’t happen.
A quick recap: Tesla CEO Elon Musk poked the figurative Dearborn, Michigan bear in the middle of the company’s Cybertruck unveiling when he played a video of the futuristic electric truck pulling an F-150 in what was pitched as a head-to-head contest.
Many were quick to question whether it was a fair fight, including astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But what really got Musk’s attention was a tweet from Sundeep Madra, VP of Ford X, the automaker’s venture incubator.
A badass @Tesla looking like it’s doing a badass thing. But if the @Ford F-150 is RWD **with no payload** then weight on the Rear Axle is greatly reduced, offering only mild traction for the Tesla to overcome. This contest is more about the Physics of Friction than Engine Power.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 25, 2019
Madra tweeted to Musk challenging the CEO to send Ford a Cybertruck to do an “apples to apples” test. Musk, who is well versed in the Twitter troll, responded with a “bring it on.”
Bring it on https://t.co/pCnln1NdRO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2019
It seems Madra’s tweet wasn’t meant to be a serious challenge, but a “tongue in cheek” troll, according to Ford.
“Sunny’s tweet was tongue in cheek to point out the absurdity of Tesla’s video, nothing more,” a Ford spokesperson said in an email to TechCrunch. “With America’s best-selling truck for 42 years, we’ve always focused on serving our truck customers regardless of what others say or do. We look forward to our all-new F-150 hybrid coming next year and all-electric F-150 in a few years.”
Perhaps, Ford will change its mind. But for now, the tow battle rematch will be left to Tesla.
Sure, will aim to do this next week
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2019
