FS Beast Owners >6 months: would you do it again?

[Art138]

That 4k towards PowerShare installation and 2.5k for the equipment was a great deal in retrospect for the CTB FS.

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[Cybertruck2024]

I have an opposite take on this. I couldn't justify spending an extra 35k for a 3rd motor.

If you've never had an EV truck, then it is an understandable take. If you owned a Lightning, R1T, etc.; it would be hard to downgrade. Every vehcile I buy is better than the last, an AWD CT is a step up it you were driving a gas F-150 or a Model Y or something. If you had a Lightning, it is a step back. I wasn't about to take a step back from the Lightning. Beast or bust.

 

[Sposborn]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The AWD CT is not worth the money. Coming from a Lightning, the Beast is a step up premium experience. If you get the AWD, you're better off spending less and getting a Lightning.

If i did it all over again I would get another Beast. If I wanted to be cheap, I'd get a Lightning. If I owned an AWD CT, I'd be ashamed I didn't spend a bit more or a lot less.

I went from a lightning lariat to a AWD CT. The experience is night and day driving and software wise comparing the two. Poor take.

 

[Cybertruck2024]

I went from a lightning lariat to a AWD CT. The experience is night and day driving and software wise comparing the two. Poor take.

Different strokes for different folks. If tomorrow I had the option of only an AWD or Lightning, I'd become an ex-member of this forum. But my Beast ain't going anywhere.

 

[ABILISK]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The AWD CT is not worth the money. Coming from a Lightning, the Beast is a step up premium experience. If you get the AWD, you're better off spending less and getting a Lightning.

If i did it all over again I would get another Beast. If I wanted to be cheap, I'd get a Lightning. If I owned an AWD CT, I'd be ashamed I didn't spend a bit more or a lot less.

Since this is from January, you still feel this way? I’d probably disagree, and yes, I’m a Beast owner. AWD only lacks the screaming speed, but is still plenty fast, still tows just as much, and can pretty much do everything ours can do other than win 99% of drag races. Especially now that the Beast demands someone buy Luxe, $35K is a hard sell. It’s fun as all get out, but if my truck got totaled today, I’d be thinking long and hard if I wanted another Beast or an AWD + Cybercab or Optimus soon.

I might very well end up with another Beast, because I’m pretty sure I have a problem, but it would cause me to think hard lol

 

[HaulingAss]

If you've never had an EV truck, then it is an understandable take. If you owned a Lightning, R1T, etc.; it would be hard to downgrade. Every vehcile I buy is better than the last, an AWD CT is a step up it you were driving a gas F-150 or a Model Y or something. If you had a Lightning, it is a step back. I wasn't about to take a step back from the Lightning. Beast or bust.

OK, claiming a Dual Motor Cybertruck is a downgrade from an F-150 Lighting is laughable. No one who has driven both can take you seriously. The Cybertruck just drives better and packs more cargo without feeling it.

But you are probably talking acceleration, since this is a Cyberbeast vs. Dual Motor discussion. Motortrend and Car and driver reported 3.8 and 3.9 second 0-60 for the Dual Motor Cybertruck. They reported 3.8 and 4.0 for the Lightning (but the 4.0 sec. was for the heavier Platinum trim), so, they are tied in terms of acceleration if we toss the Platinum number. And the Lightning is a big downgrade in just about every other thing that actually matters.

It would appear you are either confused, or simply trying to throw shade on the Cybertruck by calling it a downgrade from an F-150 Lightning. Based on your post history, I'm going with the latter.

 

[HaulingAss]

I went from a lightning lariat to a AWD CT. The experience is night and day driving and software wise comparing the two. Poor take.

Exactly. I'm not saying someone couldn't prefer the F-150 for personal or aesthetic reasons, but calling the older, less advanced, less capable, less tough, F-150 an "upgrade" over a Cybertruck is pretty laughable.

 

[Cybertruck2024]

Since this is from January, you still feel this way? I’d probably disagree, and yes, I’m a Beast owner. AWD only lacks the screaming speed, but is still plenty fast, still tows just as much, and can pretty much do everything ours can do other than win 99% of drag races. Especially now that the Beast demands someone buy Luxe, $35K is a hard sell. It’s fun as all get out, but if my truck got totaled today, I’d be thinking long and hard if I wanted another Beast or an AWD + Cybercab or Optimus soon.

I might very well end up with another Beast, because I’m pretty sure I have a problem, but it would cause me to think hard lol

The price difference between the AWD and Lightning is too big for me to suggest the AWD is the better vehicle to almost anyone. It's $20k more to get into a AWD than a Lightning, and the Lightning does quite a few things better at the lower price. If you say "what about FSD," then you're over $25k more for the AWD. I don't see the value proposition. Lightning is faster than the AWD, more comfortable, better bed, won't get you spit at, and does it all for $20k less.

"What about FSD, I use it 90% of the time." The CT drives worse than my M3 on HW3 computer using FSD. Get a used Lightning for truck stuff and a used Model Y for FSD and you're spending less than a CT. If you're buying an AWD then value is part of the equation, this is the true value play.

Now where this argument falls apart is if you don't care about value proposition. If you want the most ridiculous truck on the market that has absurd acceleration and you look past the cost because you want something wild, you get the Beast.

My take isn't an outlier, the Lightning is the best selling EV truck for a reason. The AWD doesn't command the premium price over the Lightning and the Beast is out of reach for most buyers. Real life sales show everything I am saying is popular opinion.

 

[Sposborn]

The price difference between the AWD and Lightning is too big for me to suggest the AWD is the better vehicle to almost anyone. It's $20k more to get into a AWD than a Lightning, and the Lightning does quite a few things better at the lower price. If you say "what about FSD," then you're over $25k more for the AWD. I don't see the value proposition. Lightning is faster than the AWD, more comfortable, better bed, won't get you spit at, and does it all for $20k less.

"What about FSD, I use it 90% of the time." The CT drives worse than my M3 on HW3 computer using FSD. Get a used Lightning for truck stuff and a used Model Y for FSD and you're spending less than a CT. If you're buying an AWD then value is part of the equation, this is the true value play.

Now where this argument falls apart is if you don't care about value proposition. If you want the most ridiculous truck on the market that has absurd acceleration and you look past the cost because you want something wild, you get the Beast.

My take isn't an outlier, the Lightning is the best selling EV truck for a reason. The AWD doesn't command the premium price over the Lightning and the Beast is out of reach for most buyers. Real life sales show everything I am saying is popular opinion.

I can break down some reasons why I think the AWD is a better value in case there are any potential buyers that are stuck between the two brands of vehicle:

Everything from the mobile app, in-car infotainment and driving experience is worse in a lightning. There are no benefits of a lightning vs an AWD CT other than a straight line pull off a light and a bigger frunk.

1. Driving experience: Even though the suspension is independent on all corners for the lightning, it is extremely “floaty” and doesn’t allow you to take advantage of the speed of the lightning. Body roll is really noticeable when planting a corner going anywhere over 50+. The cybertruck has a far superior experience from air suspension. I won’t even get into steer by wire, and a far quieter suspension overall. The seats are far more comfortable on the CT, this is a comment by several family members that have sat in Both vehicles.

2. Car infotainment and car software: This is where Tesla works their magic, I’m not even going to go into FSD, this is a given benefit of having a Tesla. Lightning has no built in recording for on-board cameras, bed outlets wouldn’t stay powered unless truck was “on”, Ford’s home backup system was quoted for me at 10k vs 2k for PowerShare for my CT (hardware, I self installed). The rear screen entertainment is awesome for my two little ones. They were thrilled when they learned they can watch YouTube and play games on the rear screen. They can also get into the cybertruck way easier thanks to entry mode vs the lightning’s static suspension, something that wont affect those without small kids, but worth noting for comparing the two for some.

The sync system on the Ford is extremely slow, laggy and plagued with issues. Some common infotainment issues myself and various members on the lightning owners form had:

• Loss of Audio while driving while using CarPlay/android auto
• Phone connectivity taking ~ 5 minutes during drive to connect wirelessly (multiple phones tested, Make and model didn’t matter)
• Center screen would randomly ”bug out” and show the grayscale background while switching between options (CarPlay/AA and temp control menu for example) and would require double hold reset

It is worth mentioning on my Lariat, I had my drive inverter fail, my rear taillight bar fail, front right headlight go out, and latch issues with the frunk. These hardware issues were all taken care of by service, but the drive inverter required my truck to be in shop for over 4 months. All issues within 20k miles. Software issues Ford connected me with engineers to discuss my problems and they told me that they would “eventually be fixea” - Over the rest of the 11 months I kept my truck they were never resolved.

3. Mobile app PAK (phone as key): Even though this is a life luxury to not carry keys anymore, it’s worth noting as the connectivity and refresh cycle of Ford’s FordPass app is abysmal. You are better off unlocking the car manually with fob than utilizing FordPass as you’re waiting 30s+ for a command to go through to the vehicle regardless of bluetooth vs network connection. It’s also worth noting that PAK on the lightning doesn’t register for the handle grab unlock either, and had issues even with fob. I have had 0 issues with the CT registering.

4. Efficiency: The guessometer built into the lightning is very poor. During summer, perfect conditions my lightning on average got 220 miles (I had the extended range, tow package with bigger coolant pipes). When I traded in my lightning my efficiency rating was around 1.7miles/kwh. With my cybertruck with the same driving habits I am averaging 411wh/m or 2.4miles/kwh. This is the difference of around 70 usable miles during long drives and is a pretty significant difference.

For these reasons, I would guide any potential buyer that stumbles on this form looking at lightning vs cybertruck to go look for a AWD CT used on the market, you’re going to be far happier If the reasons above are worth a higher price than a used lightning. If my lightning would have been solid it would be sitting in my garage now.

 

[TheEther]

Beast owner will be 1 year in less than a month. Would buy Beast again in a heartbeat. There's nothing on the market today that's doing everything the beast does. If Tesla releases an SUV on beast platform, I'll insta-buy that.

This sums up my sentiments.

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/love-hate-things-about-ct.47229/post-30651483

 

[HaulingAss]

The price difference between the AWD and Lightning is too big for me to suggest the AWD is the better vehicle to almost anyone. It's $20k more to get into a AWD than a Lightning,

Your claim was that the Dual Motor Cybertruck would be a downgrade from a F-150 Lightning. Now you are claiming the entry level F-150 Lightning is a better value, because it costs less. That's a classic red herring argument, changing the subject to distract from the obviously incorrect original false narrative.

Do you think people here are stupid?

 

[Cybertruck2024]

Your claim was that the Dual Motor Cybertruck would be a downgrade from a F-150 Lightning. Now you are claiming the entry level F-150 Lightning is a better value, because it costs less. That's a classic red herring argument, changing the subject to distract from the obviously incorrect original false narrative.

Do you think people here are stupid?

I am talking about the same truck. Entry level Lightning vs entry level CT. The entry level Lightning is the better option for almost everyone. Steer by wire is the one thing I'd really miss moving to the Lightning again, but I will save $20k to spin a wheel a few extra times.

Value obviously needs to be a consideration when comparing two vehicles, right?

Again, if you aren't concerned about value, then the Beast is the obvious choice. If you are concerned about value, the Lightning is the obvious choice. AWD is in no man's land.

 

[HaulingAss]

I can break down some reasons why I think the AWD is a better value in case there are any potential buyers that are stuck between the two brands of vehicle:

Everything from the mobile app, in-car infotainment and driving experience is worse in a lightning. There are no benefits of a lightning vs an AWD CT other than a straight line pull off a light and a bigger frunk.

1. Driving experience: Even though the suspension is independent on all corners for the lightning, it is extremely “floaty” and doesn’t allow you to take advantage of the speed of the lightning. Body roll is really noticeable when planting a corner going anywhere over 50+. The cybertruck has a far superior experience from air suspension. I won’t even get into steer by wire, and a far quieter suspension overall. The seats are far more comfortable on the CT, this is a comment by several family members that have sat in Both vehicles.

2. Car infotainment and car software: This is where Tesla works their magic, I’m not even going to go into FSD, this is a given benefit of having a Tesla. Lightning has no built in recording for on-board cameras, bed outlets wouldn’t stay powered unless truck was “on”, Ford’s home backup system was quoted for me at 10k vs 2k for PowerShare for my CT (hardware, I self installed). The rear screen entertainment is awesome for my two little ones. They were thrilled when they learned they can watch YouTube and play games on the rear screen. They can also get into the cybertruck way easier thanks to entry mode vs the lightning’s static suspension, something that wont affect those without small kids, but worth noting for comparing the two for some.

The sync system on the Ford is extremely slow, laggy and plagued with issues. Some common infotainment issues myself and various members on the lightning owners form had:

• Loss of Audio while driving while using CarPlay/android auto
• Phone connectivity taking ~ 5 minutes during drive to connect wirelessly (multiple phones tested, Make and model didn’t matter)
• Center screen would randomly ”bug out” and show the grayscale background while switching between options (CarPlay/AA and temp control menu for example) and would require double hold reset

It is worth mentioning on my Lariat, I had my drive inverter fail, my rear taillight bar fail, front right headlight go out, and latch issues with the frunk. These hardware issues were all taken care of by service, but the drive inverter required my truck to be in shop for over 4 months. All issues within 20k miles. Software issues Ford connected me with engineers to discuss my problems and they told me that they would “eventually be fixea” - Over the rest of the 11 months I kept my truck they were never resolved.

3. Mobile app PAK (phone as key): Even though this is a life luxury to not carry keys anymore, it’s worth noting as the connectivity and refresh cycle of Ford’s FordPass app is abysmal. You are better off unlocking the car manually with fob than utilizing FordPass as you’re waiting 30s+ for a command to go through to the vehicle regardless of bluetooth vs network connection. It’s also worth noting that PAK on the lightning doesn’t register for the handle grab unlock either, and had issues even with fob. I have had 0 issues with the CT registering.

4. Efficiency: The guessometer built into the lightning is very poor. During summer, perfect conditions my lightning on average got 220 miles (I had the extended range, tow package with bigger coolant pipes). When I traded in my lightning my efficiency rating was around 1.7miles/kwh. With my cybertruck with the same driving habits I am averaging 411wh/m or 2.4miles/kwh. This is the difference of around 70 usable miles during long drives and is a pretty significant difference.

For these reasons, I would guide any potential buyer that stumbles on this form looking at lightning vs cybertruck to go look for a AWD CT used on the market, you’re going to be far happier If the reasons above are worth a higher price than a used lightning. If my lightning would have been solid it would be sitting in my garage now.

I agree with all of the well-reasoned and accurate points you raised, with one minor exception:

There are no benefits of a lightning vs an AWD CT other than a straight line pull off a light and a bigger frunk.

While it's true that the manufacturer's published specs here show the fastest Lightning is quicker in the 0-60 mph than the Dual Motor Cybertruck, Ford uses the one second rollout method while Tesla uses the absolute time method (and they are slightly conservative on that).

The two trucks are actually neck and neck in straight line pull (as measured by instrumented Car and Driver and Road and Track testing), and the Dual Motor Cybertruck likely has a big advantage when accelerating hard from a turn due to it's more advanced suspension and faster response time of the traction control.

Thank you for sharing your real world ownership experiences of both trucks. There is no doubt the body motion and chassis of the Cybertruck is more controlled under full acceleration, that can easily lead to the perception that the less composed vehicle pulls harder. But the timing equipment doesn't lie.

 

[HaulingAss]

I am talking about the same truck. Entry level Lightning vs entry level CT.

You switched from claiming the Dual Motor was a downgrade from the Lightning, to saying the entry-level Lightning was cheaper. I can agree the XLT Lighting is cheaper, not that it's an upgrade from the Cybertruck.

In fact, the entry level Lightning is much slower than the Dual Motor Cybertruck, it's the real downgrade (and not just for reasons of slowness).

 

[Cybertruck2024]

You switched from claiming the Dual Motor was a downgrade from the Lightning, to saying the entry-level Lightning was cheaper. I can agree the XLT Lighting is cheaper, not that it's an upgrade from the Cybertruck.

In fact, the entry level Lightning is much slower than the Dual Motor Cybertruck, it's the real downgrade (and not just for reasons of slowness).

Depends what you want. Cybertruck drives more sporty, better tech, FSD.

Lightning feels like you're riding on a cloud, bed is easier to access and more usable, frunk is significantly better, more interior room.

There's 30 other things I can put on both sides of pros and cons, but you won't read any of them and just will say "CT IS BETTER IN EVERYTHING," so I am not going to waste my breath. For what it's worth, I am happy I moved to the Beast, my partner misses the Lightning and always comments how sad she is we changed when we pass one on the road. She's driven and ridden in both extensively and prefers the vehicle that costs half as much. Every time the CT frunk pops open because a standard sized grocery bag doesn't fit in there, I hear about how much better the Lightning is when I am with her.

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