First Impressions: F-150 gas to F-150 Lightning to Cyberbeast

[TCT2024]

Hey folks!

I've had quite the journey since I bought my first truck, a gas F-150 in 2016 (MY13 Platinum 3.5L V6 in Tuxedo Black), switched to a F-150 Lightning in 2022 (Lariat ER in Antimatter Blue) and now just switched to a Cyberbeast (first Tesla I've ever driven). From what I hear most people buying CTs are new to trucks, but just in case you are not or otherwise care, I figured I'd share my experience!

Disclaimer: For me a pickup truck is the ultimate family vehicle vs. official "truck stuff". With a house, 3 little kids and their cousins nearby, I'm always moving larger things around (Power wheels, random strollers, Home Depot runs, inflatable kayaks, friends moving, etc.). I also genuinely feel safer driving around (physics of a big vehicle), and just enjoy the space. 95% of my miles are easily within 1 hour of my house, so range anxiety isn't really a concern.

Shameless DMV plug: If you're a CT owner in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area and want to meet up let me know! I'm in NOVA and just started the "DMV Cybertruck Owners" Facebook group if you want to join.

F-150 Lightning --> Cybertruck: This was hard. Frankly I had a "10 things I hate about you" moment --> "...But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all."

Pros:

• Sound system --> it's absolutely incredible. My guess is the deep dash that you don't get in any other vehicle facilitates awesome staging, but the speakers themselves seem incredibly clear. Might be really well-balanced EQ too. I'm not an audiophile per se, but I was blown away. I've literally sat in the truck in my garage just listening to music.
• Full Self Driving --> I had to take the CT to the service center and was able to drive a Model S with FSD. Absolutely awesome!! Night and day compared to Ford's comparatively useless BlueCruise. I also recently had the chance to take a fully autonomous Waymo ride and for me Tesla was 80% of the effectiveness. Of course, the Waymo had a bunch of spinning sensors on it so not exactly fair. Can't wait for FSD to be enabled on CT - huge selling point for me.
• Software updates --> Coming from the barren desert for updates that is Ford, this has been amazing. Even if an update is just "minor fixes", you just click go, it updates, and there's no issue!
• Retractable Tonneau Cover --> Awesome feature, especially because it's apparently robust enough to stand on vs. a vinyl-type design. I haven't tested myself in rain, so hopefully it's not leaky
• Steer-by-wire --> I think this is great and love not having to turn the wheel more than 1 turn either way. I will say it's a bit disorienting if you switch back and forth a lot between regular-steering cars.
• Four-Wheel Steering --> super-useful feature. Noticeably seems more nimble than the F-150 Lightning though technically the turning radius isn't that much better (43.5 ft vs. 47.8 ft.).
• Cell phone holders --> totally a nit, but I love the fact that I can just put my phone down in a completely natural way and not have to shove it in some kind of compartment to charge...AND my wife can do so at the same with her phone
• UI/UX --> Absolutely love the snappy interface, and don't miss not having CarPlay anywhere as much as I thought I would. No idea if this would feel new to an existing Tesla driver, but I'm not one so it was awesome.
• Rear gear locker --> very cool use of space, as you can never have enough storage
• Tesla sales process --> Compared to buying from a dealer this must be what it's like to see in color for the first time. Everything was super-simple in the app and not a multi-hour long journey of negotiating, signing papers, dealing with being upsold on random stuff, and waiting for the finance office to be ready.
• Payload --> Truck companies all harp on towing capacity, but I think this is the stat should matter as much if not more to people. My CT has 2,271 lbs payload rating whereas the F-150 Lightning had 1,682 lbs and my gas F-150 only 1,179 lbs. If you consider that if you're conventionally towing something, 10% of that trailer weight counts against payload, that runs out real fast with 2 adults + 3 kids and their car seats.
• Air Suspension --> The range between low and extra-high is absolutely nuts. Not sure if I'll ever take the CT off-roading, but if I do it's got way more clearance than a stock Jeep Rubicon.
• 50 amp 240 v bed outlet --> This is great because the CT gives me 20 extra amps (L14-50R receptacle) vs. the F-150 Lightning (L14-30R receptacle) to power my house via my standard generator inlet. I probably won't install Powershare to avoid dealing with having to pick breakers to include in the transfer panel. [EDIT: 50 amp outlet = 40 amps continuous, so net 16 extra amps vs. the F-150]

Cons:

• Attention --> I hate this. I know, I know, I bought a CT so how in the world would I not see this coming. At the end of the day it is what it is, I couldn't not buy it as a tech guy. BUT, now I literally can't bring myself to drive it to busy places because I don't want to deal with stares, being stopped, smudges on the vehicle, etc. My plan is to wrap it in black. It probably won't really stop any of the above, but psychologically I'll feel better, and that's what matters!
• Rail Dust --> I don't care what the real reason of why this shows up, but a $120k vehicle shouldn't be delivered with anything that looks like rust on it. Tesla did clean up the hood (where most if it was for me) but this really should never have been a thing.
• Tesla feature delays --> Full self driving, wheel covers, light bar, PowerShare installation. Absolutely no information on when any of this is available, which is pretty ridiculous considering that's all Foundation Series stuff people paid $20k extra for.
• Vampire battery drain --> CT seems to use up way more battery than it should when sitting doing nothing. Tesla officially states 1% per day is normal, but I didn't experience this in the Lightning. I haven't tested this scientifically, but I will admit I think it's gotten a bit better after a few updates.
• Smudging --> Huge pain. Any finger touch is a noticeable smudge that's not easy to clean off without appropriate cleaning stuff. Should be solved by the wrap though!
• Frunk space --> There has to be a way they could've made this deeper. Fits one umbrella stroller. Literally half the space of the F-150 Lightning.
• Tesla sales process --> being a first-time Tesla owner, I would've appreciated more than a finger point to my truck at delivery. If this wasn't my first Tesla, I don't think I'd have any issue here
• Spare Tire --> Wish there was one under the bed. F-150 Lightning had it. Not sure whether I'd take that or the gear locker if I had to pick.
• No key fob --> I get that phone-as-a-key is a thing, but with a $120k truck, I deserve a cool key fob not a hotel key card.

Gas F-150 --> F-150 Lightning: Loved the F-150 Lightning from day 1 as an EV truck, and would never go back to gas for a daily driver.

Pros:

• Frunk --> total game changer in a pickup to hold stuff you don't want to get wet without the need for a pickup shell
• EV drivetrain --> absolutely love the smoothness, immediate power and quiteness of EV
• EV efficiency --> instead of a gas-guzzling truck, I was driving a super-efficient clean vehicle without sacrificing any utility
• Home backup --> I set up a simple generator inlet directly wired to my panel w/an interlock, and it worked great plugged into the bed 240v outlet
• EV charging --> I literally only used a fast charger twice. Leaving the truck plugged in overnight and never having to get gas was awesome
• F-150 looks --> I absolutely don't want a vehicle for attention, and it was great driving around an amazing truck that 95% of people would never know is any different than any other F-150

Cons:

• Software updates --> This was singularly the most miserable experience of the F-150 Lightning due to a combination of (a) ridiculous dependency on a tiny 12 volt low-voltage battery and (b) legacy auto OEM's inability to write software. Ford's vague instructions were useless, I bought 2 battery tenders which were hit or miss, and it wasn't until I got an OBDII adapter that I could reliably get updates to work because it actually showed me the truck met minimum voltage requirements after hours of being left on outside. This would all be fine in the name of awesome updates, but they weren't great. The most exciting one was getting % SOC instead of mile estimate on the dash. We were promised BlueCruise 1.3 about a year ago, and still no sign of it. People have literally bought expensive technician-intended software subscriptions and devices to force updates. Ask me how I really feel
• EV range --> the learning experience was (a) highway range is way less than city (b) it's not great in cold weather and (c) even though there's plenty of public EV chargers out there, you never know if they'll work and definitely no guarantee that they're fast
• Beeping --> Open/close frunk, loud annoying beeping. Open/close tailgate, loud annoying beeping. Reverse, you're a construction vehicle. There's no reason any of these chimes have to be as annoying as they are with no option to turn off (I get the reverse thing is mandatory, but there's no reason they had to pick "construction vehicle" as the sound vs. the standard EV "woo woo woo")
• 5.5 ft. bed --> gas F-150s crew cabs come with 5.5 and 6.5 ft. beds. Wish I could have had the 6.5 ft.
• Towing --> plenty of brute force, but pretty useless if you really need to tow. My key use case would have been an RV trailer, but no way I'm buying one if my truck can only tow for 100 miles and then I need to charge for 45+ minutes.

I'll follow up with more after I get my CT wrapped, load up the car seats, and put more miles on it!

Sponsored

 

[Sarge588]

Well and thoughtfully written, thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience thus far!

 

[TyPope]

Hey folks!

I've had quite the journey since I bought my first truck, a gas F-150 in 2016 (MY13 Platinum 3.5L V6 in Tuxedo Black), switched to a F-150 Lightning in 2022 (Lariat ER in Antimatter Blue) and now just switched to a Cyberbeast (first Tesla I've ever driven). From what I hear most people buying CTs are new to trucks, but just in case you are not or otherwise care, I figured I'd share my experience!

Disclaimer: For me a pickup truck is the ultimate family vehicle vs. official "truck stuff". With a house, 3 little kids and their cousins nearby, I'm always moving larger things around (Power wheels, random strollers, Home Depot runs, inflatable kayaks, friends moving, etc.). I also genuinely feel safer driving around (physics of a big vehicle), and just enjoy the space. 95% of my miles are easily within 1 hour of my house, so range anxiety isn't really a concern.

Shameless DMV plug: If you're a CT owner in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area and want to meet up let me know! I'm in NOVA and just started the "DMV Cybertruck Owners" Facebook group if you want to join.

F-150 Lightning --> Cybertruck: This was hard. Frankly I had a "10 things I hate about you" moment --> "...But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all."

Pros:

• Sound system --> it's absolutely incredible. My guess is the deep dash that you don't get in any other vehicle facilitates awesome staging, but the speakers themselves seem incredibly clear. Might be really well-balanced EQ too. I'm not an audiophile per se, but I was blown away. I've literally sat in the truck in my garage just listening to music.
• Full Self Driving --> I had to take the CT to the service center and was able to drive a Model S with FSD. Absolutely awesome!! Night and day compared to Ford's comparatively useless BlueCruise. I also recently had the chance to take a fully autonomous Waymo ride and for me Tesla was 80% of the effectiveness. Of course, the Waymo had a bunch of spinning sensors on it so not exactly fair. Can't wait for FSD to be enabled on CT - huge selling point for me.
• Software updates --> Coming from the barren desert for updates that is Ford, this has been amazing. Even if an update is just "minor fixes", you just click go, it updates, and there's no issue!
• Retractable Tonneau Cover --> Awesome feature, especially because it's apparently robust enough to stand on vs. a vinyl-type design. I haven't tested myself in rain, so hopefully it's not leaky
• Steer-by-wire --> I think this is great and love not having to turn the wheel more than 1 turn either way. I will say it's a bit disorienting if you switch back and forth a lot between regular-steering cars.
• Four-Wheel Steering --> super-useful feature. Noticeably seems more nimble than the F-150 Lightning though technically the turning radius isn't that much better (43.5 ft vs. 47.8 ft.).
• Cell phone holders --> totally a nit, but I love the fact that I can just put my phone down in a completely natural way and not have to shove it in some kind of compartment to charge...AND my wife can do so at the same with her phone
• UI/UX --> Absolutely love the snappy interface, and don't miss not having CarPlay anywhere as much as I thought I would. No idea if this would feel new to an existing Tesla driver, but I'm not one so it was awesome.
• Rear gear locker --> very cool use of space, as you can never have enough storage
• Tesla sales process --> Compared to buying from a dealer this must be what it's like to see in color for the first time. Everything was super-simple in the app and not a multi-hour long journey of negotiating, signing papers, dealing with being upsold on random stuff, and waiting for the finance office to be ready.
• Payload --> Truck companies all harp on towing capacity, but I think this is the stat should matter as much if not more to people. My CT has 2,271 lbs payload rating whereas the F-150 Lightning had 1,682 lbs and my gas F-150 only 1,179 lbs. If you consider that if you're conventionally towing something, 10% of that trailer weight counts against payload, that runs out real fast with 2 adults + 3 kids and their car seats.
• Air Suspension --> The range between low and extra-high is absolutely nuts. Not sure if I'll ever take the CT off-roading, but if I do it's got way more clearance than a stock Jeep Rubicon.
• 50 amp 240 v bed outlet --> This is great because the CT gives me 20 extra amps (L14-50R receptacle) vs. the F-150 Lightning (L14-30R receptacle) to power my house via my standard generator inlet. I probably won't install Powershare to avoid dealing with having to pick breakers to include in the transfer panel.

Cons:

• Attention --> I hate this. I know, I know, I bought a CT so how in the world would I not see this coming. At the end of the day it is what it is, I couldn't not buy it as a tech guy. BUT, now I literally can't bring myself to drive it to busy places because I don't want to deal with stares, being stopped, smudges on the vehicle, etc. My plan is to wrap it in black. It probably won't really stop any of the above, but psychologically I'll feel better, and that's what matters!
• Rail Dust --> I don't care what the real reason of why this shows up, but a $120k vehicle shouldn't be delivered with anything that looks like rust on it. Tesla did clean up the hood (where most if it was for me) but this really should never have been a thing.
• Tesla feature delays --> Full self driving, wheel covers, light bar, PowerShare installation. Absolutely no information on when any of this is available, which is pretty ridiculous considering that's all Foundation Series stuff people paid $20k extra for.
• Vampire battery drain --> CT seems to use up way more battery than it should when sitting doing nothing. Tesla officially states 1% per day is normal, but I didn't experience this in the Lightning. I haven't tested this scientifically, but I will admit I think it's gotten a bit better after a few updates.
• Smudging --> Huge pain. Any finger touch is a noticeable smudge that's not easy to clean off without appropriate cleaning stuff. Should be solved by the wrap though!
• Frunk space --> There has to be a way they could've made this deeper. Fits one umbrella stroller. Literally half the space of the F-150 Lightning.
• Tesla sales process --> being a first-time Tesla owner, I would've appreciated more than a finger point to my truck at delivery. If this wasn't my first Tesla, I don't think I'd have any issue here
• Spare Tire --> Wish there was one under the bed. F-150 Lightning had it. Not sure whether I'd take that or the gear locker if I had to pick.
• No key fob --> I get that phone-as-a-key is a thing, but with a $120k truck, I deserve a cool key fob not a hotel key card.

Gas F-150 --> F-150 Lightning: Loved the F-150 Lightning from day 1 as an EV truck, and would never go back to gas for a daily driver.

Pros:

• Frunk --> total game changer in a pickup to hold stuff you don't want to get wet without the need for a pickup shell
• EV drivetrain --> absolutely love the smoothness, immediate power and quiteness of EV
• EV efficiency --> instead of a gas-guzzling truck, I was driving a super-efficient clean vehicle without sacrificing any utility
• Home backup --> I set up a simple generator inlet directly wired to my panel w/an interlock, and it worked great plugged into the bed 240v outlet
• EV charging --> I literally only used a fast charger twice. Leaving the truck plugged in overnight and never having to get gas was awesome
• F-150 looks --> I absolutely don't want a vehicle for attention, and it was great driving around an amazing truck that 95% of people would never know is any different than any other F-150

Cons:

• Software updates --> This was singularly the most miserable experience of the F-150 Lightning due to a combination of (a) ridiculous dependency on a tiny 12 volt low-voltage battery and (b) legacy auto OEM's inability to write software. Ford's vague instructions were useless, I bought 2 battery tenders which were hit or miss, and it wasn't until I got an OBDII adapter that I could reliably get updates to work because it actually showed me the truck met minimum voltage requirements after hours of being left on outside. This would all be fine in the name of awesome updates, but they weren't great. The most exciting one was getting % SOC instead of mile estimate on the dash. We were promised BlueCruise 1.3 about a year ago, and still no sign of it. People have literally bought expensive technician-intended software subscriptions and devices to force updates. Ask me how I really feel
• EV range --> the learning experience was (a) highway range is way less than city (b) it's not great in cold weather and (c) even though there's plenty of public EV chargers out there, you never know if they'll work and definitely no guarantee that they're fast
• Beeping --> Open/close frunk, loud annoying beeping. Open/close tailgate, loud annoying beeping. Reverse, you're a construction vehicle. There's no reason any of these chimes have to be as annoying as they are with no option to turn off (I get the reverse thing is mandatory, but there's no reason they had to pick "construction vehicle" as the sound vs. the standard EV "woo woo woo")
• 5.5 ft. bed --> gas F-150s crew cabs come with 5.5 and 6.5 ft. beds. Wish I could have had the 6.5 ft.
• Towing --> plenty of brute force, but pretty useless if you really need to tow. My key use case would have been an RV trailer, but no way I'm buying one if my truck can only tow for 100 miles and then I need to charge for 45+ minutes.

I'll follow up with more after I get my CT wrapped, load up the car seats, and put more miles on it!

I'm in the DMV waiting on my Cyberbeast. Any day now... any day now... I don't have my Cell Phone in the building with me but I'll check out your facebook page later. I don't do much with facebook though. I have an account and I post regularly. I posted something in 2022 I think. I should probably post something later this year. I just don't feel the need to tell people what I'm doing. But for information, sure.

 

[FarAway]

Hey folks!

I've had quite the journey since I bought my first truck, a gas F-150 in 2016 (MY13 Platinum 3.5L V6 in Tuxedo Black), switched to a F-150 Lightning in 2022 (Lariat ER in Antimatter Blue) and now just switched to a Cyberbeast (first Tesla I've ever driven). From what I hear most people buying CTs are new to trucks, but just in case you are not or otherwise care, I figured I'd share my experience!

Disclaimer: For me a pickup truck is the ultimate family vehicle vs. official "truck stuff". With a house, 3 little kids and their cousins nearby, I'm always moving larger things around (Power wheels, random strollers, Home Depot runs, inflatable kayaks, friends moving, etc.). I also genuinely feel safer driving around (physics of a big vehicle), and just enjoy the space. 95% of my miles are easily within 1 hour of my house, so range anxiety isn't really a concern.

Shameless DMV plug: If you're a CT owner in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area and want to meet up let me know! I'm in NOVA and just started the "DMV Cybertruck Owners" Facebook group if you want to join.

F-150 Lightning --> Cybertruck: This was hard. Frankly I had a "10 things I hate about you" moment --> "...But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all."

Pros:

• Sound system --> it's absolutely incredible. My guess is the deep dash that you don't get in any other vehicle facilitates awesome staging, but the speakers themselves seem incredibly clear. Might be really well-balanced EQ too. I'm not an audiophile per se, but I was blown away. I've literally sat in the truck in my garage just listening to music.
• Full Self Driving --> I had to take the CT to the service center and was able to drive a Model S with FSD. Absolutely awesome!! Night and day compared to Ford's comparatively useless BlueCruise. I also recently had the chance to take a fully autonomous Waymo ride and for me Tesla was 80% of the effectiveness. Of course, the Waymo had a bunch of spinning sensors on it so not exactly fair. Can't wait for FSD to be enabled on CT - huge selling point for me.
• Software updates --> Coming from the barren desert for updates that is Ford, this has been amazing. Even if an update is just "minor fixes", you just click go, it updates, and there's no issue!
• Retractable Tonneau Cover --> Awesome feature, especially because it's apparently robust enough to stand on vs. a vinyl-type design. I haven't tested myself in rain, so hopefully it's not leaky
• Steer-by-wire --> I think this is great and love not having to turn the wheel more than 1 turn either way. I will say it's a bit disorienting if you switch back and forth a lot between regular-steering cars.
• Four-Wheel Steering --> super-useful feature. Noticeably seems more nimble than the F-150 Lightning though technically the turning radius isn't that much better (43.5 ft vs. 47.8 ft.).
• Cell phone holders --> totally a nit, but I love the fact that I can just put my phone down in a completely natural way and not have to shove it in some kind of compartment to charge...AND my wife can do so at the same with her phone
• UI/UX --> Absolutely love the snappy interface, and don't miss not having CarPlay anywhere as much as I thought I would. No idea if this would feel new to an existing Tesla driver, but I'm not one so it was awesome.
• Rear gear locker --> very cool use of space, as you can never have enough storage
• Tesla sales process --> Compared to buying from a dealer this must be what it's like to see in color for the first time. Everything was super-simple in the app and not a multi-hour long journey of negotiating, signing papers, dealing with being upsold on random stuff, and waiting for the finance office to be ready.
• Payload --> Truck companies all harp on towing capacity, but I think this is the stat should matter as much if not more to people. My CT has 2,271 lbs payload rating whereas the F-150 Lightning had 1,682 lbs and my gas F-150 only 1,179 lbs. If you consider that if you're conventionally towing something, 10% of that trailer weight counts against payload, that runs out real fast with 2 adults + 3 kids and their car seats.
• Air Suspension --> The range between low and extra-high is absolutely nuts. Not sure if I'll ever take the CT off-roading, but if I do it's got way more clearance than a stock Jeep Rubicon.
• 50 amp 240 v bed outlet --> This is great because the CT gives me 20 extra amps (L14-50R receptacle) vs. the F-150 Lightning (L14-30R receptacle) to power my house via my standard generator inlet. I probably won't install Powershare to avoid dealing with having to pick breakers to include in the transfer panel.

Cons:

• Attention --> I hate this. I know, I know, I bought a CT so how in the world would I not see this coming. At the end of the day it is what it is, I couldn't not buy it as a tech guy. BUT, now I literally can't bring myself to drive it to busy places because I don't want to deal with stares, being stopped, smudges on the vehicle, etc. My plan is to wrap it in black. It probably won't really stop any of the above, but psychologically I'll feel better, and that's what matters!
• Rail Dust --> I don't care what the real reason of why this shows up, but a $120k vehicle shouldn't be delivered with anything that looks like rust on it. Tesla did clean up the hood (where most if it was for me) but this really should never have been a thing.
• Tesla feature delays --> Full self driving, wheel covers, light bar, PowerShare installation. Absolutely no information on when any of this is available, which is pretty ridiculous considering that's all Foundation Series stuff people paid $20k extra for.
• Vampire battery drain --> CT seems to use up way more battery than it should when sitting doing nothing. Tesla officially states 1% per day is normal, but I didn't experience this in the Lightning. I haven't tested this scientifically, but I will admit I think it's gotten a bit better after a few updates.
• Smudging --> Huge pain. Any finger touch is a noticeable smudge that's not easy to clean off without appropriate cleaning stuff. Should be solved by the wrap though!
• Frunk space --> There has to be a way they could've made this deeper. Fits one umbrella stroller. Literally half the space of the F-150 Lightning.
• Tesla sales process --> being a first-time Tesla owner, I would've appreciated more than a finger point to my truck at delivery. If this wasn't my first Tesla, I don't think I'd have any issue here
• Spare Tire --> Wish there was one under the bed. F-150 Lightning had it. Not sure whether I'd take that or the gear locker if I had to pick.
• No key fob --> I get that phone-as-a-key is a thing, but with a $120k truck, I deserve a cool key fob not a hotel key card.

Gas F-150 --> F-150 Lightning: Loved the F-150 Lightning from day 1 as an EV truck, and would never go back to gas for a daily driver.

Pros:

• Frunk --> total game changer in a pickup to hold stuff you don't want to get wet without the need for a pickup shell
• EV drivetrain --> absolutely love the smoothness, immediate power and quiteness of EV
• EV efficiency --> instead of a gas-guzzling truck, I was driving a super-efficient clean vehicle without sacrificing any utility
• Home backup --> I set up a simple generator inlet directly wired to my panel w/an interlock, and it worked great plugged into the bed 240v outlet
• EV charging --> I literally only used a fast charger twice. Leaving the truck plugged in overnight and never having to get gas was awesome
• F-150 looks --> I absolutely don't want a vehicle for attention, and it was great driving around an amazing truck that 95% of people would never know is any different than any other F-150

Cons:

• Software updates --> This was singularly the most miserable experience of the F-150 Lightning due to a combination of (a) ridiculous dependency on a tiny 12 volt low-voltage battery and (b) legacy auto OEM's inability to write software. Ford's vague instructions were useless, I bought 2 battery tenders which were hit or miss, and it wasn't until I got an OBDII adapter that I could reliably get updates to work because it actually showed me the truck met minimum voltage requirements after hours of being left on outside. This would all be fine in the name of awesome updates, but they weren't great. The most exciting one was getting % SOC instead of mile estimate on the dash. We were promised BlueCruise 1.3 about a year ago, and still no sign of it. People have literally bought expensive technician-intended software subscriptions and devices to force updates. Ask me how I really feel
• EV range --> the learning experience was (a) highway range is way less than city (b) it's not great in cold weather and (c) even though there's plenty of public EV chargers out there, you never know if they'll work and definitely no guarantee that they're fast
• Beeping --> Open/close frunk, loud annoying beeping. Open/close tailgate, loud annoying beeping. Reverse, you're a construction vehicle. There's no reason any of these chimes have to be as annoying as they are with no option to turn off (I get the reverse thing is mandatory, but there's no reason they had to pick "construction vehicle" as the sound vs. the standard EV "woo woo woo")
• 5.5 ft. bed --> gas F-150s crew cabs come with 5.5 and 6.5 ft. beds. Wish I could have had the 6.5 ft.
• Towing --> plenty of brute force, but pretty useless if you really need to tow. My key use case would have been an RV trailer, but no way I'm buying one if my truck can only tow for 100 miles and then I need to charge for 45+ minutes.

I'll follow up with more after I get my CT wrapped, load up the car seats, and put more miles on it!

Just an FYI, I always preferred the term "DELMARVA" (Delaware Maryland Virginia) to "DMV" (Division of Motor Vehicles??) DC just gets thrown if for free.

 

[Cybergirl]

Some things that I like about my CT in addition to your pros list:
1) V2H power
2) Tough stainless steel panels
3) Smooth, quiet ride
4) Stalk-less turn signal activation
5) No bugs windshield
6) 90 deg back door openings

 

[BlueLightning]

Hey folks!

I've had quite the journey since I bought my first truck, a gas F-150 in 2016 (MY13 Platinum 3.5L V6 in Tuxedo Black), switched to a F-150 Lightning in 2022 (Lariat ER in Antimatter Blue) and now just switched to a Cyberbeast (first Tesla I've ever driven).

Did you keep your F150 Lightning, sell it to Carmax, or take a $20k to $30k hit trading it to Tesla, as we all know they suck at retail trade values?

 

[mongo]

50 amp 240 v bed outlet --> This is great because the CT gives me 20 extra amps (L14-50R receptacle) vs. the F-150 Lightning (L14-30R receptacle) to power my house via my standard generator inlet. I probably won't install Powershare to avoid dealing with having to pick breakers to include in the transfer panel.

FYI, the outlet is rated for 40 Amps continuous, 110 Amps surge.

 

[TickTock]

Same boat as you. I agree with everything on your list but add the following.
F150 LIghtning --> Cyberbeast
Cons:

• Not as smooth. LIghtning is a very cushy ride. Better for long road trips.
• Louder. More motor and tire noise.
• No tailgate step or ramp. I wanted a ramp but even the step is useful.

Pros:

• No torque-steer. This is only noticeable in the LIghting when you floor it but it is real. Hold on tight to the steering wheel when punching it.
• Air suspension. I know you had this listed but focused on off-roading. It is a game changer for me who often transports elderly (my mother). My M3 was too low making it difficult for her to both get in and get out. My Lightning was too high and I had to carry a portable step and carefully get her in (bionic woman with two Ti hips and two Ti knees). With Cybertruck Easy Entry, it is almost the perfect height for her.

 

[TCT2024]

I'm in the DMV waiting on my Cyberbeast. Any day now... any day now... I don't have my Cell Phone in the building with me but I'll check out your facebook page later. I don't do much with facebook though. I have an account and I post regularly. I posted something in 2022 I think. I should probably post something later this year. I just don't feel the need to tell people what I'm doing. But for information, sure.

Thanks for joining!! I don't use FB much either, but figured it's a good place to find folks that might want to meet up with CTs in the area.

 

[TCT2024]

Just an FYI, I always preferred the term "DELMARVA" (Delaware Maryland Virginia) to "DMV" (Division of Motor Vehicles??) DC just gets thrown if for free.

That's new for me!

Did you keep your F150 Lightning, sell it to Carmax, or take a $20k to $30k hit trading it to Tesla, as we all know they suck at retail trade values?

Ended up selling the Lightning to Carvana actually. Got instant online offers from Carmax, KBB, Cars.com and Carvana. I also tried a couple dealers. I was shocked how different the offers were. I was pretty happy with the price I sold for - probably a bit less than I could've found private, but totally worth the hassle-free experience.

• #1 - Carvana
• #2 - CarMax (~$5k less)
• #3 - KBB (~$8k less)
• #4 - Cars.com (~$14k less)

All of the traditional dealers wanted to see it in person and I didn't want to deal with that. I was really up front with them saying "hey this place offered me X without asking me to go anywhere. Happy to work with you if you can do the same" but no dice.

The Carvana experience was really smooth and again didn't have to go anywhere - they sent a hauler to my house to pick it up. It actually turned into a whole spectacle with my kids ("dada why is she taking your truck?!") and then was floored by my 4-year old who afterward found his blue toy F-150 and said "it's ok dada, you can have my F-150".

In full disclosure, a couple years back I was selling a very different vehicle and Cars.com was by far the best offer. I'm guessing it's really situational between these folks depending on vehicle and timing.

FYI, the outlet is rated for 40 Amps continuous, 110 Amps surge.

Good call...I updated the post!

 

[TyPope]

Thanks for joining!! I don't use FB much either, but figured it's a good place to find folks that might want to meet up with CTs in the area.

I felt like a fraud... I don't have my Cyberbeast yet...

 

[Pulaski]

Some things that I like about my CT in addition to your pros list:
1) V2H power
2) Tough stainless steel panels
3) Smooth, quiet ride
4) Stalk-less turn signal activation
5) No bugs windshield
6) 90 deg back door openings

The no bugs windshield has been an incredible surprise. Especially at night on Midwest roads.

 

[firsttruck]

Some things that I like about my CT in addition to your pros list:
1) V2H power
2) Tough stainless steel panels
3) Smooth, quiet ride
4) Stalk-less turn signal activation
5) No bugs windshield
6) 90 deg back door openings

The no bugs windshield has been an incredible surprise. Especially at night on Midwest roads.

Probably partially thanks to the BAW

The BAW being parked in the vertical position probable helps maintain a smooth air flow over the windshield so bugs go over the top instead of smashing into the windshield.

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