Ever since Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk announced the company’s first all-electric pickup truck earlier this month, the internet has been split on whether it is a step in the direction of innovation and modernism or if the vehicle is a ghastly imitation of what a ‘real’ pickup truck is.
In a bid to prove his bold claims that the Cybertruck will be ‘better’ than a Ford F-150, Elon Musk shared a video of the Cybertruck towing a Ford F-150 uphill, however, the internet isn’t completely convinced by the short clip.
Cybertruck pulls F-150 uphill pic.twitter.com/OfaqUkrDI3
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2019
The Ford F-150 used in the clip seems to be a 2-wheel drive model with nothing loaded into its bed. Without any weight over the rear wheels, the Ford struggles to gain traction while the front axle is left to spin freely. Upon closer inspection, the Ford lacks the distinct badging used on Ford’s top-of-the-line 3,5L Ecoboost. Which makes for one-sided tug-of-war.
Neil deGrasse Tyson summed it best in a reply to Musk’s tweet.
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
On Monday, Ford X Vice President Sundeep Madra responded to the video in a tweet urging Musk to send Ford a Cybertruck for an ‘apples to apples’ tug-of-war. Musk swiftly responded to Marda’s tweet with a short but effective ‘bring it on’.
Bring it on https://t.co/pCnln1NdRO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2019
As you can imagine, this challenge has sent the internet into a frenzy, including self-proclaimed Musk fan deGrasse Tyson. He pointed out that if both vehicles are loaded to the max ‘the highest torque wins’
We all love Torque. But high Torque just spins a tire in place if there’s not enough weight to provide traction. Fully load the F150, giving highest traction to its rear wheels, then try to drag that up the hill. I otherwise agree: Load both to the max and the highest torque wins
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 26, 2019
Unfortunately, it seems as though the contest isn’t going to happen. In a statement to CNBC, a Ford spokesman said Madra’s tweet was ‘tongue-in-cheek to point out the absurdity of Tesla’s video, nothing more’. Even if the Cybertruck was to lose the contest, Musk could simply respond by saying Tesla will improve the vehicle before it rolls off the assembly line at the end of 2021.
Feature image: Screenshot/Twitter @Elon Musk
