The secret team blowing up Ford’s assembly line to make a $30,000 electric truck

WSJ via MSN ^ | May 05, 2026 | Sharon Terlep

[Red Badger]

ALLEN PARK, Mich.—A crew of engineers slipped past the empty security gate at a Ford Motor truck plant outside Detroit just after 3 a.m. The factory lines were still at that hour—but that was the point.

The crew was there to test a section of a new pickup that few at the company knew even existed. Ford’s secret project had an ambitious goal: to figure out how to make electric vehicles in the U.S. that could compete with the Chinese models clobbering competitors globally.

The secret is now out as Ford races toward building its first model, a new truck it says will be nearly as fast as a Mustang, travel around 300 miles on a single charge and feature in-car technology to compete with Tesla and China. It’s aiming for a 2027 launch and a price tag of around $30,000, the cost of a Toyota Camry.

Getting there means tearing up a century of manufacturing practices in a notoriously hidebound industry. At stake for Ford is securing a future beyond the gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs that have long defined its bottom line.

The project had been kept quiet from its 2022 start, led by veterans from Tesla and Apple who worked on designs out of a California office. Ford eventually brought in some of its own employees to help execute the vision. The process was filled with misunderstandings and distrust as the techie outsiders worked to win over the risk-averse industry veterans.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Military/Veterans; Sports; Travel
KEYWORDS: automotive; electric; ford; loser

[EVO X]

How about Ford goes back to what they do best - make reliable gas cars like Taurus and Escort that also make for great fleet cars.

Old farts don't want sedans.

[HereInTheHeartland]

I don’t like electric vehicles, but I hope this project works.
The US should dominate vehicle manufacturing .

Next Ford needs to bring the Edge back .
Right they have no SUVs to choose from

[Mr. Lucky]

I disagree.

My son-in-law has a Ford e150. Last summer, he decided to hitch his fishing boat to it and come visit us at the lake for a three day weekend.

Unfortunately, the range estimate has breathtakingly inaccurate when the truck was actually doing some work. He had to turn around before he ever made it.

A perfect truck.

[bray]

Are they going to pay you $30,000 to take one?

[VideoDoctor]

Ford races toward building its first model, a new truck it says will be nearly as fast as a Mustang, travel around 300 miles on a single charge and feature in-car technology to compete with Tesla and China.

All of it is EASY to SAY... but in reality, DIFFICULT to ACCOMPLISH.

[EVO X]

As for electric vehicles, a friend recently leased a new Toyota hybrid. At first, he loved it. But it wanted to drive instead of him.

I bought a new ICE car a year ago. The car does software updates it I let it. The last update changed lane departure settings. The steering wheel has a stick shaker system like on an aircraft. The default setting when I got the car was to do a passive shake when switching lanes without signaling. The new update changed the default setting to intervene and try to take control of the car. I was able to change the setting back. It sure startled the heck out of me when it first happened.

[Gen.Blather]

My problem with new technology is that I keep cars a long time. I finally sold my ‘98 Mark 8 because the brakes were unfixable. There were no parts available. I couldn’t even troubleshoot them because the necessary tools were only available at dealers and those were long gone.

Imagine what happens when a stick shaker fails a few years from now. No diagnostic tools. No replacement parts. And the car is likely to be undrivable depending on how it fails. The car may otherwise be in fine shape, as was my Mark 8.

[dfwgator]

That’s the whole point, to make personal transportation untenable for most people, so they demand public transportation.

[EVO X]

That is the problem I had. I sold my 16 year old car I bought in 2009 last year. I didn’t want to part with it, but part issues and potential down times were a considering factor. I am sure the car found a nice home with a mechanic.