Elon Musk Responds to Tucker Carlson’s Tesla Cybertruck Ford F-350 Comparison Review – “We Need to Make it More Affordable”

Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host and now a host of his own show on X and YouTube, has released a new Cybertruck review. Tesla provided the truck to Tucker after the host personally contacted Elon Musk and asked him for a unit to review.

To his credit, Tucker gave the Cybertruck to a farmer and logger who lives in rural Maine. Tucker then proceeded to interview this individual (Patrick Feeney) after Patrick had the chance to use the Cybertruck for his day-to-day job in lieu of his Ford F-350.

This is what Tucker says: setting up the 52-minute video.

“Elon Musk has just come out with the Cybertruck. You’ve probably seen images of it on the internet or maybe seen one on the street; we thought, what is this? Clearly, it’s the future or part of the future, so we called Elon Musk and said, "Hey, will you send us a Cybertruck to review?

We’re in a very rural area where people use trucks for a living. Let’s see what it’s like. So this is the truck I drove here this morning. It’s a 1987 Chevrolet Silverado…It works pretty well. It’s got a bed, and it works like a pickup truck. That’s what I drive; I like it.

That, on the other hand, is a Cybertruck. I would open the door to the Cybertruck, but I have no idea how to do it. That is purely electronic, and that’s what we’re going to review.

To review it for us, we are going to talk to Patrick Feeney. We’re on his farm in a very rural part of Western Maine. He is very familiar with heavy machinery. He was a diesel mechanic in the army right out of high school in the first Gulf War; He was a logger running skidders, he was a long haul trucker running 18 wheelers, he has been in machines all his life, he has fixed machines, he understands machines.

We are standing in front of his sawmill on his farm, where he cuts wood. We’ve given him this Cybertruck for use for the last couple of weeks. We are going to ask him really simple questions. Could you replace the truck you drive, a Ford F-350, with the Cybertruck?”

On the face of it, Tucker’s question is a really good premise: give a Ford F-350 owner who uses his truck for his livelihood and with ample experience in the trucking world and ask him whether the Cybertruck could be his daily driver.

Tucker follows with the interview, asking Patrick the most important question.

“Now you have had a week with the Cybertruck, and you will have a lot more time to assess it in the future. Could it replace your F-350?”

The answer was shocking to Tucker as Patrick responded with a resounding yes! Then Patrick went on to explain further what he liked about the Cybertruck.

Here is what Patrick said…

“So far, yes. Mechanically, it’s got all kinds of power; of course, it’s a hundred-thousand-dollar truck; we are not going to think about that now because there are all types of carpenters at the local lumber yard with a $100,000 truck. I see them every day. The price is not too much of a stretch, I don’t believe, but as far as power, towing power, and ease of use, it’s just like when you rent a car, and you can spend 5 minutes figuring out all the buttons. It’s basically that easy.

For a rural man, I’m a one-truck guy; some people have a work truck and a going-to-church truck. I like the one-truck theory. It’s just my wife and me; she has a truck now, I just bought her a new truck, I work out of my truck, I nap in my truck, I hunt out of my truck, I tow with my truck, all my stuff is in my truck, everything I need is there so it’s like a swiss army knife of machinery. 

I plow snow with my truck, which is a huge thing. We’re going to worry about that with Cybertruck whether you can plow snow with it or not, but I basically need one vehicle that can do everything.” 

After this exchange, Patrick takes Tucker on a Cybertruck drive across his farm. They tow 12,000 lbs of dirt, go off-roading, and put the Cybertruck through its paces.

Throughout the drive, Patrick exclaims about the Cybertruck’s handling, towing power, ease of use, and steer-by-wire steering system.

Lately, there has been a lot of raucous on the issue of Cybertruck towing, especially after WhistlinDiesel showed the Cybertruck rear subframe falling apart while trying to pull a Ford F-150.

There are a lot of extenuating circumstances during that test. You can read the details, including why the Cybertruc’s tow hitch and rear giga casting snapping off cleanly during the F-150 pull test was a good thing.

Going back to Tucker and Patrick, the F-350 owner says his favorite part about the Cybertruck is its towing capability. Several times throughout the video, Patrick notes how you don’t even feel like there is any weight behind you while towing with a Cybertruck.

During this Cybertruck review, Tucker also gave the Cybertruck to other rural residents to try out, and everyone who drove the truck was excited and impressed.

At the end of the video, Patrick's only two complaints about Cybertruck are the truck’s high price and the range. Patrick notes that if you tow 12,000 pounds, the range is cut from 300 to about 100 miles, and that’s not good enough for him.

On the range front, Tesla is on the brink of launching a range extender battery pack, which will increase the Cybertruck’s range from the current 340 miles to 470 miles.

On the price point, Tesla is also on the brink of launching the non-Foundaiton Series Cybertruck, which will remove some bells and whistles for a $20,000 price reduction. Tesla appears to be struggling to convert Cybertruck reservations to sales, as a lot of people are waiting for the cheaper Cybertruck variant.

However, Tesla’s efforts on this front don’t appear to be enough. Elon Musk has commented on Tucker Carlson’s Cybertruck review, stating some areas where Tesla should improve the all-electric truck.

Below the Cybertruck review video, Musk writes, “The Cybertruck is a great truck. We need to make it more affordable in the years to come.”

It’s a great truck.

We need to make it more affordable in the years to come.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024

It is great to hear from Elon Musk about making the Cybertruck cheaper, as many people remain excited about the Cybertruck. However, the biggest issue stopping most individuals from purchasing the vehicle is its high price.

Tesla appears to be making progress toward producing a cheaper Cybertruck version, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted when we learn more about the EV maker’s plans.

Until then, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

So, what do you think? Are you surprised to see cyber trucks getting accepted in rural America? Also, can a Cybertruck replace a gas pickup truck? Let us know your thoughts in the comments by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below.

Image: Screenshot from Tucker Carlson’s Cybertruck review on X

For more information, check out: Tesla is Struggling to Convert Cybertruck Reservations to Sales – I Reserved a Cybertruck Two Months Ago & Tesla Already Says My “Cybertruck is Ready for Delivery”

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.