F-150 vs. Caterpillar Pickup vs. Cybertruck Or Why The Cybertruck Sucks

Both the 2025 Caterpillar pickup truck and the Cybertruck are designed to appeal to people who like pickup trucks, but they go about it differently. But which is better, and which is likely to be more successful? Let’s explore that a bit. But rather than a more typical head-to-head because I don’t have either truck to test yet, let’s do this like a competitive analysis since I used to be a Competitive Analyst.

Let’s start by setting the bar.

The Ford F-150

The Ford F-150 and its electric variant, the Lightening, represent what Ford thinks pickup truck buyers want. The F-150 is still the most popular Pickup Truck in the world. While it sold very well initially, Lightening's sales slowed significantly, indicating that there appears to be resistance to electric vehicle options on a pickup, given how similar that truck is to the F-150.

Now, buyers of either truck configuration want a traditional design because they can choose to equip the result to their professional needs. Camping shells, side bins, third-wheel tow rigs, and various existing accessories can convert the F-150 into whatever the buyer needs for work or play, so it is very versatile.

So, let’s give the segment leader a 10 out of 10 because this truck represents what most pickup trucks are buying, and this group clearly doesn’t care much for change.

Caterpillar Pickup

The Caterpillar Pickup looks like a pickup but a more muscular one than the Ford. Engine choices range from powerful diesel engines to gas engine hybrids and from full electricity. Unlike Ford, you can option the truck with any power train without changing the model. Given that the Ford F-150 driver tends to favor consistency, this would be an advantage over Ford, except that the consistency the buyers want includes getting the car from Ford. While Caterpillar has a far stronger industrial and quality reputation, it isn’t a brand people are used to for vehicles in this class.

The Truck does allow for the same sets of accessories, in some cases with modifications, that the F-150 would use. Some highly value the brand Caterpillar, but not all of the targeted buyers of pickups; for instance, the buyer who wants the truck as transportation likely wouldn’t even consider a Caterpillar-branded product. I don’t think carpenters would either. But farmers, heavy construction workers, and people who want something badass would prefer the Caterpillar brand.

While the reliability of this vehicle should exceed that of Ford's, until the truck has been in the market for a while, we won’t be able to confirm that. So, I think this Truck would be a 9 out of 10, better than the Ford in most aspects. However, the lack of a consumer dealer network will make it significantly more difficult to get serviced, dropping the score by 2 points. Otherwise, this would be an 11 out of 10 for execution.

The Tesla Cybertruck

The Cybertruck has been a bit of a trainwreck. The reliability has been bad, you have one type of propulsion, electric, and that’s it and pickup truck buyers don’t appear to be fans of electric propulsion at the moment, particularly the kind of buyers Caterpillar will uniquely pull. The design is unique but that means accessories have to be custom-made for the truck, unlike the Caterpillar, you can’t use off-the-shelf accessories as they would need substantial modifications for this truck. The stainless-steel panels haven’t been holding up well, and drivers have complained about stuff falling off the truck as they drive. One place it does stand out is straight-line acceleration, but who buys a pickup to race at the track? It does surprisingly well, but if you want a sports or muscle car, why not just buy one?

The big issue is that this truck is very different in an extremely conservative market. Given the success of the F-150, you’d never describe the Cybertruck as conservative. There appear to be large fields of unsold Cybertrucks, and people are complaining they can’t sell them or trade them in for anything approaching what they paid for them. 

In the end, I think Tesla and Musk lacked any understanding of what a typical pickup truck driver wants, and that, coupled with the quality problems, is why the truck doesn’t seem to be selling well. In short, the Cybertruck is excellent at things like performance that aren’t top of the list for truck buyers and lags at things like practicality, compatibility with existing accessories, reliability, off-road performance, and the propulsion type (non-electric) that these buyers tend to prefer. I give it a 3 out of 10.

Wrapping Up:

While I initially thought that electric pickups would be a vast market given they are rolling power supplies and perfect for anyone building and working away from power, the buyers tend to be very conservative, meaning they’ll want a conservative brand like Caterpillar, want a conservative looking truck like the Caterpillar, and want engine choices including diesel. You can get this in a Ford and in a Caterpillar, but you can’t get this in a Cybertruck which, I think, is why the Cybertruck isn’t selling well, it misses too many of the must-haves for Pickup Truck buyers.

Rob Enderle is a technology analyst covering automotive technology and battery developments at Torque News. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia, and follow his articles on Forbes, on X, and LinkedIn.