Joe Biden is most definitely at the wheel:
Biden, a passionate car guy and 46th President of the United States, got to drive Ford’s new F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck a day before its official product launch. It’ll be a while before most of the rest of us get a spin behind that electric wheel: the F-150 Lightning will probably start at $70K. But for that price, you’ll get a truck you can plug into your house to get you through the next power outage, like folks with Fords equipped with the Pro Power Onboard option were able to do during the big February cold snap in Texas. You’ll also save money, lives, and the planet and look good like Joe doing it. (Aviator sunglasses not included.)
I’ll be content with a smaller gasless vehicle… but hey, if making plug-in trucks is what it takes to trick Americans into fighting climate change, bring it on!
Before his test drive, President Biden explained to the workers who are building that 21st-century vehicle at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, how his infrastructure plan will bring it on:
We’re going to set a new pace for electric vehicles. That means reversing the previous administration’s short-sighted rollback of vehicle emissions and efficiency standards, setting strong, clear targets where we need to go.
It means passing the American Jobs Plan to do three things. One, transform our infrastructure. Our infrastructure is ranked like 38th in the world. This is the United States of America, for God’s sake.
We’re going to put Americans to work modernizing our roads, our highways, our ports, our airports, rails, and transit systems. That includes putting IBEW members and the union workers to work installing 500,000 charging stations along our roads and highways, our homes and our apartments. (Applause.) The IBEW is ready to do it, and they can.
Two, we’re going to boost our manufacturing capacity. That’s why the American Jobs Plan invests in new and retooled union facilities: grants to kickstart new battery and parts production, loans and tax credits to boost manufacturing of these clean vehicles.
It also makes the largest investment in research and development in generations. That’s going to help innovate, manufacture, and build the supply chains for batteries and semi-conductors and the small computer chips that make electric trucks and cars go — to be even more reliant than they are now.
It matters. The little things matter [President Joe Biden, remarks to Ford workers, Dearborn, Michigan, 2021.05.18].
Ford announced 200 new jobs at Dearborn last November to make the new electric F-150. Global market trends signal they may need to hire more. In 2020, sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. rose 4% while car sales as a whole dropped 15%. (In Europe, EV sales jumped 137% while overall car sales dropped 20%.) In April, Tesla reported selling 184,800 electric vehicles in the first quarter, doubling its sales over Q1 2020. Electrified vehicles made up 7.8% of the U.S. car market in Q1 2021, up from 4.8% a year ago.
(Ponders) no place to park now at truck stops wonder what and when plug ins are needed what w happen. There w be semi driver shortage for sure, already pay for incidentals cannot imagine if we start paying for electric hookups.
Rail w be more economical but sd took most rail out to all towns so semi w still have to haul.
This is going to get interesting but hey I’m all for it!
The tesla truck is a must have. It’s straight up the coolest new vehicle design since the 60s. Can’t wait.
Looks a lot more presidential than trump in the fire engine going “whoo” “whoo”
I’m sure he was listening to Electric Ladyland too. Europe is going to kick our butt on this one. What will Japan do?
T – self-driving semis will solve that driver shortage. Those trucks will also be smart enough to find their own plug in spot. Plus – no 11 hour or 70 hour limits. More businesses will adapt the Amazon model and have regionally distributed last-mile warehousing so more of the long haul movement will take place by train.