What do I need to know before considering one?

[GlockandRoll]

I've had a dual-motor Cybertruck on order for over 3 years, and not interested in a $100K foundation edition.
I'm not even interested in an $80K base model considering they were announced at $49,995.

And I am currently eyeing some Lightings as so many are sitting on lots in Texas around me.

I'm considering an XLT with the extended range battery, so educate me if that is a bad choice of what I need to be on the lookout for.
And you are perfectly welcome to talk me out of it.

What I would hate to do is buy this, regret it, and then miss out on a Cybertruck down the road when the prices come down, which they surely will.

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[invertedspear]

An XLT ER is absolutely the right choice, but as you can see, I'm biased.

OK, so it doesn't have a panoramic sunroof. Big deal, in my MME that just made it even more of a greenhouse effect. I bought an insulating cover for it and hit it from myself all summer long. Also there have been plenty of water intrusion issues reported by sunroof owners.

You have a smaller screen, but you also have physical controls for most things. They fixed some of them but too many options were buried in multiple menus deep giving me safety concerns to adjust certain things while driving. You also don't get games or you tube to watch while you're charging, but my iPad fits that need for everyone in the car far better than the big screen ever did.

The cloth seats are also better in the heat IMO, unless you spring for the ventilated seats, but hey, I'm not made of money.

The ER XLT has the same wheels as the Lariat, so no change there.

You don't get BlueCruise, but I prefer the ACC + LKA to BC anyway, as I don't have extra cameras watching me drive and nagging me if I break eye contact with the camera to take a drink or something.

You don't get the wireless cell phone charger either, but it wasn't any good in the MME and I doubt it's better in the Lightning.

OK, power folding mirrors might be nice. And I do miss driver profiles programmed to key fobs or phones, as they would automatically adjust the seats after my much shorter wife would drive. Minor loss, unless you share the truck constantly.

What to watch out for? I have one complaint on mine and it's not due to XLT or that it's even a Lightning, it's the camera view when backing up, the fake drone view. There's significant image tearing in the corners to the point were there are big blind spots a kid would easily fit into. I can't trust the view and it makes me worry about where my far corner is when backing out of a spot. 2 trips to service has not got this resolved. I would have had a much easier time getting them to fix it if I forced it before making the purchase.

 

[republicoftexas1836]

If you routinely drive over 300 mile trips or tow significant distances, this may not be for you. If you can't charge at home, this may not be for you.

Having said that, i wanted the cooled ventilated seats here in hot south texas and the lariat was the lowest trim level to get them. So I got the ER and had the FCSP shipped and received in 2 weeks. It's already installed and I love the charge speed. It's always topped off at night. I love how it's a real truck and not a marketing gimmick with deadly blindspots. I canceled my cybertruck reservation too. If you want an actual truck, F150 is the choice. If you want a cool, lifestyle choice with blindspots, wait for the cybertruck.

I love how it drives. I came from a tesla and prefer the one foot driving but I hear this isn't for everyone. There are good deals to be had and if you can find one, now's the time to pull the trigger.

 

[Jasper7821]

I'm a Tesla fanatic, ever since I had my P85+ many years ago. I think Tesla is so far ahead of everyone else in the EV world, especially with all the tech and the app.
I just sold my Model 3 a few weeks ago, and now driving my gas car around.
I reserved the Cybertruck during the unveiling, that's how much I want it.

I got the invite to order on my Birthday 1/17 and I ordered with another deposit. I would have thought I'd have a VIN by now and truck delivered in a week or so.
When the Cybertruck first came out, I drove 450 miles to San Diego just to see it in the showroom. I was in awe, it was absolutely spectacular and I couldn't wait to get mine.
I actually got to take a Cybertruck out for 45 minutes and cruise it around town, pretty awesome.

I've been looking at Lightnings lately while waiting for the Cybertruck. I started thinking more and more of having to have the Foundation Series and paying the extra 20k (my value was about 12k) and paying the extra taxes, and not getting the $7,500 POS federal rebate.

I found a deal I couldn't pass up on and I'm driving to Colorado Friday with my trade and driving home my new Lariat ER.

I'd love to have the Cybertruck, but realizing the price is just more than I want to spend right now.
I used to have a F-150 Supercrew long ago and loved it, really looking forward to getting back into a nice truck again.

 

[Maxx]

If you want a lot of attention, you gotta go CT. Otherwise I would skip the overpriced unfinished triangle, get the XLT and reevaluate CT in 5 years see if in that truck market, you are still interested. So far, I love my Pro. The fact that it cost me almost 1/3 of CT dual motor, I get a spare tire and paint included, I get buttons and door handles, I get a driver display, I get a usable rear view mirror, gigantic frunk and rear seat, don't have to worry about air suspension crapping up, tons of affordable accessories already on the market, ....... there is a lot people take for granted for traditional design. Steering and software may be the only things of value for me in CT.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

Get the XLT ER, $52-$54k out the door (if you can still find one in your area). It's so good of a deal I traded in my SR Pro for one. It's probably the best deal of all EVs currently (unless you want to take a chance on Fisker).

If you were planning on a Cybertruck here is what you should know in comparison to the Cybertruck:

• The Lightning doesn't look like a robot turd.
• The Lightning does everything the Cybertruck does.
• The LIghtning has access to a myriad of service centers and dealers.
• The Lightning has so many compatible accessories because it was built on the F-series platform.
• The Lightning utilizes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
• The XLT ER comes with a $1,200 Charge Station Pro allowing you to charge at almost twice the speed of a Cybertruck at home.
• You will fit in on the road and everyone won't stare or laugh at you.
• You can get a Lightning now.
• You can test drive a Lightning.

 

[invertedspear]

I forgot something, and maybe the Lightning has it but the MME didn't. The small screen has the ability to have 2 "apps" displayed at the same time. So you can have Nav on the majority of the screen, and audio on a smaller section of the screen. Or Carplay on the main and pitch/roll on the sub. I found it very useful to lock the sub screen to the bed camera to keep eyes on a load in the bed, while simultaneously using carplay.

 

[JRT]

I really enjoy my 2023 XLT ER. Don't count on getting the advertised range. My lifetime m/kWh is 2.1, so that times the 131 kWh battery means 275 miles to 0 battery, which you never want to do. I had a SR Mach-e first and life was difficult with its reduced range. I comfortable cover 220 miles for road trips now, and the Tesla SC network access will help some. Log into PlugShare, set for fast chargers and see what your driving area look like. Hint, Mississippi, TN, AL and GA outside of Atlanta aren't great and I'm doing ok.

 

[republicoftexas1836]

I'm a Tesla fanatic, ever since I had my P85+ many years ago. I think Tesla is so far ahead of everyone else in the EV world, especially with all the tech and the app.
I just sold my Model 3 a few weeks ago, and now driving my gas car around.
I reserved the Cybertruck during the unveiling, that's how much I want it.

I got the invite to order on my Birthday 1/17 and I ordered with another deposit. I would have thought I'd have a VIN by now and truck delivered in a week or so.
When the Cybertruck first came out, I drove 450 miles to San Diego just to see it in the showroom. I was in awe, it was absolutely spectacular and I couldn't wait to get mine.
I actually got to take a Cybertruck out for 45 minutes and cruise it around town, pretty awesome.

I've been looking at Lightnings lately while waiting for the Cybertruck. I started thinking more and more of having to have the Foundation Series and paying the extra 20k (my value was about 12k) and paying the extra taxes, and not getting the $7,500 POS federal rebate.

I found a deal I couldn't pass up on and I'm driving to Colorado Friday with my trade and driving home my new Lariat ER.

I'd love to have the Cybertruck, but realizing the price is just more than I want to spend right now.
I used to have a F-150 Supercrew long ago and loved it, really looking forward to getting back into a nice truck again.

Congrats and welcome to the former Tesla owner now Lariat ER club. Gotta say I'm liking this truck more and more by the day and I loved my tesla. Agree with everything you said.

 

[luebri]

I've had a dual-motor Cybertruck on order for over 3 years, and not interested in a $100K foundation edition.
I'm not even interested in an $80K base model considering they were announced at $49,995.

And I am currently eyeing some Lightings as so many are sitting on lots in Texas around me.

I'm considering an XLT with the extended range battery, so educate me if that is a bad choice of what I need to be on the lookout for.
And you are perfectly welcome to talk me out of it.

What I would hate to do is buy this, regret it, and then miss out on a Cybertruck down the road when the prices come down, which they surely will.

If you are a Tesla enthusiast and really love their software... tread lightly. There are a lot of previous Tesla owners that simply cannot get over the fact that Ford is not in the same stratosphere regarding software as Tesla. I am aware of the Ford's software shortcomings and it has not really bothered me too much, but I also was not coming from a Tesla and "regressing" in that manner.

As a truck I think the Lightning is a way better truck than the Cybertruck... but that is mainly due to size and functionality. Cybertruck has the "wow" factor and better software that is all it has going for it over the lightning. Especially if you ever and I mean ever plan on having 5 humans in your vehicle for any amount of time. The hip/shoulder room in the Cybertruck falls short of a true full size truck and the leg and head room is also worse than the lightning.

The only other real weakness of the Lightning other than software is the same for all EV trucks it is towing distance(other than the not really on the market Silverado's). If you tow long distances I dont think it is wise to buy a lightning or cybertruck.

 

[Jasper7821]

Congrats and welcome to the former Tesla owner now Lariat ER club. Gotta say I'm liking this truck more and more by the day and I loved my tesla. Agree with everything you said.

Thank you, looking forward to it

 

[MaintGrl]

So, I went from ICE to BEV, with no hybrid in between . I got the 2023 Lightning XLT SR in December (could not afford the ER). I had envisioned getting a Lightning when they first came out, but I was also planing on keeping my 06 Taco. When the Taco got totaled the day before Thanksgiving 2023, I took the payoff and bought My Lightning. HONESTLY, I do NOT regret it one bit. I love it. Great fit and finish, and its a base F-150.

 

[GlockandRoll]

An XLT ER is absolutely the right choice, but as you can see, I'm biased.

OK, so it doesn't have a panoramic sunroof. Big deal, in my MME that just made it even more of a greenhouse effect. I bought an insulating cover for it and hit it from myself all summer long. Also there have been plenty of water intrusion issues reported by sunroof owners.

You have a smaller screen, but you also have physical controls for most things. They fixed some of them but too many options were buried in multiple menus deep giving me safety concerns to adjust certain things while driving. You also don't get games or you tube to watch while you're charging, but my iPad fits that need for everyone in the car far better than the big screen ever did.

The cloth seats are also better in the heat IMO, unless you spring for the ventilated seats, but hey, I'm not made of money.

The ER XLT has the same wheels as the Lariat, so no change there.

You don't get BlueCruise, but I prefer the ACC + LKA to BC anyway, as I don't have extra cameras watching me drive and nagging me if I break eye contact with the camera to take a drink or something.

You don't get the wireless cell phone charger either, but it wasn't any good in the MME and I doubt it's better in the Lightning.

OK, power folding mirrors might be nice. And I do miss driver profiles programmed to key fobs or phones, as they would automatically adjust the seats after my much shorter wife would drive. Minor loss, unless you share the truck constantly.

What to watch out for? I have one complaint on mine and it's not due to XLT or that it's even a Lightning, it's the camera view when backing up, the fake drone view. There's significant image tearing in the corners to the point were there are big blind spots a kid would easily fit into. I can't trust the view and it makes me worry about where my far corner is when backing out of a spot. 2 trips to service has not got this resolved. I would have had a much easier time getting them to fix it if I forced it before making the purchase.

Good stuff, thanks.
They have an anti-matter blue lariat they are making a pretty decent offer on right now that I'm tempted to go drive tomorrow.

My only concern is charging on long road trips, whenever that might happen.

 

[invertedspear]

My only concern is charging on long road trips, whenever that might happen.

Check the Map on Plugshare, look for CCS chargers on trips you're likely to take. Then log in to the tesla app and set yourself as a ford f150 lighting to see which tesla chargers you can use once you get your adapter. I think you'll find it's not that bad of a situation. Now, it is a huge battery that charges at a mid pace. So you do spend some time at each charger, but I have yet to have a problem going anywhere I've wanted to go since switching to Ford EVs

 

[GlockandRoll]

Check the Map on Plugshare, look for CCS chargers on trips you're likely to take. Then log in to the tesla app and set yourself as a ford f150 lighting to see which tesla chargers you can use once you get your adapter. I think you'll find it's not that bad of a situation. Now, it is a huge battery that charges at a mid pace. So you do spend some time at each charger, but I have yet to have a problem going anywhere I've wanted to go since switching to Ford EVs

yes I have the plugshare app installed as of today

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