Ford’s New $30K EV Truck is a Tesla Cybertruck Underneath

When Tesla introduced the Cybertruck, its stark stainless‑steel design seized the spotlight. The bigger story, however, was the set of ambitious, high‑risk manufacturing advances the company brought to production beneath that exterior.

As Ford prepares a $30,000 mid‑size electric pickup for 2027, it has become evident that the company has closely studied those breakthroughs.

Ford also recruited the veterans behind many of those ideas.

Learning the Tricks

Guided by Doug Field and Alan Clarke—both former senior Tesla leaders with more than a decade of experience shaping Tesla’s vehicle architecture—Ford’s skunkworks group is developing a new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform.

By embracing the same first‑principles approach applied to the Cybertruck, Ford has set aside legacy methods. This marks the first time a traditional automaker has adopted Tesla’s playbook to this extent.

Shifting to 48V and Zonal Architecture

For decades, vehicles relied on 12‑volt electrical systems. The Cybertruck was the first production vehicle to switch to a fully 48‑volt architecture. Elon Musk open‑sourced a how‑to document to legacy OEM CEOs to promote the transition, and Jim Farley publicly thanked him in 2023.

They weren't joking. We received the document today, dated Dec. 5th. Thanks, @ElonMusk. Great for the industry! https://t.co/DkLaHA84CY

— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) December 7, 2023

Ford’s UEV platform adopts the same 48‑volt system. Because higher voltage delivers the same power with less current, the wiring can be significantly thinner. Combined with a zonal architecture similar to Tesla’s and one that Rivian recently implemented, Ford consolidates dozens of third‑party controllers into just five Ford‑designed CPUs.

According to Ford, the wiring harness for this mid‑size truck will be more than 4,000 feet shorter and 22 pounds lighter than the harness in the Mustang Mach‑E, a vehicle of comparable size.

48V Accessories May Become Standard

Today it is difficult to find off‑the‑shelf accessories that work with the Cybertruck; many require stepping down voltage or using workarounds with lead‑acid batteries for items such as winches unless they are purpose‑built.

With a major OEM embracing 48V, a wave of compatible first‑ and third‑party 48‑volt accessories is likely to follow, which would also make them suitable for the Cybertruck.

From 146 to 2: The Magic of Gigacastings

Tesla transformed manufacturing by using large high‑pressure die‑casting machines (Gigapresses) to cast single‑piece underbody sections for the Model Y and Cybertruck, removing hundreds of welds and many feet of robotic work on the line.

Ford is applying the same idea to the UEV platform under the name Unicasting. On today’s gas‑powered Ford Maverick, the front and rear structures use 146 stamped parts; on the new UEV truck, those are reduced to just two large aluminum castings.

Structural LFP Core

To connect the front and rear unicastings, Ford plans a structural battery pack.

Instead of a heavy steel frame with the battery bolted inside, the battery pack forms the vehicle’s floor structure.

To meet the $30,000 starting price, the platform uses LFP (lithium‑iron phosphate) cells. Although these are less energy dense and have narrower temperature sweet‑spots than standard nickel‑based chemistries, they cost roughly 20–30% less to produce.

With aggressive aerodynamic optimization and side mirrors slimmed by 20% using a single motor, Ford targets more than 300 miles of range from this small, low‑cost LFP pack.

The End of the Line

The assembly process may be the most radical change. While Henry Ford pioneered the moving line, the company now plans to pivot toward an assembly‑tree approach that mirrors Tesla’s unboxed strategy.

Rather than moving a frame down a mile‑long line, the truck will be built as three independent sub‑assemblies: the front casting, the rear casting, and the structural battery core. Seats, the center console, and carpeting are installed directly onto the open battery pack, after which the front and rear sections are joined.

This improves worker ergonomics and reduces the plant footprint, enabling 15% faster production with 40% fewer workstations.

Wrapping It Up

The Cybertruck deployed gigacasting and a 48‑volt system to create a premium, six‑figure halo product, while Ford aims to use the same innovations to make an EV accessible.

If Doug Field, Alan Clarke, and the rest of Ford’s team can deliver this Tesla‑inspired plan at scale, a $30,000 mid‑size truck would be a significant win for Ford—and for Cybertruck owners as these parts and methods become standard across the industry.