Why the Lightning hate?

[Commodore]

I'm confident as to why there are those who feel strongly against Tesla's Cybertruck..

Why the online hate against Lightning?

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[PrimeRisk]

I'm confident as to why there are those who feel strongly against Tesla's Cybertruck..

Why the online hate against Lightning?

There is general hate by some against all BEVs, but where are you seeing specific hate for the Lightning?

 

[Lpotter86]

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[I <3 My Lightning]

It's just modern society.

Our cat and dog couldn't care less. They just love going for rides. I do think they enjoy the added space and flat floors of the evs and quietness. I can tell you they equally hate all vehicles when they know it's VET time.

I really do want to drive a cyber truck, just to try it out.

 

[WXman]

There is general hate by some against all BEVs, but where are you seeing specific hate for the Lightning?

Agreed. I think it's just EV hate in general. A few weeks ago, I was just driving through my small town on a Sunday afternoon and a guy behind me in an older model Mustang GT started screaming at me out his window. He was saying something to the effect of "get that electric piece of s*** out of my way". I wasn't driving slow, he just exhibited the EV hatred and nearly turned it into road rage. Completely out of the blue.

 

[chriserx]

I live in a pretty small rural town, my neighbors all thought I was crazy, which by small town standards and traditions, I very much am. Then I took them out for a drive, showed them around the truck, how easy it is to charge at home. A couple on a longish roadtrip, stopped to charge at the Baytown Bucees, get back to 90% before everyone went to the restroom and shopped. They aren't converts, but they think I'm a little less crazy now.

 

[PrimeRisk]

Agreed. I think it's just EV hate in general. A few weeks ago, I was just driving through my small town on a Sunday afternoon and a guy behind me in an older model Mustang GT started screaming at me out his window. He was saying something to the effect of "get that electric piece of s*** out of my way". I wasn't driving slow, he just exhibited the EV hatred and nearly turned it into road rage. Completely out of the blue.

I giggle at those people and occasionally will show them that I am absolutely not in their way, but the other way around. Generally a younger buck in a Charger or Challenger R/T, but I've put a coupe grey-haired Corvette drivers in their place in my Tesla.

 

[25StarWhiteLightning]

I live in a pretty small rural town, my neighbors all thought I was crazy, which by small town standards and traditions, I very much am. Then I took them out for a drive, showed them around the truck, how easy it is to charge at home. A couple on a longish roadtrip, stopped to charge at the Baytown Bucees, get back to 90% before everyone went to the restroom and shopped. They aren't converts, but they think I'm a little less crazy now.

I'm not from the area, but I can't get out of a Bucees in under 45 minutes for some reason!

 

[chriserx]

I'm not from the area, but I can't get out of a Bucees in under 45 minutes for some reason!

I definitely know the feeling. More 'destination' charging would absolutely be a game changer for EV adoption.

 

[LazyLightningATX]

I giggle at those people and occasionally will show them that I am absolutely not in their way, but the other way around. Generally a younger buck in a Charger or Challenger R/T, but I've put a coupe grey-haired Corvette drivers in their place in my Tesla.

grey-haired Corvette drivers -- no need to be redundant!!

 

[Jseis]

I get bs comments all the time from my friends who actually know what I’m driving. 99% of the rest don’t have a clue.

Those that know me also know I drive a lot… ~90 mile per day average with regular 140 mile biz trips, and trips to Montana, Portland, etc. My long term average is right at 80 MPGE which is a hoot. The range anxiety is soooo yesterday.

And I regularly see Mach Es on the highway… commuting just like me.

FYI; Here is a summary of niche vehicle production courtesy Chat GPT;

Ford F-150 Lightning (EV) sold so far

• 2022: 15,617
• 2023: 24,165
• 2024: 33,510
• 2025 YTD (Jan–Nov): 25,583

Total (2022 → 2025 YTD through Nov): 98,875 Lightnings (EV) sold in the U.S. (sum of the four lines above).

Modern Ford comparisons (U.S. sales)

Ford reports F-Series as a combined line (F-150 + Super Duty + Lightning, etc.), so “gas F-150” isn’t cleanly separated in these releases. What we can do accurately is show Lightning vs total F-Series, plus Maverick and Bronco.

Year	Lightning (EV)	F-Series total	Lightning share	Maverick	Bronco
2022	15,617	653,957	2.4%	74,370	117,057
2023	24,165	750,789	3.2%	94,058	105,665
2024	33,510	765,649	4.4%	131,142	109,172
2025 YTD (Jan–Nov)	25,583	749,471	3.4%	141,873	132,216

(Your sales chart for Lightning vs Maverick vs Bronco is shown above in the plotted figure.)

“Modern niche” benchmarks (lifetime totals)

These are mostly production totals (not U.S. sales), except where a clean U.S.-sales series is readily published (FJ Cruiser here).

• Ford SVT Lightning (gas)
  • 1993–95: 11,563
  • 1999–2004: 28,124
  • Total gas SVT Lightning (both gens): 39,687
• Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler (1997–2002): 11,702
• Retro Ford Thunderbird (2002–2005): 68,098
• Dodge Viper (1992–2017): ~32,000 produced (approx.)
• GMC Syclone: 2,998
• GMC Typhoon: 4,697
• Chevrolet SSR (retro pickup): 24,112 available for sale
• Toyota FJ Cruiser (U.S. sales 2006–2014 summed): 219,016

 

[davehu]

Agreed. I think it's just EV hate in general. A few weeks ago, I was just driving through my small town on a Sunday afternoon and a guy behind me in an older model Mustang GT started screaming at me out his window. He was saying something to the effect of "get that electric piece of s*** out of my way". I wasn't driving slow, he just exhibited the EV hatred and nearly turned it into road rage. Completely out of the blue.

a direct result of our government subsidies for the purchase of vehicles that the average joe couldn't afford.

 

[RLXXI]

a direct result of our government subsidies for the purchase of vehicles that the average joe couldn't afford.

Can't play the subsidy card when big oil drops millions in their pockets all on subsidies.

 

[RLXXI]

Haven't experienced any ev hate yet. I have had to put a couple of youngins in their place at a red light or two .

 

[WXman]

I giggle at those people and occasionally will show them that I am absolutely not in their way, but the other way around. Generally a younger buck in a Charger or Challenger R/T, but I've put a coupe grey-haired Corvette drivers in their place in my Tesla.

Yeah what's funny is that when I got home, I used the power of social media to track the guy down in less than an hour. Like I said, small town. I sent him a public message that everyone could see and told him to meet me out in a desolate area and we'd see just how fast his Mustang is. His reply: "I don't have time for this."

Of course he didn't.

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