News: T3 full-size electric EV pickup being delayed until 2028

[RickLightning]

premium? All we’re talking about is a certificate exchange that’s part of the CCS standard.
you don’t actually think the manufacturers are getting a cut of the charging fee because they transmitted a unique identifier? Do you?

and to your final point, totally true but when road tripping I want it to “just work”. As do most.

The premium would be to administer the feature. You would need staff for the phone support when the customer is out in public and can't turn it on, or off, and needs help. That costs money.

No, today, they don't get a cut of the charging fee.

There are many people that DC fast charge and don't care what they pay. There are many that don't have a clue that there is a membership plan (EA and Tesla) where they can get a discount, and then there are those that can't do the math to figure out breakeven.

There's a Shell gas station near my house, where gas is routinely 40 cents more than Costco, and 20+ cents more than other stations. Always cars filling up. Money grows on trees.

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[Shmoe]

The premium would be to administer the feature. You would need staff for the phone support when the customer is out in public and can't turn it on, or off, and needs help. That costs money.

No, today, they don't get a cut of the charging fee.

There are many people that DC fast charge and don't care what they pay. There are many that don't have a clue that there is a membership plan (EA and Tesla) where they can get a discount, and then there are those that can't do the math to figure out breakeven.

There's a Shell gas station near my house, where gas is routinely 40 cents more than Costco, and 20+ cents more than other stations. Always cars filling up. Money grows on trees.

easy answer. You do what the car companies did anyways. Shift all the charging infrastructure and support to third parties and create subpar experiences for your buyers.

 

[djwildstar]

It's my understanding that Tesla SC's don't play nice with 800V architecture.

The reason to go to an 800V architecture is to get higher charging rates. For a variety of reasons that all come down to the laws of physics, DC fast-charging currents are likely limited to somewhere around 500A for the foreseeable future.

The current Lightning is a 400V architecture that is capable of charging at 500A. The actual battery voltage is in the 360V-390V range, so this limits peak charge rates to 180kW-195kW. So even with improvements in battery chemistry, thermal control, and the like, the best that we could hope for is a 15% to 80% charge time around a half-hour. Compared to the current 32-38 minutes charge times, that's a lot of work for little improvement.

An 800V architecture would allow a future truck to support peak charge rates of 350kW or more .. and (in conjunction with better battery chemistry and improved thermal control) could potentially deliver 15% to 80% charge times that are under 20 minutes.

Tesla V4 SuperChargers are designed to be able to support 800V charging. The problems are that there aren't many locations that have them (a couple hundred versus around 1200 V3 locations). Tesla has also had trouble rolling out support for higher power levels.

Tesla's V3 SuperChargers are designed with a 400V architecture in mind: they can consistently deliver 500A at up to 500V (for 250kW total power). The same goes for a lot of lower-powered non-Tesla DC fast chargers (such as EA's 150kW units). This poses a challenge for vehicles with an 800V architecture: the charger literally can't deliver the voltage necessary to charge an 800V battery pack.

Different carmakers have used different solutions for this. Some use a high-voltage DC-to-DC converter to step-up the charger voltage to pack voltage. This simplifies battery pack design keeps costs low, but limits charge rates based on what the vehicle's electronics can support. Kia takes this approach, and their 800V vehicles are limited to about 100kW when using 400V-500V charger. GM and Tesla use a split-pack design, where they electrically reconfigure the battery pack to 400V ... which can then charge normally from a 400V source.

 

[Kev12345]

hopefully this means a '26 mild refresh for the lightning.

 

[El Duderino]

hopefully this means a '26 mild refresh for the lightning.

Maybe...

https://fordauthority.com/2025/08/ford-f-150-lightning-prototype-spotted-testing-in-arizona/

 

[RLXXI]

https://www.autonews.com/ford/an-ford-ev-truck-van-delays-0807/

Ford delays electric pickup, van to 2028 in shift to more affordable EVs

Looks like Ford’s moving the schedule again on a couple of their upcoming EVs, including the new full-size "T3" EV pickup. They’ve decided to focus more on smaller, cheaper electric models, so the big stuff is getting bumped back.

“The pure EV market in the U.S. seems to us very clear: small vehicles used for commuting and around town, so to speak,” CEO Jim Farley said on Ford’s second-quarter earnings call.

Didn't Farley already learn people don't want small cars? They want trucks and suv's which is why they ended production on all cars except the Mustang and Mach e.

 

[Newton]

I think that a lot of people want small EVs, the question is if few people who can afford a new car want small EVs. If Farley is talking about EVs that can compete with used cars and e-bikes then that would be truly revolutionary. If “inexpensive” means $45K+ then it is going to be a wasted effort.

Personally I like my little e-Golf for a number of reasons but I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford multiple cars, so the e-Golf isn’t going on any long trips with us.

 

[jetfixr1]

Maybe...

https://fordauthority.com/2025/08/ford-f-150-lightning-prototype-spotted-testing-in-arizona/

Also a new color, would love to see some additional color offerings.

 

[Mike G]

Maybe...

https://fordauthority.com/2025/08/ford-f-150-lightning-prototype-spotted-testing-in-arizona/

If they wanted to disguise those Lightnings they should have just left the camo graphics off.....they look identical to what I'm driving now...except for the color. They would have drawn less attention than driving around with camo wrap that screams "Look at Me!! I'm a prototype!!"

 

[Shmoe]

If they wanted to disguise those Lightnings they should have just left the camo graphics off.....they look identical to what I'm driving now...except for the color. They would have drawn less attention than driving around with camo wrap that screams "Look at Me!! I'm a prototype!!"

Making headlines is the point.

 

[Maineiac12]

Also, our charge port location could be better. GM got it right with the Sierra.

Disagree. The GM port is in a horrible location for a truck. If you have a trailer connected you almost always have to unhitch to charge since there are so few pull-through chargers.

I’d argue that the port should be on the front passenger side to accommodate both Tesla chargers and towing.

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