The war of the electric pickup truck is just getting started, but lines are already being drawn in the sand. Ford is sticking to the tried-and-true F-150. Elon Musk is betting big on the polarizing Tesla Cybertruck. Then there is Lordstown Motors, a newcomer that is bringing the traditional styling of the former and the upstart excitement of the latter.
While you may just be hearing about Lordstown for the first time, this week the company opened up preorders for its first vehicle, an electric pickup called the Endurance. For a fully refundable deposit of $100, interested buyers can reserve a place in line for one of the trucks, which is the same price Tesla is charging for its Cybertruck preorder. But Lordstown is looking to start production a year earlier than Tesla, in November 2020 (though Lordstown doesn’t even have a prototype yet).
As Autoblog reports, that production will be taking place at the former General Motors Lordstown assembly plant in Ohio, which Lordstown Motors is taking control of with help from a $40 million loan … provided by GM. Besides nostalgic nomenclature, there is also major automaking money behind this endeavor. But there is small-potatoes automaking money as well: electric-vehicle company Workhorse, which postponed plans for its own EV pickup, owns 10% of Lordstown.
The main difference between the Endurance and other electric vehicles is that the design features four in-wheel hub motors. As Lordstown writes, the reasoning is to reduce the number of moving parts and increase control. Other planned features include at least 200 miles of range, a towing capacity of 6,000 lbs. and a top speed of 80 MPH. What about the final estimated price? $52,500, before any tax credits.
So what are the impediments to getting these delivered before we hit 2021? As Autoblog writes, “The fledgling automaker will work on raising another $300 million.” Your $100 deposit could help them take one teeny, tiny step in that direction.
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