Ford’s CEO apparently got complaints from electric vehicle (EV) owners during his recent cross-country road trip.
While on his journey, Jim Farley drove one of the company’s electric pickup trucks, Fox Business reported Friday, noting he called the act of charging the vehicle “pretty challenging.”
“It was a really good reality check of the challenges of what our customers go through and the importance of fast charging and what we’re going to have to do to improve the charging experience,” Farley stated in a video clip posted Sunday:
No surprise charging can be a challenge, but still learning a lot seeing firsthand the issues our customers face. This is why we’re working w/ @Tesla to provide @Ford drivers access to +12,000 superchargers & our EV certified dealers are installing fast chargers at their… pic.twitter.com/fES15o9orT
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) August 13, 2023
At the time, he was traveling across Route 66 in the company’s electric F-150 Lightning. The CEO also noted he stopped at a charging spot in Coalinga, California, and a low-speed charger offered him a 40 percent charge in 40 minutes.
Social media users were quick to reply to his post, one person writing, “40 min for 40% is brutal. The driver will have to call AAA to tow their vehicle when they run out of charge searching for the mythical charging station.”
“Can you imagine what it would be like for a mom with 3 kids in the back? Hungry, need to go pee, bored, start to squabble. 40 minutes is an eternity,” another commented.
Farley did clarify in a subsequent post there were many other faster chargers he could have waited to use but took the first one that was available to him, which was a slower one:
It was at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, CA. A rest stop with multiple charging providers. There were lots of faster chargers I could have waited for, but took the first available, which was a slower type. Pretty sure that is why it was available!
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) August 13, 2023
Farley has previously maintained his commitment to move the company’s EV production forward, Breitbart News reported on August 11.
However, “Despite Farley’s love for electric pickups, Ford’s consumers are often finding their experiences with the vehicle to be negative,” the outlet said.
“One Canadian man called electric vehicles the ‘biggest scam of modern times’ after he was forced to abandon his F-150 Lightning during a road trip to Chicago. A review of Ford’s EV truck called road trips its ‘Kryptonite,'” the report stated.
In June 2022, a group of YouTubers tested an electric Ford F-150 pickup against a gas-powered GMC Denali Ultimate Edition to determine which could haul trailers better. Fifty miles into the journey, the electric pickup ran out of steam, according to Breitbart News:
In January, while sitting inside one, President Joe Biden (D) touted electric vehicles in connection to his administration’s green energy push:
On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 30, 2023
And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle. pic.twitter.com/n3iZ9etL4A
He claimed, “On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.”
