Things change quick in the EV world, don’t they? Just a hot second ago, Chevrolet was touting a $39,900 Silverado EV Work Truck, aiming to undercut the Ford F-150 Lightning. But now, as the Silverado EV approaches the production line, Chevy’s dropping that promise like a hot potato. The new base Silverado EV now starts at nearly double that – $79,800!
All those reviewers using that $40K figure as clickbait are in for a rude awakening. The entry-level Silverado EV, the 4WT, is already rolling off the line at that $79,800 figure. The 3WT is coming soon at $74,800, but it’s only for commercial fleet customers.
Regular folks will have to pony up over $100K for the Silverado RST if they want one this year. Silverado RST, on the other hand, is the top-of-the-line version of the Silverado EV and is available for retail customer pre-orders, with an expected range of around 400 miles.
Chevy says they still plan to release an affordable Silverado EV for us common folk, maybe around $50,000. And with the fed tax credit and state rebates, that could drop below $40,000. If that pans out, it’d still be 10 grand less than the F-150 Lightning Pro. But Ford’s already jacked that truck’s price up $20K since its debut, so who knows where it’ll end up! However, the F-150 Lightning Pro only comes with a standard range battery and has an EPA-certified range of only 240 miles.
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Seems like the era of the $40,000 EV truck is DOA, and they aren’t the only ones – remember Tesla promising a $39,900 Cybertruck? Musk pulled the plug on that fantasy last year, blaming inflation.
The times, they are a-changin’, that’s for sure. But one thing’s clear – if you want an electric pickup anytime soon, you better start saving your pennies. I was excited for affordable, all-electric trucks, but at this rate, might have to settle for a used ICE pickup, it looks like the Chevrolet Silverado EV is one to watch.