The new Ford F-150 Lightning seems to be striking everyone right now. All the car sites are ablaze with Lightning puns, electric truck comparisons, and woes of them heralding the “good old days.” While the Ford Lightning isn’t the first electric truck by any means, it does seem to be the first one that has its sights set on being the most affordable full-size pickup truck. 

How much does the new Ford Lightning cost? 

Every time a new EV comes out, the only thing people tend to care about is range, performance, and charging speed.

While these things are important factors in the EV sphere, we rarely worry too much about price. There is so much talk about range anxiety being the major resistance to EVs for people, but why don’t we ever talk about price? 

Any EV that is cool at all, like the Audi E-Tron, Teslas, or Polestar, is so expensive it makes no sense for the average American to even halfway consider them.

This is doubly true for electric trucks. When Ford announced the starting price for this modern take on the old supertruck would start at only $39,974, the automotive world was shocked. 

Not only is this cheaper than any other cool electric truck, after the government tax incentives, but this will also be one of the most affordable full-size pickup trucks, period. 

What are the electric car incentives? 

Motor1 did the grunt work to figure out where in the country offered the best electric car incentives. Before we dig too far in, the base-model gas-powered 2021 Ford F-150 starts at $28,940.

According to Motor1, four states have such good EV incentives that the new Ford F-150 Lightning is cheaper than the plain F-150. In one of those states, the new Lightning is the most affordable full-size pickup truck. 

Regardless of which state you live in, buying the Ford Lightning can save you at least $7,500 as a tax credit. The qualifications necessary rest on the manufacturer.

Each EV manufacturer has a certain amount of eligible units for the credit. As Ford is still newer to the EV world, it still has plenty of eligible units. EV makers like Tesla and GM are the only two that have used up all of the allotted tax credits. 

For certain Americans, the Ford F-150 Lightning is the cheapest full-size pickup truck 

As Motor1 keenly points out, the base-model F-150 Lightning is basically a commercial truck. While we still don’t know what equipment the base model will have, it will likely be fairly stark compared to the up-ticket models. That being said, starting with the standard EV tax credit, the new Ford Lightning’s base price is chopped down to $32,474. 

If you are a citizen of Maine and you want an electric pickup truck, you’re in luck. In Maine, a $2,000 rebate is offered to any individual or business that buys an electric vehicle. For certain low-income residents, a maximum rebate of $5,000 is on the table. 

With all available rebates, this puts the Ford F-150 Lightning at $26,974, making it the cheapest full-size pickup truck on the market. The other three states that provide the top three next best rebates are Oregon, Vermont, and Colorado.

These three states have the F-150 Lightning coming in at $27,474, $28,474, and $28,974, respectively. The Nissan Frontier is the only full-size truck cheaper in these states.