This morning, Ford revealed that buyers of the forthcoming Fathom—the company’s sub-$30,000 electric pickup truck due next year—will get more than just a truck. Until now, vehicle-to-home technology—like the setup Ford developed for the now-discontinued F-150 Lightning—takes DC power from the electric vehicle and runs it through an inverter built into the wallbox to turn it into AC the house can use. But with the Fathom, that inverter is built into the truck from the start. So every Fathom will be able to act as a backup battery for your home.
It’s typical: You wait a decade for a cheap electric truck, and then two come along almost at once. And they’re two radically different products from two radically different automakers that I think will reveal a few preferences from the EV-buying public. One is the Blank Slate, from a brand new startup offering a bare-bones two-door that capitalizes on features the Internet says it wants, like no onboard modem, no touchscreens, and no infotainment system.
The other is the result of one of Detroit’s big three taking a long, hard look at Chinese EVs and asking itself, “How do we make a car that cheap?” Although the Ford Fathom will cost $5,000 more than a Slate, that money does buy an extra pair of doors, modern conveniences like an infotainment system, CarPlay, electric windows, and a vast dealership network to service the car. That may be helpful given how many recalls Ford issues each year.
