- A video of Tesla's Cybertruck struggling to make it up a dirt hill went viral on Friday.
- On Wednesday, Ford CEO Jim Farley appeared to shade the rival carmaker with his own off-road demo.
On Friday, a video of Tesla's long-awaited Cybertruck went viral on X — but not for the reason Elon Musk likely intended.
Tesla Cybertruck tested off-road at Hollister Hill RSVA ️ pic.twitter.com/8kDsyCSWbt
— Dima Zeniuk (@DimaZeniuk) November 10, 2023
The Cybertruck can be seen struggling to climb a dirt hill during an off-road test. The video has been viewed more than 8 million times on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The vehicle's repeated starts and stops during its slow ascent provoked mockery from people on X . One person wrote, "I have done better off roading than this in a 2016 Prius."
On Wednesday, Ford CEO Jim Farley appeared to shade the rival carmaker by posting a video of the F-150 Lightning, his company's flagship electric vehicle, making its way up a very similar dirt hill.
F-150 Lightning does it all. pic.twitter.com/uCMUSxUIpj
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) November 15, 2023
He captioned the video, "F-150 Lightning does it all."
Farley's video is the latest in the two rival carmakers' tit-for-tat public jabs on social media. One exchange in 2019 saw Musk sharing a video of the Cybertruck pulling the F-150 uphill.
Cybertruck pulls F-150 uphill pic.twitter.com/OfaqUkrDI3
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2019
That video prompted the vice president of Ford X, the carmaker's tech accelerator, to tweet at Musk, "send us a cybertruck and we will do the apples to apples test for you." Musk responded, "Bring it on."
The F-150 Lightning was released to consumers in 2022, and is the company's first fully electric pickup truck.
Meanwhile, Tesla's Cybertruck is expected to be delivered to consumers on November 30. First announced in 2019, the car has faced two years of delays.
In the company's third quarter earnings call, Musk said the Cybertruck's unusual design made it difficult to produce at scale. "We dug our own grave with Cybertruck," said Musk.