Watch an Electric Ford F-150 Pickup Truck Tow 1 Million Pounds

"It's a pretty epic and extreme demonstration."

Absolute Unit

In a publicity stunt and impressive feat of strength, an all-electric Ford F-150 pickup truck just pulled a million pounds of enormous double-decker rail cars behind it for 1,000 feet — the length of 42 fossil-fuel-chugging F-150s.

To hammer the point home, Ford then parked the 42 F-150s on the rail cars and towed the whole setup for another 1,000 feet — a total of 1.25 million pounds.

The amazing show comes thanks to the instant torque that's available to electric motors. Internal combustion engines have to get going and rev up before unleashing their maximum potential torque. But the grueling tow is "far beyond any production truck’s published capacity" and shouldn't be tried at home, according to a Ford statement.

 

Instant Torque

Ford veteran of 23 years and chief engineer Linda Zhang piloted the electric pickup.

"Instant torque combined with a lightweight vehicle helps us deliver a new level of power, performance, and efficiency," Zhang told Business Insider. "It's a pretty epic and extreme demonstration."

A fossil fuel powered 2019 F-150 is advertised to be able to tow up to 7,700 pounds with a max payload of just shy of 2,000 pounds.

But while Ford unveiled the electric successor of its best-selling pickup truck in the U.S. back in January, the car maker is still hesitant about giving out any details or specs. Time will tell how it will match up against Tesla's own upcoming pickup truck — a unit that'll be "straight out of Blade Runner" according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

READ MORE: An all-electric Ford F-150 pickup truck prototype has towed more than a million pounds [Business Insider]

More on the pickup: Ford Is Planning an All-Electric F-150 Pickup Truck