Ford F-150 Lightning Makes Surprise EV Appearance At Biden Event

The hotly anticipated electric Ford F-150 Lightning is scheduled to debut on Wednesday, May 19 but it seems Ford doesn't want to wait that long. During a special visit from President Biden at the company's Rouge plant in Dearborn, a silver truck parked in the background was identified as the new Lightning. Granted, it's not an up-close look but still, here's the real deal before you're supposed to see it.

President Biden was on hand at Ford's Rouge electric facility to talk about his infrastructure plan, which includes significant investments for electric vehicles. With America's best-selling vehicle poised to offer an all-electric version, attention is obviously focused on what the new Lightning has to offer and Ford seemed happy to oblige the president with an in-depth tour and even a test drive in a Lightning prototype.

As for some of the Lightning's details, President Biden nonchalantly told reporters following his test drive (video at the top of the article) that the truck hit 60 mph in about 4.3 or 4.4 seconds, after which a Ford representative could be heard, ah, advising the president that they hadn't released that information yet. Biden then tells those on hand that he's going to punch the truck up to 80mph, at which point he blasts away from the cameras. Being president apparently has some perks.

Additionally, C-Span caught a moment during the president's plant tour where the F-150's platform was described as "purpose-built for our F-150 Lightning." It's unclear if that means the Lightning's frame is a completely new, separate platform from the standard F-150 or if it's a modified version of the existing setup. Either way, it's not just an F-150 frame with some batteries stuck in the middle.

To Ford's credit, company executives didn't seem the least bit phased by the previews and the information slipping out. Ford's Mike Levine took to Twitter with screenshots of President Biden driving a camouflaged Lightning prototype. Ford Vice President of Communications Mark Truby also engaged Twitter followers with an image of the president speaking at the Rouge plant with the uncovered Lightning in the background.