Ford Motor Company has seen the future and it isn’t pretty, according to Wired. Storms, fires, and other natural disasters across the USA and parts of Europe have left homes without power for days. So why not use your electric vehicle to give you power in emergencies?

One of the features available for its new Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck is the Ford Intelligent Backup Power system. When a home is properly equipped and has a home transfer switch which disconnects the home from the power grid, the F-150 Lightning can power the average home for three days.

For those who use their truck for more than getting groceries, the F-150 Lightning has 11 power outlets allowing contractors and constructions workers to use their truck as a portable power generator.

According to Wired, however, the most radical thing about Ford’s new electric truck is its price. For those buying it in the States, after tax credit the base model of the truck is cheaper than its petrol cousin.

Wired said that cost has always been the major barrier for the EV-curious. “It’s hard enough to convince people to do new things, establish new patterns, and buy novel products. Convince them to do all that, and pay more for the privilege? No thanks. EV sales in the US are growing, but just under two percent of the vehicles sold in 2019 were electric, and they were overwhelmingly sold in California.”

Surveys of pickup truck owners analysed by NPR found that just seven percent would pay significantly more money for a truck just for the environment’s sake.

All photos by Ford