When the F-150 Lightning was first announced for the 2022 model year, Ford promised that it will have a base price of under $40,000 ($39,974 to be precise). Since then, prices have crept up significantly due to rising material costs, parts shortages, and a few pandemic-induced chain of problems. As it stands, the F-150 Lightning Pro, the absolute base version you could buy of the popular electric pickup, has risen to $59,974--that is until today. That's because, in a perfect way to create a lot of buyer's remorse, the F-150 Lightning just became more affordable--enough to turn the tables and place Ford ahead of the electric pickup truck sales charts.

Related: 5 Things We Love About The Ford F-150 Lightning (And, 5 Things We Don't)

The F-150 Lightning Now Starts At Under $50,000

As with every mass-produced item, the bigger economies of scale, the lower the price. That's exactly what Ford announced and why they were able to significantly lower the price of the F-150 Lightning by as much as $9,979. This means that the F-150 Lightning Pro now starts at $49,995, while the range-topping Platinum Extended Range now tops out at $91,995. For reference, here's a complete list of price reductions on each variant of the F-150 Lightning, though these prices do not yet take into account the $1,995 destination fee.

“Shortly after launching the F-150 Lightning, rapidly rising material costs, supply constraints, and other factors drove up the cost of the EV truck for Ford and our customers,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Ford Model e. “We’ve continued to work in the background to improve accessibility and affordability to help to lower prices for our customers and shorten the wait times for their new F-150 Lightning.”

The factors that brought the prices down can be attributed to a few favorable circumstances that Ford has pointed out. The Rogue Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan--the manufacturing plant where the F-150 Lightning is being produced, was temporarily closed to complete the final plant upgrades that will triple the annual production rate of the electric truck from 50,000 units to 150,000 copies. The higher production output will take into effect by fall.

Apart from higher economies of scale, the cost of battery raw materials and other manufacturing efficiency improvements have also contributed to the feasibility of Ford bringing down the F-150 Lightning's prices. This is one aspect where Tesla has pulled ahead of the competition, and the results of that company's manufacturing improvements, it then became feasible for them to lower the MSRP of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. This led to Tesla doubling its sales, though whether the lower prices of the F-150 Lightning will translate to increased sales remains to be seen.

Related: Why The Rivian R1T Is The Best Electric Pickup Truck Currently

Ford Just Did What Chevrolet Couldn't Do

At a time when everything is becoming more expensive, it's refreshing to see a new vehicle in 2023 being offered at a lower price than before. While the F-150 Lightning still isn't as affordable as its original base price of $39,974 in 2022, this move is still very much a welcome one because Ford was able to achieve what GM couldn't do with the Chevrolet Silverado EV.

Remember the Chevrolet Silverado EV Work Truck (WT)? Well, the hype surrounding that pickup was so high because at a time when Ford was incrementally increasing the prices of the F-150 Lightning, here comes GM offering the Silverado EV WT for under $40,000 ($39,900 to be precise) in 2023. Further supposedly adding insult to injury to the F-150 Lightning was that the Silverado EV WT, yes the fleet-oriented model, was rated by the EPA to offer 450 miles of range at a full charge. At the time, GM was on to a winner here because not only did it outperform the company's estimates, but it offered nearly double the 230-mile range of what an equivalent F-150 Lightning Pro could only achieve.

But alas, reality has set in, raw material prices increased, inflation continued to worsen, and unlike Ford, GM has yet to establish and iron out the kinks of the Silverado EV production line. Therefore, it's still pouring in more resources to improve production and this meant that it eventually became unfeasible for GM to offer the Silverado EV WT at under $40,000. As of the moment, these are the current prices of the Silverado EV. The 3WT and 4WT, just like the sub-$40,000 WT, are meant for fleet buyers only. Private buyers can only opt for the range-topping RST at the moment.

• Silverado EV 3WT: $74,800 (Available after the 4WT's launch)
• Silverado EV 4WT: $79,800 (Already on sale)
• Silverado RST: $106,895 (Available this Fall)

Related: Brace Yourselves: A High-Performance Ford F-150 Lightning Is Rumored To Be In The Works

Would You Jump Ship And Go For The F-150 Lightning Instead?

Now that the F-150 Lightning costs less, would you pick it over the Silverado EV? That's a complicated question to answer as this will depend on your needs. While the F-150 Lightning costs less, you have to remember that across all trims, the Silverado EV offers a superior range. The fully-loaded and obviously heavier RST has a GM-claimed range of 400 miles, and though the EPA has yet to officially rate the RST, it will most likely still offer better range than the EPA-rated 320 miles that the F-150 Lightning Extended Range could only achieve. So yes, if you're on the higher end of the electric pickup scale, then you'll have better value with the Silverado EV RST versus the F-150 Lightning Platinum Extended Range.

Of course, the electric pickup segment will also definitely include the Rivian R1T and yet-to-be-produced Tesla Cybertruck. The former is already in production and offers impressive capabilities from its clean-sheet platform that was developed from the ground up to house batteries and not an internal combustion engine (ICE). That basic recipe is also what the Tesla Cybertruck has, but in a stainless steel body that looks like a triangle with wheels. Whatever the case, the electric pickup truck segment is growing, and here's a comparison of the four electric pickups so that your buying decision could be easier.

As it currently stands, the Ford F-150 Lightning is currently the most affordable electric pickup on the market. If you're in the lower end of the segment, then you pretty much have no other choice for an affordable electric pickup, but as you climb up the price ladder, choosing between pickups starts to become more complicated as they become increasingly capable and better equipped.