Can Ford’s affordable new electric truck hit the sweet spot?This analysis and news roundup come from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday.Ford's first all-electric pickup truck didn't exactly fly off the lot. The automaker is hoping a lower-cost model will fare better.On Thursday, the automaker rolled out a first look at its forthcoming all-electric pickup truck. The Fathom, as Ford is calling it, will start at $28,350 once it's eligible for preorder early next year, and will headline a planned suite of low-cost EVs.AdvertisementAdvertisementDetails on the Fathom are scarce. Ford previously said its new entry-level model would travel just under 300 miles on a full charge, but that higher trim packages would be able to go farther. It'll be similar in size to Ford's Ranger pickup, but with a roomier interior than Toyota's RAV4 crossover SUV. Ford aims to deliver the first vehicles in fall 2027.The Fathom will be offered at a far lower price point than Ford's now-defunct F-150 Lightning, as well as other EVs on the market. The average new EV clocked in at over $56,000 as of June, while the average full-size pickup costs over $66,000.The Lightning, meanwhile, cost more than $55,000 by the time it was phased out late last year. In total, around 105,000 Lightnings were sold across the truck's four years on the market. (Ford sold more than 800,000 F-series fossil-fueled trucks in 2025 alone.)So how will Ford cut the Fathom's price tag so dramatically? The truck will be built on what Ford calls a "Universal EV Platform," which will allow it to construct several types of EVs with common parts and on a shared assembly line.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Fathom has a noteworthy competitor in the Jeff Bezos–backed startup Slate Auto, which will soon offer a barebones pickup that starts at just below $25,000 — radio and power windows sold separately. But with touchscreen navigation and even bidirectional charging capabilities, the Fathom comes packed with a few more perks for its slightly higher price.Cheaper models are helping drive EV adoption as drivers worldwide embrace cutting-edge and low-cost Chinese-made EVs. In the U.S., Chinese EVs aren't available, and affordable models are rare — plus President Donald Trump has eliminated federal discounts for EVs.Those factors go a long way toward explaining why EV sales in the U.S. are set to shrink this year while they hit new records elsewhere. Though electric options are often cheaper to own and operate than comparable gas cars, their higher upfront cost has scared off many drivers.Price point, then, is where the opportunity lies for EV makers in America. The Fathom — and other as-yet-undisclosed Universal EV Platform models — are Ford's attempt to seize it.More big energy storiesFederal clean energy funding remains in limboAdvertisementAdvertisementA coalition of nonprofits scored a major — if tentative — win this week. A federal appeals court ruled that the EPA acted improperly when it terminated billions of dollars in "green bank" financing for nonprofits to undertake climate and clean energy projects across the country, Canary Media's Jeff St. John reports. But that doesn't mean grant recipients will get their money now, as the Trump administration still can appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.These projects aren't the only ones waiting on money they were promised by the Biden administration. The Department of Energy was supposed to allocate billions of dollars to utilities, local governments, and other recipients for grid-improvement projects intended to lower power prices. But as some former DOE employees told Jeff, the department has explicitly canceled hundreds of these grants, and delayed the disbursal of plenty more, jeopardizing projects that would benefit red and blue states alike.xAI is removing its mobile gas generators — next yearElon Musk's SpaceX has been using unpermitted mobile gas turbines to power its xAI data centers outside Memphis for months. Now, they finally have a termination date — but it's a long way off. SpaceX said it will remove the turbines by next July, and then turn to a 1.2-GW gas power plant it's currently building.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe data centers' supposedly temporary solution has prompted a lawsuit from the NAACP, which alleges neighboring majority-Black communities are dealing with unchecked air pollution and constant noise. And as I wrote a few weeks ago, xAI isn't the only tech company turning to "pop-up" power plants for quick solutions. In Georgia, one developer is facing scrutiny after installing temporary gas turbines before receiving necessary permission. And xAI will likely roll in some generators at another data center soon — Musk recently bought a company that operates a fleet of these mobile gas and diesel turbines.Clean energy news to know this weekWind's court win: A federal judge orders the Pentagon to resume military reviews of onshore wind projects, ending a blockade that had stalled more than 150 arrays. (Canary Media)Change of plans: Steel giant Cleveland-Cliffs will repurpose as much as $500 million it was awarded under the Biden administration to lower emissions at its Middletown, Ohio, operation, instead aligning its work with "the Trump administration's energy dominance goals." (Canary Media)Harnessing the midnight sun: European countries are starting to build large solar farms near the Arctic Circle and other areas once deemed too dark or cloudy for effective production, as lower panel and equipment prices and higher power costs make these projects viable. (Bloomberg)AdvertisementAdvertisementSolar growth spurt: Renewable energy developer Origis Energy switches on another 500 MW of solar capacity at its West Texas array, bringing the project's total operating capacity to nearly 1 GW, with as much as another gigawatt of generation still to be built. (Electrek)Capitalizing on crisis: Eight major oil companies made more than $90 billion in profits from April through June, up from $50 billion during the same period last year, as oil prices skyrocketed amid conflict in the Middle East. (The Guardian)Coal's deadly consequences: A new medical study finds cases of black lung in U.S. coal miners are rising to their highest levels since the 1970s — a warning sign as the Trump administration tries to revive the coal industry. (NPR)
