Cybertruck vs F-150 Cost of Ownership: Does the Tesla Truck Actually Save Money?

The Tesla Cybertruck AWD and the Ford F-150 sit at opposite ends of the pickup world, but plenty of truck buyers cross-shop them anyway. One runs on electrons and starts at $79,990; the other runs on gas and parks in your driveway for less than half the price. So which is actually cheaper to own? The honest answer: the Cybertruck wins big on energy and loses big on sticker price and depreciation, and which force wins depends on how you drive. Here's the full head-to-head for Texas truck buyers.

The price gap is the whole story

The Cybertruck AWD lists around $79,990, the most expensive vehicle Tesla sells. A base gas F-150 with a V6 starts dramatically lower, and even a well-equipped F-150 typically lands tens of thousands under the Cybertruck. There used to be a $7,500 federal EV tax credit to soften that gap, but it was terminated on September 30, 2025, and no longer exists — default it to $0. Texas buyers have no state rebate either, since the TCEQ EV program is closed. The Cybertruck spots the F-150 a large head start and has to earn it back through cheaper running costs.

Energy: the Cybertruck's home-field advantage

This is where the electric truck shines. The Cybertruck is the least efficient EV Tesla makes at roughly 429 Wh/mi, yet home charging on Texas residential power near $0.154/kWh still costs about 6.6 cents per mile. A gas F-150 returning around 20 mpg combined on Texas gas near $3.42/gallon costs about 17 cents per mile — more than double. Over the US-average 13,500 miles a year, that's roughly $890 to charge the Cybertruck versus about $2,300 in gas, or about $1,400 a year saved on fuel alone.

One honest caveat: that advantage assumes you charge at home. Lean on Superchargers at around $0.42/kWh and the Cybertruck climbs toward 18 cents per mile, wiping out the energy edge almost entirely. Because the Cybertruck also guzzles electricity by EV standards, it benefits less from cheap power than a Model 3 or Model Y would. The truck still wins on energy, just not in a runaway.

Maintenance leans Tesla, insurance and fees lean Ford

Maintenance is a clean EV win. No oil changes, fewer fluids, and regenerative braking that spares the pads put EV upkeep near $0.031 per mile against roughly $0.061 for a gas truck — about $400 a year back in the Cybertruck's pocket at 13,500 miles.

Insurance swings the other way. EVs — and Teslas in particular — tend to cost around 25% more to insure than a comparable gas vehicle, thanks to pricey parts and repairs. On an $80,000 truck, that premium is real money. Texas piles on too: the state charges EVs a $400 registration surcharge upfront plus $200 every year, fees the F-150 never pays. Over five years that's $1,400 the Cybertruck owes that the Ford doesn't. Add it up and the Cybertruck's headline fuel-and-maintenance savings of roughly $1,800 a year shrink to closer to $1,000–$1,200 net at average mileage.

Depreciation: the line item that usually decides it

Depreciation is the biggest hidden cost of any new vehicle, and a high sticker hurts most here. Teslas have generally lost about 40% of value over five years, a hair better than the roughly 45% an average gas vehicle sheds. But 40% of $79,990 is about $32,000 gone — purely because the starting number is so large. A far cheaper F-150 can lose a worse percentage and still shed fewer actual dollars, and as one of the most liquid trucks on the road it has a deep used market supporting resale. New vehicles take their steepest hit in year one, so the shorter you keep the Cybertruck, the worse this math gets.

So which truck is cheaper to own?

The Cybertruck makes the strongest case for a high-mileage owner who charges at home, keeps the truck long enough to ride out year-one depreciation, and would otherwise buy a loaded, expensive gas pickup. In that profile, $1,000-plus a year in running savings chips seriously at the price gap. But for a low-mileage driver, anyone leaning on Superchargers, or a buyer who'd otherwise grab an affordable base F-150, the gas truck can genuinely come out cheaper. That's not a knock on the Tesla — it's just the numbers when the sticker gap is this wide. The Cybertruck wins the fuel fight and loses the sticker fight, and your annual mileage is the referee. See where your break-even lands with our Tesla vs gas cost calculator, and read how every figure is derived on our methodology page.

Run your own Cybertruck-vs-F-150 numbers

Averages are a starting point, not your answer. The gap between a Cybertruck and an F-150 can swing more than a thousand dollars a year on inputs only you know — your real mileage, home electricity rate, how long you'll keep the truck, and how Texas's EV fees hit you. Open the TeslaBytes Tesla vs gas cost calculator, drop in the exact F-150 trim you'd otherwise buy against the Cybertruck AWD, and watch the year-by-year lines cross. It takes about a minute and tells you, in dollars, which truck is cheaper for the way you actually drive.