The 2023 Ford Lighting Pro Is Way More Expensive Than It Used to Be

• The F-150 Lightning is now $12,000 more than it was on its 2022 debut.
• The most recent increase comes after Ford already raised the Lightning's price in August.
• Early adopters, rejoice: You have saved yourselves a bucketload of money.

The Ford F-150 Lightning Pro used to be a surprisingly affordable pickup, but recent price hikes have turned it from affordable to merely "less expensive." The Lightning Pro's original starting price of $41,769 seemed too good to be true at the time, and Ford made this possible by heavily reusing bits from the standard F-150 to keep the price down. But with rising material costs and supply chain issues doing their worst, Automotive News reported Ford essentially had no choice but to raise the price of its most affordable electric pickup for 2023.

This hike brings the price of the Lightning Pro up from $48,769, to $53,769. The new price is a staggering $12,000 more than it was at launch for the 2022 model year. Only Lightning Pro models, that's the entry-level version that has an EPA-estimated range of 230 miles, are affected by the pricing increase. It's also worth noting that reservations for the Lightning Pro made before the price hike will not be affected, so if you were lucky enough to have made a reservation earlier this week, you saved yourself $5,000.

Other Lightning models haven't had their prices raised for 2023. The XLT model, one step up from the Pro, is still $61,769. All Lightning models also include a Ford made at-home charger, a $500 option that Ford's Lightning configurator doesn't allow you to deselect. Lariat models still start at $76,769, while top-spec Platinum models (which include the extended-range battery that is an option on all other trims) still carry a base MSRP of $98,219.

It might seem like a pretty penny, but the Lightning is still less expensive than the vast majority of its rivals. The Rivian R1T starts at $73,000 exactly, while the least expensive Hummer EV Pickup — the Hummer in EV2 trim — is priced from $86,645. The work-truck version of the Silverado EV undercuts the Lightning Pro, but that truck hasn't gone on sale yet. As for the Cybertruck, Tesla hasn't released an update on pricing, but its $39,900 price from 2019 still stands. Should we ever see that truck and the pricing somehow holds, it would be the least expensive EV truck you can buy.

Edmunds says

Is the Lightning Pro still worth the money despite the price hike, or are you ready to look elsewhere?