Owning a Ford F-150 Lightning means saying goodbye to gas stations forever. That’s the promise, at least, though it comes with the unspoken reality of long waits while electrons trickle into the battery. On the bright side, your truck can double as a backup power source for your home, and if Ford’s to be believed, even earn a few bucks while it sits in the driveway.

Read: F-150 Lightning Production Halted Indefinitely As Ford Bets On Gas Trucks Again

The company is eager to promote its usefulness, recently dedicating an entire piece describing how owners can turn their EV into a “side hustle”.

How Does It Work?

For some time, Ford’s Energy Rewards program has provided customers with bonuses for charging their F-150 Lightnings during off-peak times. It also has a system that allows the truck’s battery to serve as a backup generator during outages and blackouts.

In select US markets, owners can now charge their Lightning when electricity is cheaper (typically overnight during off-peak hours) and use the stored energy to power their home when grid prices are higher during peak times.

That’s not all. Customers can also return excess power from the F-150 back to the grid and get incentives from participating utility providers. According to Ford, customers can save up to $42 per month, or almost $500 per year, by using its new Home Power Management software.

The program has been launched in partnership with DTE Energy in Southeast Michigan. DTE will provide eligible owners the means to transfer power from the EV to their home.

Everything happens automatically, too, meaning the software optimizes the flow of energy to and from the battery pack while retaining battery health.

F-150 Lightning Production Paused Indefinitely

While the system is clever, it hasn’t done much to change the Lightning’s overall fortunes. Despite being the best-selling electric pickup in America this year, sales still trail Ford’s early projections. Earlier this month, production was officially paused with no restart date in sight.

With the federal EV tax credit gone and fuel economy penalties no longer enforced under the Trump-era rollback, Ford appears to be easing away from the Lightning experiment. The company now plans to build over 45,000 additional combustion-powered F-150s next year, signaling a quiet retreat to familiar ground

A fire at a Novelis aluminum plant has disrupted operations for several automakers, including Ford and its top-selling F-150. The setback has been costly, but the Blue Oval plans to bounce back next year by ramping up truck production.

Under the plan, the Dearborn Truck Plant will add a third shift with roughly 1,200 employees. This will be supported by more than 90 new workers at Dearborn Stamping as well as more than 80 additional employees at Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing.

More: 2026 Ford F-150 Lightning Solves Its Biggest Flaws For Free

Thanks to these workers and the extra shift, Ford aims to produce an additional 45,000+ F-150s in 2026. They’ll have traditional powertrains as the F-150 Lightning hasn’t lived up to expectations.

Assembly of the electric truck will “remain paused” indefinitely as the company is prioritizing production of models with gas and hybrid powertrains. The automaker added these types of trucks are “more profitable for Ford and use less aluminum.”

Due to the pause, hourly employees at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center will transfer to the nearby Dearborn Truck Plant to join the third shift. The shift will also consist of new hires as well as some transfers from other plants.

To increase production of the popular F-Series Super Duty, the automaker is investing $60 million into the Kentucky Truck Plant. These funds will help speed up the production line, so that one additional truck will be built every hour. That might not sound like much, but it will result in more than 5,000 additional pickups.

The funds will also be used to help train new employees. Speaking of which, the plant is expected to add more than 100 jobs.

In total, the automaker will increase production by more than 50,000 units and create up to 1,000 new jobs. Ford’s Chief Operating Officer, Kumar Galhotra, said “The people who keep our country running depend on America’s most popular vehicle – F-Series trucks – and we are mobilizing our team to meet that demand.”

Novelis Fire Could Cost Ford $1 Billion

Novelis

The announcement to ramp up production comes as Ford revealed the “Novelis headwind” could cost them up to $1 billion in losses between 2025 and 2026.

CEO Jim Farley has already visited the damaged plant and said, “We are working intensively with Novelis and others to source aluminum that can be processed in the cold rolling section of the plant that remains operational, while also working to restore overall plant production.” This has enabled them to “minimize the impact in 2025 and recover production in 2026.”

Given the fallout of the fire, Ford now expects to finish the year with an adjusted EBIT of $6 billion to $6.5 billion as well as an adjusted free cash flow of $2 billion to $3 billion.

It wasn’t all bad news as third quarter revenue reached a record of $50.5 billion. That’s up 9% from a year ago and the company posted a net income of $2.4 billion. Unfortunately, Trump’s tariffs cost the automaker roughly $700 million.

Like every other automaker trying to keep its EV lineup from gathering dust, Ford knows that enthusiasm for the F-150 Lightning could fade fast now that the federal tax credit has vanished. To keep shoppers from drifting off, it’s slicing up to $4,000 off the price.

Now, that doesn’t come close to the $7,500 buyers just lost, but it might be enough to keep a few more trucks rolling off the lot. For the moment, anyway.

The 2026 F-150 Lightning will start at $63,345 before destination charges for the base STX trim, which replaces the outgoing XLT. Though the sticker remains identical to last year’s, the new model carries a larger 123 kWh battery pack instead of the previous 98 kWh unit, boosting range by roughly 50 miles (80.4 km).

Read: Ford’s New F-150 Lightning Trim Solves Its Biggest Flaws For Free

Perhaps of even more interest to potential customers will be the Flash trim. Cars Direct reports it will start at $65,995 for 2026, down from last year’s $69,995. There will also be a generous $2,000 savings for the Lariat, with its price reduced from $76,995 to $74,995.

At the top of the lineup sits the F-150 Lightning Platinum, which holds steady at $84,995. Ford hasn’t trimmed that figure, but at least it hasn’t gone higher either.

If the F-150 Lightning is still out of your price range after these cuts, then leasing could be a good option. Ford is continuing to offer 2025 XLT models with a $9,000 lease cash incentive.

Shoppers in certain states are also eligible for a $500 Summer Sales Event bonus, and for those who turn down Ford’s complimentary home charger, a $2,000 Public Charging Credit is available.

During the most recent quarter, Ford sold 10,005 units of the F-150 Lightning, marking a 39.7 percent jump from the same period last year.

How the Trump administration’s decision to end the federal tax credit will affect Q4 results remains to be seen. The next few months will likely reveal whether price cuts alone are enough to keep Ford’s electric pickup moving off lots.