Ford has been positioning its Mustang Mach-E, its first next-gen all-electric vehicle, against the Tesla Model Y electric crossover.
Now that the specs of the Mach-E have leaked, we can make a quick specs comparison with the Model Y.
Last year, Ford said that it was going ‘all-in’ on EVs following the ousting of CEO Mark Fields and appointment of Jim Hackett.
Hackett formed a new internal team, called ‘Team Edison’, to oversee electric car programs. He also shifted one-third of internal combustion engine investments to electric cars, but the company is still investing more in the former than the latter.
Ford confirmed that its first next-gen electric vehicle will be inspired by the Mustang.
They have been teasing the vehicle ever since and they had one more teaser that we missed last week.
When Tesla was unveiling Model Y last week, Ford sent out the following tweet:
Hold your horses pic.twitter.com/EYNqZLv3ER
— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) March 15, 2019
According to an anonymous Ford executive speaking to CNBC, the tweet was directed at Tesla when the company was about to unveil its own electric crossover.
At the same time, CNBC talked to Ford President of Global Operations Joe Hinrichs who said that the electric vehicle will be in showrooms around the same time as Tesla’s Model Y:
“The company is moving quickly toward producing what it previously described as a “Mustang-inspired” all-electric SUV that will be in showrooms next year, about the same time Tesla begins to deliver the first Model Y battery-SUV.”
Now the specs of the Mustang Mach-E have leaked on Ford’s website ahead of the unveiling this weekend.
Tesla Model Y vs Ford Mustang Mach-E
There’s no perfect comparison, but if you are on the market for a premium crossover in 2020, I think your best two options are going to be the Tesla Model Y and the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
First off, let’s start by comparing the least expensive versions of each vehicle:
| Ford Mustang Mach-E Select | Tesla Model Y Standard Range Plus | |
| Price: | $43,895 | $43,000 (Estimated) |
| Range: | 230 miles (EPA) | 230 miles (EPA) |
| 0-60 mph: | mid 5-second | 5.9 seconds |
| Cargo Space: | 59.6 cubic feet | 66 cubic feet |
Tesla has been changing its Model Y and Model 3 configurations and prices so we don’t know the exact price of the Model Y Standard Range Plus, but we can extrapolate from the difference with other Model 3 variants.
Either way, it’s extremely competitive.
Without arguing about which one is better, they both come with their respective driver-assist systems.
The Model Y has slightly more cargo space and while Ford didn’t confirm the DC charge rate of the Mach-E, we estimate that the Model Y has a much higher charge rate at Supercharger V3 stations.
One advantage of the Mach-E is that Ford seems to plan to offer AWD dual-motor options for all variants.
With Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3, they are only making the option available for the Long Range (bigger battery pack) versions of the vehicles.
Now a comparison of the variants with a bigger battery pack:
| Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium | Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD | |
| Price: | $50,600 | $48,000 |
| Range: | 300 miles (EPA) | 300 miles (EPA) |
| 0-60 mph: | mid 5-second | 5.5 seconds |
| Cargo Space: | 59.6 cubic feet | 66 cubic feet |
Again, it is extremely competitive.
However, it’s unclear how the AWD dual-motor option affects Ford’s specs here. For the Model Y, we know that the price jumps to $52,000 and the range drops to 280 miles.
I think the range could significantly down with the AWD version based on the performance variants comparison:
| Ford Mustang Mach-E GT | Tesla Model Y Performance | |
| Price: | $60,500 | $61,000 |
| Range: | 235 miles (EPA) | 280 miles (EPA) |
| 0-60 mph: | mid 3-second | 3.5 seconds |
| Cargo Space: | 59.6 cubic feet | 66 cubic feet |
Both vehicles come standard with Dual Motor all-wheel-drive powertrains and 20″ wheels.
Again, it is very competitive – except for the range here as the Ford seems to take a much bigger efficiency hit.
Electrek’s Take
I am very excited about this. I think it will create some great competition – similar to what the Porsche Taycan is doing to the Model S now, I think the Mach-E is going to do the Model Y.
It’s going to keep Tesla on its toes and push the program further.
At this point, it’s clear to me that the Ford Mustang Mach-E is going to be doing great in terms of sales based on the specs and price.
We need to keep in mind that Ford still has access to the full $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles while Tesla buyers won’t have access to any of it by the time the Model Y comes to market.
I don’t think that’s fair, but it is what it is right now.
Tesla’s Supercharger network, Autopilot, and user interface are still extremely hard to beat in my opinion, but I know that many people are going to go for the Mach-E.
As for the Mach-E, we need to see it in person and drive it, but it’s looking good so far.
It will be interesting to see how many they plan to produce and if Ford dealerships are going to be able to sell it.
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