EV pickups were once this crazy, far-off idea, but now they’re a routine sight on our roads. Ford, Rivian, and Tesla all got a headstart relative to GM, but the big house in Detroit is finally ready to play. The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST is here, and it’s got a spec sheet that should be the envy of its rivals.
Right out of the gate, Chevy estimates the EV RST will achieve 440 miles of range on the EPA test cycle. That’s a nice amount more than the Tesla Cybertruck (340 miles), F-150 Lightning (320 miles) and Rivian R1T (410 miles). With range a prime concern for many EV buyers, this is a big win for the electric Silverado. It’s all down to the massive 215 kWh battery, far larger than any rival truck is packing.
It’s also bonkers fast for a truck, delivering a zero to 60 mph sprint in just 4.5 seconds. It’s not the fastest EV truck out there, but this is a ridiculous figure that was once the preserve of outright supercars. It’s all thanks to 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque on tap in the ridiculously named WOW (Wide Open Watts) mode.
Where towing is concerned, the EV RST is rated for 10,000 pounds. With such a large battery, you can actually haul those loads useful distances; early testing has shown the Silverado pulling big trailers over 200 miles without issue. The truck will also feature Super Cruise with trailering functionality.
The payload rating is a little weaker at just 1,300 pounds. Both the F-150 Lightning and Cybertruck boast figures well in excess of 2,000 pounds. It’s perhaps a tradeoff that GM chose to make, putting more weight into the battery instead.
Outside of the numbers, though, GM has put in the work to make the Silverado EV a star for doing real work. It rocks both the Multi-Flex midgate and the Multi-Flex tailgate which massively increases the bed’s ability to accept long items. If you really want you can haul stuff up to 10 feet and 10 inches long. That’s a huge leap over the basic 5 feet, 11 inches basic capacity of the bed itself. It’s perfect for lumber, pipe, or other big long things. You can probably think of a bunch.
Keeping the Silverado on the road shouldn’t be a hassle, either. It’s capable of DC fast charging at up to 350 kW. Realistically, you’ll be well-advised to stick to fast charging given the immense size of the battery pack. As is becoming common across the truck market, the EV RST will also offer power outlets for plugging in tools or other gear. It’ll deliver up to 7.2 kW from those outlets, or 10.2 kW if you option the accessory power bar. Chevy is throwing in a 19.2 kW home charger for First Edition reservation holders who place an order, too.
The big news, though, is the price. GM has announced the Silverado EV RST will start at $96,495, including destination charges. That’s a competitive price for a truck that was originally expected to land with a six-figure price tag. Cheaper trims will be available down the line, like the work truck WT model, but for now, even the First Edition RST is landing at a compelling price point. Deliveries are expected to start mid-year.
Market Realities
As described, the EV RST is a strong entry to the electric truck market for GM. It has class-leading range, for a start. This came as a surprise, with early reports suggesting something closer to 400 miles of range. 440 miles of range makes this truck a real humdinger.
Its rivals will struggle to match those figures without major redesigns, unless Tesla finally finds a way to deliver its Cybertruck range extender. For a lot of potential buyers, range is the number one concern. Selling them a truck that can drive all day on a single change will go a long way to easing those fears.
Stuffing in a big battery also makes the Silverado much more useful for big towing jobs. Its rivals may have similar tow ratings, but they won’t drag a 10,000-pound trailer nearly as far as the Silverado EV will. For anyone looking to tow with an electric truck, Chevy has the standout performer here.
There’s also something to be said for brand loyalty. Truck buyers can be highly loyal to their chosen badge. Many will have been waiting for Chevy to offer something in this space, and they will be raring to get on board. 754 horsepower will be a nice reward for those buyers. Those wild acceleration figures should do a lot to woo gas and diesel stalwarts over to the EV world.
Chevy will soon have the newest EV truck on the market. It’ll have the longest range, a good name, and proven towing performance. Add GM’s industrial might behind it, and it could win a lot of customers that were otherwise looking at rival trucks.
Ultimately, all Chevy needs to do is build these trucks in real numbers and sell them to customers. As long as the trucks work, and dealers don’t go crazy on markups, it should find plenty of eager customers willing to get on board. You heard it—Chevy’s doing its electric era now, for real.
Image credits: Chevrolet
Here to echo the disappointment of jamming massive batteries into full-size trucks instead of seeing those resources make their way into various hybrids that people actually want, and are so hard to find right now.
If I get hit by one of these crossing my street, will I just vaporize on contact? Will the driver even notice? The weight of this thing man, it should require a fucking CDL to drive.
You should be able to get by with a regular CDL. I mean, it’s not the bang bus.
Touché, haha.
Or perhaps have a retroactive regulation that anything over 8500 lbs gross vehicle weight rating is limited to 68 mph, and maximum forward acceleration of 0.4g? That would be one hilarious automatic over the air update, if one morning all of these oversized things suddenly lost half of their acceleration capability, and couldn’t pass a semi truck on the interstate.
“How The 440-Mile 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST Can Beat The Cybertruck”
By not looking like ass?
Seriously though, I don’t know who the fuck is buying six-figure pickups. Wait a minute, yes I do: contractors whose company has it on the books for the owner to drive. At least that’s the way it is around by me.
There was a time when six figures was a fuckton of money to spend on a car. It still is though, and I keep waiting for the reckoning to come but it never does. This is why no one builds cheap cars anymore, it’s just too damn easy.
We recently bought a “compact” hybrid SUV as a family car for my wife to drive. She added every single available option, turning it into something like a low end luxury car. Seriously: Every single option. It cost something like $43k and I was floored that we were spending that much on a car.
I’m with you. $43k was completely unnecessary, I can’t imagine spending 6 figures.
I stopped reading when I saw the price. No regular person is going to care about these things at these prices. Almost $100k isn’t a compelling price point, I’m sorry to say. It just isn’t.
On a lighter note. This has been said ad nauseum but it really irks me they call this a Silverado when it’s clearly an Avalanche.
Edit: Actually, how about a hybrid Avalanche that looks like this that doesn’t weigh 10,000 fucking pounds?
It’s not like internal combustion trucks are cheap. The most expensive 3 F150 trims (Platinum, King Ranch, and Raptor) start at over $70,000 before adding options. This is their highest trim truck. It is very expensive, sadly just like every high trim truck these days.
Then the Ramcharger comes along for cheaper, more capacity cause it’s not hauling $50,000 worth of batteries everywhere.
GM has strayed so far from the Sunraycer times when they knew that adding more batteries just increased weight that would then need more batteries. I’m all for reducing emissions but this thing’s probably going to need 100K miles before recouping the carbon cost of the massive battery pack.
If the rear window is power retracting this would pretty fun and the midgate would be super useful for me.
I was on board until price was mentioned. I would consider it if it was PHEV with 50 (real world) miles, more payload, and about $25k cheaper.
This isn’t specific to this truck, but how does charging work when you’re towing on a road trip? Every EV charging setup I’ve seen is a row of parking spots, not pull-through like gas pumps. So you’ll have to take up 4+ spots to fit the trailer? Unhook the trailer in a non-charging spot then drive over?
Also this thing is ugly and ungainly, so I’m sure modern truck buyers will love it.
They are in the minority, but some charging setups allow for pulling through. I suspect more will be built, but yeah, it’s going to be an issue for a while.
Most, at this point, require unhooking the trailer, then charging, then hooking up again. I’m not sure why anyone tows with EVs.
It just hit me. Much like crabs, those Australian boat launching contraptions are the final form of automotive evolution. Just stick a grille on the front and you’ve got a Stateside winner!
In all seriousness that’s a lot of ugly for $100k, especially when you know they’re still working out the kinks.
Counterpoint: this thing is dumb and wasteful. As Needles Balloon articulated far better than I ever could, you could build many more electrified vehicles and make a much bigger environmental impact with the amount of resources wasted on this stupid thing.
It also weighs 8,600 pounds. That’s literally the equivalent of a Chevy Tahoe with an ND Miata on top. And this isn’t even taking the fact that these things will be sitting on buy here pay here lots in 3-4 years for $20,000 and inevitably finding their way to scrapyards.
I don’t think there’s a dumber use of battery resources than trying to make huge trucks right now. Core truck buyers don’t want them, they’re demonstrably worse at doing actual truck stuff, and their inconceivable size and weight coupled with acceleration similar to most high end sports cars makes them a danger to everyone on the road.
GET OFF MY LAWN! I still love you though, Lewin.
Hey, at least it has the very practical features of 24″ wheels, a bed that is difficult to access from the side, and a 0-60 time that seems almost designed to cause accidents!
All hail the new pokemon! Eevee Reset!
Don’t hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning.
I get that instead of building trains, we just make trucks look like locomotives now. But did they really have to make the hood even taller? What’s even there? A cavenrous space to fill with a party sized Yeti cooler and the entire Alan Jackson discography? Being a 4 ton rock capable of taking a old M3 stoplight to stoplight, consideration for seeing an average US child within 20 feet of driver would have probably been beneficial.
Here’s the next step for GM making trucks look like locomotives: “GM buys back Electromotive Division, develops diesel-electric hybrid for light trucks” That would make an excellent April Fool’s Day headline.
“We here at GM understand that today’s working person requires torque necessary to move heavier and heavier payloads. That’s why we’re introducing the Silverado EMD edition. Powered by the 12-1010, with 12 cylinders displacing 1010 cubic inches, with three turbos. Producing 4,600 hp and all the torque, no load will prevent you from hitting 85 and aggressively tailgating whoever stands in your way.”
And it’ll drive like it’s on rails.
“What’s even there? A cavenrous space to fill with a party sized Yeti cooler and the entire Alan Jackson discography?”
You got a genuine lol out of me for that one.
While it’s the most compelling electric truck, I’d hardly consider $96k a “compelling price point”
The price will definitely be a limiting factor on adoption of this product.
1,300lb payload, means this is a fucking tacoma, not a full size truck.
10,000lbs to eat up our roads, whose paying for all the repairs we will need with these new cars that don’t pay gas tax, but do more damage?
100,000 dollars for this fucking thing. No one who uses a truck for work will buy it.
This truck is stupid.
Yeah, I can’t say I disagree. This is a toy for a rich douchenozzle. These things will never be used for any real work. At the price, nobody who needs a truck to work could ever afford them anyway.
I’m so tired of truck “lifestyle” people driving a bed full of air all over the place because “well, I just like trucks”. I’m all about personal choice, but at what point does it cross into the absurd/dangerous? That much power combined with that much weight in the hands of your average driver is nuts. Now give it to the type of attention-seeking jackwagon who will probably buy it. It just seems like there should be a limit on the amount of force a car/truck can impart to another. A rise in mass should dictate a proportional reduction in force. You wanna weigh 10,000 lbs, then you are limited to 55 MPH unless you get a different class of drivers license.
I also think this truck is stupid.
Now give the rich guys kid the car for the weekend while he texts and tik toks all over the road and I can only imagine how that turns out. A neighbor kid just smashed my other neighbor on a wide open, no obstruction straight road. Most likely looking at his phone, just ran right into her as she turned into her driveway. He had an old jeep and she had a newer suv, so she was fine, but I think the math is different if he’s driving this new Chevy.
I don’t disagree. This is more like a family hauler than what we are used to as a real truck. It looks from the side more like the Avalanche than other GM’s, and I assume it will be used the same way.
The last Tacoma I had had an 800 lb payload. I’m sure it was good at many things, but hauling wasn’t one of them.
Luckily, a few bags of groceries, and maybe a bag or two of mulch on the weekend weighs << 1300lbs.
For scale: 215kWh =
2.17 Ford Mach-Es (Extended Range, 312mi)
3.3 Chevy Bolts (259mi)
14.9 Ford Escape PHEVs (37mi)
143 F-150 Powerboosts (24 vs 18 mpg city)
203 CR-V Hybrids (39 vs 30 mpg comb.)
After driving 15,000 miles (using combined MPG ratings):
– 203 CR-V Hybrids save 23,423 gallons of gas over the gas version
– 143 F-150 Powerboosts save 12,767 gallons over the normal 3.5TT
– 14.9 Escape PHEVs save 1,862 gallons over the 1.5T, without ever plugging in (5120 gallons saved assuming 40mi daily commute)
– 3.3 Bolts save 1,833 gallons over the Equinox
– 2.17 Mach-Es save 1,550 gallons over the Ford Edge
– 1 Silverado EV RST saves 882 gallons over the Silverado RST w/ 6.2L
The CR-V and F-150 numbers are what’s most telling. Toyota and Honda have been saying this for years. A little bit of battery in everything does so much more than a single huge BEV.
Getting 143 pickup trucks to save gas or 203 crossovers with the amount of batteries to create a single truck is mind-blowing to me.
Hmm, that payload number sucks. If you’re pulling a 10k trailer you can have you and a buddy (if you’re both light) in the cab and that’s it. Not awesome.
This article reads like an advertisement.
see a lot of this from their ev stories. They gloss over anything bad.
More likely paid to only say what the press packet says to chat up
Come on. Of all the sites that might do that, Autopian writers have historically been very open and fair.
Does Lewin have much history around here?
People said the same thing on the article for when say, Nissan announced the facelifted Rogue. It’s not meant to be a review, basically covering the recent release/update from GM announcing pricing and range, more like JDE said. Pretty normal across auto media outlets, being critical before driving it could seem like a cheap shot or clickbaity which I suspect isn’t what the team here is going for.
10k of towing is not very usable with only 1300 lb payload.
Still, I applaud GM for attempting to put a useful range into this. I wish this battery was available in other body styles for a real range champ, but this is a nice start.
Umm….. Why not? 1300lb gets you your 10% tongue weight if that’s what you’re worried about.
Sure, as long as you aren’t hauling any passengers or cargo in the truck too.
Gotcha. Well, that gets you one passenger at least.
Typical load is calculated with just a 150lb driver in the vehicle.
The only other body style this battery will actually fit in is basically a large SUV. You ain’t fitting that battery in a sedan or midsize crossover. And GM ain’t about to reintroduce a minivan.
Why couldn’t they put a lighter and more streamlined sedan body over this battery and frame? After all, that’s how cars used to be.
I agree you’ll never get this in a Bolt or Equinox sized body. But a 230″ full sized luxury Cadillac sedan sharing a battery with a 230″ truck makes sense, at least in my crazy mind.
The CT6 was only 205″ compared to the 233″ here. The Celestiq is 210″ and it only gets a 110 kWh battery.
Model S is 196″ with a 100 kWh battery.
BMW i7 is 212″ long with a 106 kWh battery.
Mercedes EQS is 208″ with a 108 kWh battery.
Porsche Taycan is 196″ with a 94 kWh battery.
What you are proposing would be only slightly longer than these, but with twice the battery. I mean, that’s cool, but come on, that’s not realistic right now. Especially when the Celestiq supposedly going to be priced around $300k already. Heck, even a LWB Rolls Phantom is 235″ long. I mean, maybe that’s what the Celestiq really should have been closer to, but I still find it hard to believe it would fit a 215 battery and still look remotely sedan like. Maybe a 4-seater sedan where the whole center console is battery (like gen 1 Volts).
GM has a (stylized I’m sure) cutaway view of the Silverado showing the battery here about halfway down the page:
https://www.chevrolet.com/electric/silverado-ev
There doesn’t appear to be anything from the battery shape or location that would preclude a sedan shape going over that platform. Perhaps the proportions would be slightly off or the seating position slightly higher up, but that to me is a small price to pay for something that might get 800 miles of EPA range.
A 1975 Deville was 231″ long. No reason we couldn’t bring that back.
Perhaps the proportions would be slightly off or the seating position slightly higher up
That’s my entire point. I think the proportions would be off enough that it wouldn’t even look like a sedan any more. A Rolls Royce is about as tall as you can get, and it barely looks sedan shaped. Heck, the Presidential limo get’s the advantage of being a limo, and it doesn’t even really resemble sedan proportions at all any more.
But if it was so easy to do, why is the next closest battery in a large sedan roughly half the size you are requesting.
Lucid Air is 196″ long with a 118 kWh battery. Which is the “best” length to battery ratio I know of for sedans, and if you stretched it to 230″, that’d still be a 139 kWh. Even if we went off pure wheelbase stretch, and therefor battery increased even better, it would be a 152 kWh battery.
I guess I don’t care what it looks like as long as it gets real range.
Maybe that’s the disconnect; in the $100K space most people want style over range?
Hold my beer!
Cool. I should start seeing them in the parking lot at work with back window stickers like Under Amour, 26.2, Yeti, and…the Great Lakes outline sticker.
That said, I’m glad people do buy them
“I’m glad people do buy them”
Why? Wouldn’t those batteries be better in 2-3 smaller EVs or 4-6 hybrids instead?
Not if those people are buying a 2500 Duramax instead. You’re comparing to what you *want* customers to buy rather than what they *actually* buy
And what of those other people?
Which is better, one EV Silverado and 2-6 smaller ICE cars or one 2500 Duramax and 2-6 EVs sand hybrids?
or maybe split the difference with 2-3 PHEV trucks..
You’re operating under the assumption that batteries will forever be constrained and that you can’t do both. Companies like Tesla and BYD haven’t been battery constrained for some time now and GM is building enough battery factories to handle all of its production needs
No, just that more smaller EVs do more good than one giant EV truck.
My point is that we can do smaller EVs *and* the giant trucks. We can do all of them.
My point is that we can do smaller EVs *and* the giant trucks. We can do all of them.
Nope. GM now has four battery plants with a very optimistic maximum production capacity of 160GWh/year (and they’re still ramping up):
https://electrek.co/2023/06/13/gm-fourth-ev-battery-plant-new-partner/
This truck has a 215kWh battery which means if all those 160GWh batteries went into full sized GM pickup trucks and SUVs they’d only be able to make 723k such vehicles per year. GM averaged 811k annual giant truck sales in the US alone between 2020-2022:
https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/general-motors-sales-numbers/gm-truck-sales-numbers/gm-pickup-truck-sales-numbers/
That leaves nothing for the rest of the 1.5M vehicles GM sells per year in the US.
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/general-motors-us-sales-figures/
You’re assuming that the electric Silverado will sell in 700k+ units when the F150 Lightning can barely hit 50k. That’s just not realistic.
As we further transition to EVs, GM will be able to build more battery capacity. Conflating current capacity with distant future sales numbers is fallacious
Your claim was “we can do smaller EVs *and* the giant trucks. We can do all of them”.
That is what I showed is not possible, at least not anytime soon.
In a decade? Who knows.
And my point is that it’s going to take at least a decade to get to that sort of market penetration. Automakers are struggling with too much EV supply as is
That’s because they’re too expensive! And at a starting price of $74k this Silverado isn’t helping.
I’m just a fan of capitalism, thats all. “Wouldn’t those batteries be better in 2-3 smaller EVs or 4-6 hybrids instead?” Absolutely.
I’m actually surprised anyone still cares about Under Armour enough to put a sticker on their car. I buy a lot of their stuff but only because it’s always in the discount bin at Ross.
What I haven’t seen anybody talk about is the 215kwh battery: a battery 3x as big as a Tesla Model 3 battery means that this has roughly 3x the negative environmental impact of a Tesla. This is very relevant when we’re talking about a vehicle that has basically no advantages except the environmental impact thing.
It also means several other things: 3x longer to charge at any given rate(like the class 2 in your garage), 3x more expensive to replace later, 3x bigger fire, ect.
200 miles of towing is much better than the competition, but still not great, and still means my 29yo F150 can do things that this $96k pickup can’t.
Also, 1300lb payload from something with eight lug wheels is hilarious.
I agree, silly numbers. Most folks aren’t using this for towing long range, hopefully. The regular range is impressive though .
I’d imagine if they’d pack this into fleet city work trucks, GM could generate some serious municipal fleet contracts with the green new booger deal build back thing.. Not sure if they could make all the batteries IDK
Yep, this is designed for the half ton weekend truck user.
This is designed for some shmuck to commute to the office with and also brag about the specs for towing (which will never happen).
A 14″ HUD sounds fantastic. I love a good heads up display.
same! hopefully not overcrowded though
Hold on, $96000 starting?? You should lead with that, that’s like double the F150 Lightning.
Plus the lightning qualifies for the $7500 tax credit.
this is the top trim; lower trims will cost less, particularly the WT trim.
Just like Lightning, lower trims will not appear until the shine is off. And that is by design. US automakers want credit for building them and they are learning about EVs but they don’t want to actually sell too many because they lose money.
They only lose money because the automakers are still ramping production and paying off the amortization on R&D and the tooling. It’s not cheap to create an entirely new supply chain. However, selling in larger numbers makes the economies of scale work better
Ford and GM both expect to be profitable on their EVs within the next 2 years.
These are niche boutique products that are not optimal in design or manufacturing. They will never be profitable at a pricepoint that would allow high volumes. And, frankly, there is little market for them due to the inherent compromises for a truck EV compared to the ICE alternatives. Second generation offerings should be better but there is no way to justify this monstrosity as a product. It is a PR stunt / flagship / learning platform but it is not a viable product.
I would argue that people hauling a 10,000lb trailer more than 200 miles is much more the niche customer than the average truck buyer
Why isn’t this called the Avalanche EV? Because that’s what it is.
rad name tbh, wish it was
The Avalanche was a good truck
Yeah! That’s why it should be called the Avalanche, perfect opportunity to bring it back.
Headline when someone gets run over by this 8000 lb truck. Family of four buried under Avalanche.
$96,000?! That’s more than I paid for my house. I had 30 years to pay that off and it was still a $900/month nut to crack. How do people pay for these things, especially if they aren’t income generators? Should be called the Desperado EV because those will be the only people able pay for these.
That said, it is a handsome truck and certainly beats the designed by a five-year-old with an Etch A Sketch aesthetic of the Cybertruck.
yeah I have no idea, I can’t imagine buying a new Civic let alone one of these
Add interest rates into this insanity. Financing $100K at current interest rates would result in a monthly payment around $2000.
I live in a big western resort town where they are building crazy numbers of new mountain homes in the 3-5M range. Probably a dozen brand new ones hit the market every single week, they go under contract almost immediately, and almost all of them are being bought as second (or probably third) homes. This is just one of many many places across the US experiencing this kind of boom.
tldr we’re living in a new gilded age and there is a mind-boggling amount of disposable income out there right now.
8,568 lbs of truck able to do 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds.
The opportunities for carnage boggle the mind: just wait till Florida Man gets ahold of it.
And blocks out the entire rear windscreen with a giant Salt Life decal
And sticks a giant LED light bar on the front at sedan rear view mirror height.
5:30am
You started my day with a good chuckle
thanks!
just mind boggling numbers
(eyes rear view mirror anxiously)
$96,000…
Good.
This is one of the rare occasions where I wish an automobile was more expensive and less easily obtained.
Yeah, it’s not the first owner we need to worry about. It’s the third owner.