Sometimes the best things in life really are free: Just ask Ford CEO Jim Farley.
He wants the world to know the F-Series pickup creating significant buzz on social media is not part of an advertising campaign. It's simply a Ford F-Series pickup rescuing a vehicle that needed help.
In this case, a 15-second video posted on X on Tuesday captures a recent moment when it appears a Tesla Cybertruck carrying a tree gets stuck in the snow in a wooded area, tires spinning, and is pulled free by a Ford driver.
"Just to be clear … this is a Super Duty and NOT advertising. Glad a @Ford owner was there to help," Farley posted on X on Tuesday to his 252,200 followers, when sharing the video that has more than 1 million views.
A post by Tesla Motors Community from @CommunityTesla said, "Free Advertising for Ford this Holiday Season," along with the video described as, "Cybertruck getting recovered after sliding off trail at Corral Hollow OHV" in Bear Valley, California.
Note: "OHV" stands for off-highway vehicular, for folks who don't run with an adventure crowd.
An Instagram post Tuesday by Matt Chambers at mchambers_22 credits his buddies, who were there. Chambers, a sanitation worker from Concord, California, confirmed to the Detroit Free Press late Wednesday that his post of the Cybertruck video was shot by Justin Stoops, of Oakley, California, while his brother Ryan Stoops drove the 2011 Ford F-350, and Justin Covington, of Lodi, California, handled the recovery on Sunday.
"We expected a little notice in the (San Francisco) Bay Area, given we're Tesla's home territory," Chambers told the Free Press. "We've seen articles posted in Russian, Japanese and Chinese. To us, it's pretty funny. It's awesome the way we were able to share the experience. We're not bashing on Tesla at all. As off-roaders, when we see somebody that is stuck, we just want to help. And it just so happens, this was a Cybertruck."
The all-electric Cybertruck certainly isn't the first truck to get stuck in snow, but this latest imagery comes at a time when the company is launching and delivering the popular vehicle and dominating social media with praise and excitement.
Folks at Ford said the situation is really nothing special because it's what Ford pickup drivers do.
"A significant number of Ford truck owners carry around a recovery rope or a chain that, if they see someone who needs help and is stuck, they can use their truck to free that person," Mike Levine, director of Ford North America product communications, told the Free Press on Wednesday.
"Getting stuck can happen to anyone, even me," he said. "I keep a tow rope. When I was out in the middle of nowhere and I saw someone stuck, I helped them get out of that jam. That’s how Ford truck customers roll. They want to build a better world."
This frame capture from a 15-second video shot by Justin Stoops and posted on social media Tuesday captures a recent moment when it appears a Tesla Cybertruck carrying a tree gets stuck in the snow in a wooded area, tires spinning, and is pulled free by a Ford driver. Justin's brother Ryan was driving the Ford and Justin Covington was handling the recovery.
Tesla fans immediately responded to Farley's post on X:
"We're all friends when off-roading! It pays to be prepared when off-road. Great to have a Good Samaritan nearby with a winch or a tow strap in the dry!" posted C is for Cybertruck from @CyberTruckApoc
"Truck owners helping truck owners is a beautiful thing," posted The Cybertruck Guy from @cybrtrkguy
"Good Job taking the higher road. Much respect from a tsla stock shareholder," posted Robin Taylor from @robtstaylor97.
Off road, things just happen, Levine said. "Everyone helps each other, if they can."
He used a Super Duty to free a Toyota 4Runner stuck in a rut at Hungry Valley OHV park in Gorman, California, and provided a photo of the Jan. 18, 2020, rescue as proof.
Mike Levine, Ford North America product communications director, used his Ford F-250 Tremor to rescue a Toyota 4Runner stuck in a rut at Hungry Valley OHV park in California on Jan. 18, 2020. He said Ford F-Series pickup owners enjoy coming to the rescue.
Mark Truby, Ford global communications director, laughed and said, "We all know people like this. Basically, every one of the hockey dads I know. They love nothing more than to have the right truck and right tools to be Johnny on the spot if anything goes wrong.”
Mark Stevens, owner of Stevens Custom Welding in Port Huron, drives a Ford F-150 and so does his daughter. He told the Free Press in 2017, "I live on a dirt road in the country. They won't plow snow for three days and my truck goes through like it's nothing. I pull people out of ditches."
Nothing has changed over the past six years, he told the Free Press on Wednesday. "You're not going to drive past somebody who's in a ditch. And it's amazing how grateful they are afterwards. It's just not a big deal. You put the truck in four-wheel drive and just yank 'em out."
Heavy-duty hauling and towing is another reason why trucks powered by the old-fashioned internal combustion engines aren't going away anytime soon, Ford executives have said publicly.
