Fisker Alaska vs. Rivian R1T vs. Tesla Cybertruck: Which Ambitious EV Pickup Truck Is Best?

Fisker Inc., a brand by industry standout Henrik Fisker, is looking to really get on the radar of more than just luxury EV SUV buyers. The 2025 Fisker Alaska was revealed and it's basically an Ocean EV SUV with a pickup truck bed. If that's good or bad in the long run is something only time will tell when we get our hands on one, but what can we glean from its spec sheet and how does it compare to the other ambitious EV pickups that are either here or still delayed. We look at the spec sheets between it, the Rivian R1T, and the Tesla Cybertruck to see which unconventional truck will be best as far as how they are equipped.

Truthfully, this comparison isn't going to be complete or easy considering both the Tesla Cybertruck and the Fisker Alaska aren't in production, meaning complete details on those vehicles aren't even released yet. It's only been very recently that Tesla showed off an allegedly production-ready version of the Cybertruck, but we are talking about the brand that's infamous for missing deadlines and allegedly overselling promises on features and specs. Fisker, in comparison, only just started producing the Ocean EV SUV and we tested one back in June. Rivian is the outlier of the three electric-only manufacturers, as it has been selling its R1T quad-motor since 2020, but its dual-motor just went into production recently. That's why we will add in this warning: two of these trucks could change drastically from what we're going to present now and when they are finally on the road.

Novel Cargo Features

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When it comes to the features each truck brings to the market—besides being electric—the Alaska's claim to fame will be its Houdini bed divider, which is based on the same Houdini Trunk in the Pear EV SUV. It's a hideaway divider that separates the cargo bed and the rear cabin in the same idea as the Chevrolet Avalanche had. Instead of being a divider that you'd have to stow away, the Houdini divider will hide away that slips down below the floor and expands its cargo length from 4.5 feet to 7.5 feet when you drop down the three-way folding rear seats, and stretches even up to 9.2 feet when you drop the tailgate down (at least that's what it says on Fisker's website, Henrik said it was 9.6 feet during the reveal).

The R1T, on the other hand, has the Gear Tunnel, an enclosed space between the cab and the bed that can be accessed by doors on either side of the truck and is 11.6 cubic feet in volume (about 0.6 cubic feet more than the R1T's frunk). Those doors are also capable of holding up to 300 pounds, so they can also double as tables or chairs when you need them. We put this Gear Tunnel to use during our Trans America Trail adventure back in 2021. Rivian also has a Kneel feature in its suspension that allows the truck to drop in height and allow easy egress and ingress as well as reaching the Frunk and bed easier, too.

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The Cybertruck's main cargo feature will be threefold. The first will be its integrated and fold-way tonneau cover that encloses the bedspace. Next, it will have a dump feature, where the rear air suspension will let all of its air out and squat down to make it easier to load stuff. Especially when you use its integrated ramp built into the tailgate. Any one of these features will make the Cybertruck an awesome vehicle to haul your stuff around, we'll just have to see what actually makes it to production and what won't.

Previous leaked images revealed what likely is the lacking frunk in the Cybertrunk (it's either really small or nonexistent); the Rivian gets a frunk; the Ocean EV SUV doesn't get a frunk, so the Alaska likely won't either.

Battery Range

While not as big a deal as it once was, the full-charge range is still something people are curious about when it comes to EVs. Even as a majority of them reach over 250 miles on some of the smallest packs. (Well, when unloaded and not hauling a trailer.) From what we gather on the Alaska, its size isn't quite aiming for trailer towing capability, anyway. It's more like an urban truck just like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are.

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That said, Fisker is touting that the Alaska will get between 230 miles likely from its regular Touring Range battery pack using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells, and up to 340 miles on what's likely the 113 kWh Hyper Range pack that uses nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells. A lot of that range comes due to it being "the world's lightest EV pickup truck," but the company hasn't said what its weight will be. Even so, the range figures do line up more with reality for an EV of its size and battery capacity.

The Rivian R1T offers three different pack sizes that range from 260 miles on its 105 kWh standard pack, 328 miles on its 135 kWh Large pack, and up to 400 miles on the 180 kWh Max battery pack. Though, those numbers are for its EPA rating with the dual-motor drivetrain and using 21 inch wheels. The quad-motor gets around 328 miles on the Max battery pack.

Tesla hasn't released its EPA figures or the battery pack capacity for the Cybertruck but claims it will be able to hit up to 500 miles of range on a full charge. With recent news on its allegedly deceptive range reporting and getting worse range numbers, we're dubious about that claim. Expect reality to be much more in line with what we're seeing out of the R1T quad-motor considering the weight of the all stainless steel construction of the body.

Fit And Finish Track Record

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Fisker, technically being the newest OE EV automaker, doesn't have a real record to really stand on yet, but using Magna Steyr has proven to be a wise choice with the Ocean. It's an established contract manufacturer that builds cars like the BMW 5-series and the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen and it showed on the Ocean. Who builds the Alaska hasn't been determined yet, as Fisker is looking to build the Pear here in the U.S. via Foxconn around mid-2025 and said toCNBCthat it will build a new "Ocean-based model" alongside the Pear at that facility. This could mean the Alaska or it could be another future vehicle that has yet to be announced. If Fisker uses Magna Steyr, we expect it to have a good fit and finish as we've seen with the production version of the Ocean.

Overall, we've been rather satisfied with the R1T we've had as a long-term tester, but have found that running it completely out of juice is something we'd like to never experience again. Regardless, the fit, functionality, and overall quality of the R1T has been very impressive for a manufacturer that's only been making vehicles since 2019, with its Electric Delivery Van and the R1T being built during the Pandemic and supply chain shortages that have occurred. However, it is still a new vehicle and there are some teething problems that do occur during manufacturing, but those issues have been overcome with good service from its mobile tech services.

If there is one thing Tesla has been infamous for, it's the questionable fit and finish of its production models. Poor panel fitments, questionable attachment of steering wheels, and other finishing issues plague the Tesla brand. While it's true that Tesla has come a long way since its early days in 2013, it's still nowhere near the level of vehicles that costs as much as Teslas do. The Cybertruck might have already had its own issues before even going into production according to a whistleblower account from 2022. Not only is Tesla's first pickup truck far behind schedule, but has already shown serious problems from its powertrain to sealing and structural issues to problems with the suspension. Hopefully, these are all issues that will be fixed, but given Tesla's track record, we're very concerned.

Pricing

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Finally, we get down to the thing a lot of people want to know. How much are these trucks going to cost? The only one we don't have any firm answer on is the Tesla Cybertruck. If we look at the cost of the Model Y Performance and then take in the extra features built into the Cybertruck into consideration, it's potentially going to be a $60,000 plus sticker price to start.

Fisker has already said that the Alaska will start at $45,400 and deliveries are expected to begin in 2025. For what it's offering, the Fisker Alaska could be the cheapest all-electric pickup truck on the market as even the Ford F-150 Lighting Pro starts at $51,990, the cheapest currently available. Though, we do have to add that the Lightning is considered a full-size pickup truck where the Fisker Alaska is considered to be sized between the Ford Ranger and F-150 in terms of size and urban-focused in capability. Regardless, we think that's likely a price that could hold as the Fisker Ocean starts at $37,499 and its top-of-the-line Extreme with its Hyper Range battery starts at $68,999.

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The Rivian R1T is the most expensive to start of the three pickup truck disruptors. With the Explore trim gone, the dual-motor R1T Adventure starts at $74,075, but quickly jumps to over $100,000 when you start going down the quad-motor, Max battery pack route.

Do We Have A Conclusion? Sort Of.

If we were to pick a winner from the three trucks so far, the Rivian R1T would probably come out on top, at the moment. It's hard to beat something with an established track record. With that in mind, we are willing to change our opinion once we finally learn where the Fisker Alaska will be manufactured. If it goes through the Magna Styer facility, then the production quality will be there and that sub-$50,000 price tag is going to offer a lot of value for your money. While you might argue about reliability, it's still early even for Rivian to tout a record on that, and with less rotating parts required to make a vehicle go, an electric pickup truck is going to be reliable if you don't run it out of juice or abuse the snot out of it (technically, that last one goes for all vehicles).

With Tesla's lackluster record of quality issues and the dump mode, the integrated tonneau cover, and the integrated ramps in the tailgate are all features that have many moving parts that could easily fail. Add in that the 500 mile range figure might not be real and its polarizing looks and the Cybertruck becomes a very big open question. One thing that makes the Cybertruck compelling to buy is the Tesla charging network. However, that advantage is going to quickly wane as more manufacturers jump onto the NACS standard while also developing another new charging network outside the Tesla sphere, including Rivian.

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For us, it's a toss-up between the R1T and the Alaska and we're almost unwilling to call the Cybertruck a legitimate competitor until it gets closer to a final production form that we have a clearer picture of. But again, time will tell and we'll only truly call a winner once we have our chance to drive all three, so stay tuned.