Ford has been patting itself on the back ever since it wisely decided to make the newest F-150 pickup truck out of aluminum. To Ford's credit, the use of the light material cuts a miraculous 700 pounds off of the truck's weight, but now that the applause has died down, its time to reignite talk about a pickup truck that will put the new F-150's improved MPG ratings to shame. This particular vehicle would be the Tesla pickup truck.

If Tesla priced and built it correctly, the truck could upset the normal flow of the truck market. Currently, the Ford F-150 is the best selling automobile in America and has been so for the last 39 years. Coming in second and third place are the Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram pickup trucks. Long story short, Americans have a lot of interest in trucks and any company that has in interest in making money should jump onto the truck bandwagon. For Tesla, a pickup truck has been little more than rumors and speculation and currently remains so (at least on the record). One promising clue that things are underway for a Tesla truck are the words uttered by Tesla's chief technical officer, JB Straubel, at a recent investor conference.

He said, "I can't say too much about the new products and the things we are developing, but from a pure technology point of view, everything that we've done on vehicles translates directly into trucks." This is an idea that Elon Musk also toyed with in 2013 when he mentioned that selling an electric pickup would have the two pronged effect of selling in the hottest and most profitable automotive segment and replacing the most gasoline miles that are driven. Tesla has a lot on its plate right now since trying to fill Model 3 preorders, so a truck is likely not an option until half a million Model 3s see new driveways. If, however, Tesla can get through the next few years and come out ahead, expect a truck to follow and reap more customer dollars.

Read more information about trucks with the best mpg.