Is John Deere Really Making A Pickup Truck?

While John Deere may be synonymous with grass-cutting, agriculture, and some of the most expensive tractors ever made, the company has branched out into other areas. It famously broke into the snowmobile market, and has provided drivetrain components for some time. In reverse of car companies that make tractors, according to the Internet rumor mill, the longtime tractor manufacturer is supposedly getting into the car game. More specifically, word has spread online that John Deere is revving up for the release of a pickup truck in the near future. Images of the supposed John pickup truck have varied, with some showing a squat, muscular, wide-body vehicle with off-roading tires, while others showcase a more conventional pickup in a variety of colors. 

Of course, in this age of copious information and misinformation, it's unwise to take any claim at face value. Let's take a deeper look at this rumor and, frankly, cover why it's totally false.

The problem for those hoping this news is the real deal is that, well, it just isn't. John Deere hasn't made any announcement regarding its foray into pickup trucks or street-legal cars in general.

So, if John Deere isn't making a pickup truck in 2025 or beyond, then what are all these pictures floating around of amazing trucks with the John Deere logo plastered on the front? Sadly, these aren't real concept cars, or works of human beings at all. Rather, those seen above and others are generated by artificial intelligence — a task requiring quite a bit of energy — and passed off as genuine. Folks want engagement, and what better way to get it than having AI models create deceptive imagery that people will click on and take as fact? It has become an increasingly common practice on the Internet, especially in the automotive realm. Thankfully, combating it is very much possible.

AI-generated, fake claims regarding upcoming car releases — like the untrue John Deere pickup truck idea — are pretty simple to debunk in a few steps. The first and most effective method is to look around online to see where these notions are coming from. If the company itself or other mainstream, trustworthy publications haven't had anything to say about it, then it's likely not real. Sure, leaks do happen, but it's unlikely that entire supposedly professional photo sets and lists of specs would appear way online without any official reaction or mainstream traction.

As for the images themselves,  AI models can sometimes fail to get the exact details of a manufacturer's logo — like John Deere's iconic yellow deer — right. The same can also be true for text, with lazier renderings not quite getting words and letters correct on license plates and along the sides of cars and trucks. Repeating patterns on grills and tire treads can also prove troublesome for AI, with the pattern getting shaky or entirely messed up at certain points. These giveaways aren't always present, and won't always expose AI images as such, but they can do the trick in many cases.

For the time being, John Deere is staying in its lane making tractors, lawn mowers, and all of its other usual offerings.