I think that either way, the truck pulls on the tree with the same force that the tree pulls on the truck. It's a characteristic of rope.
If the tree has a better grip on the ground than the truck, the truck may be moving towards the tree.... or vice versa.
-Chuck
Considering that the pulling power of thing 1 is greater than thing 2 only when the power exerted by thing 1 exceeds the friction thing 2 exerts on the ground.
Then the friction the tree exerts on the ground (IE holding power of the roots) must be over come by the pulling force of thing 1, same as thing 1 must exert more pulling power on the tree than the friction of the tree to the earth.
The characteristic of the rope is that it must withstand the combination of the two opposing forces.
Or think of it this way when thing 1 and thing 2 are having a tug of war neither can can move the other until the pulling force exceeds the others holding force, therefore pulling and holding a term for the same force at different places on the scale of energy.
Course now there are so many factors in the equation its pointless.