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Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

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Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#171

Post by voakbasda »

cptaj wrote: post #122

Dead on arrival. China will sell you fully kitted hilux equivalents with japanese engines for 10k. Even toyota is making 10k trucks in thailand. US manufacturers are just not ready to face free market competition these days. They're entirely reliant on tariffs protecting them.

That is not just the auto industry either. US manufacturers have really dropped the ball across the board, and tariffs are not going to fix it for them.

I’m not really sure what the solution is at this point. We can’t just drop the tariffs, as that will decidedly end almost all manufacturing that has been propped up by them. On the flip side, the current administration’s recent erratic application and resulting litigation in this area have created an environment where no one in their right mind would invest in building out new capacity. The winds have demonstrated that they are too likely to shift again.

I hope someone can swoop in on this thread and explain how it’s all going to work out. Because I just don’t see it anymore….

And that makes me sad, because I want to love the Slate. Seems great. But I can’t see past how the pricing is tantamount to systemic theft, knowing that it has been artificially inflated by such protectionism.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#172

Post by vel0city »

coldpie wrote: post #160
vel0city wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah all of us Americans drive 200mi+ each way nine days a week 'cause the average house is on a 2,000 acre ranch. People often really overestimate their driving habits. Some Americans would absolutely be heavily impacted by a vehicle with a vehicle with 200mi range on a good day. A ton of Americans would never really be affected.

> Yeah all of us Americans drive 200mi+ each way nine days a week 'cause the average house is on a 2,000 acre ranch. I never claimed that. > People often really overestimate their driving habits. I agree, and like I said I think 200mi is acceptable. But people do like driving in the US. I used to go up to Brainerd from the Twin Cities regularly; that's 135 miles each way. This is not uncommon, lots of people here lik…

> I used to go up to Brainerd from the Twin Cities regularly;

But you're going to stop somewhere along that path already, right? You're not driving straight there and immediately turning around and leaving right?

I've done several road trips between DFW, Houston, and Austin in an EV with ~200mi of range and a 400V pack. The DFWHouston trip is nearly 300mi. Compared to my average trip time in my gas cars, its about an extra 15-20 minutes on a four and a half hour drive. I was going to stop for lunch on that four and a half hour drive anyways.

Oh no such a massive impact on my life, spending an extra 20 minutes a few times a year.

Meanwhile I spend hours a year going to gas stations and pumping gas for my gas cars that get fewer miles.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#173

Post by unregistereddev »

roysting wrote: post #148
alistairSH wrote: post #14

Just built a "hatchback" Slate with what I guess will be common options (speakers, wheel upgrade, spare wheel carrier, and a few other odds and ends) and it came to $35k. So, still pretty inexpensive, but also getting close to some existing EV sedans that are known entities and have pretty decent interiors. So, I'm not totally sold on these, but not not sold either. Need to see one in person, I think.

> still pretty inexpensive Can we stop being so out of touch and/or deluding ourselves to believe $35k is “pretty inexpensive” for people not living in a bubble; whether that is the Americas bubble or the tech bubble within the bubble or the urban bubble within that; let alone for a tiny two seater electric truck that has a 200 mile range. The 45th percentile, i.e., the bottom 90% have a median income of roughly $40,…

I completely agree. A base Prius is $30k. A base Kia Niro is $27k. Those are hybrids and not EV's, but 50+mpg is not bad. Those also come with power windows and many other features and creature comforts that the Slate doesn't.

$35k is not outrageous for a new car, but the Slate is supposed to be affordable basic transportation. Slate is selling barebones, stripped down basic transportation for the price of a middle class family car.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#174

Post by bluGill »

roysting wrote: post #148
alistairSH wrote: post #14

Just built a "hatchback" Slate with what I guess will be common options (speakers, wheel upgrade, spare wheel carrier, and a few other odds and ends) and it came to $35k. So, still pretty inexpensive, but also getting close to some existing EV sedans that are known entities and have pretty decent interiors. So, I'm not totally sold on these, but not not sold either. Need to see one in person, I think.

> still pretty inexpensive Can we stop being so out of touch and/or deluding ourselves to believe $35k is “pretty inexpensive” for people not living in a bubble; whether that is the Americas bubble or the tech bubble within the bubble or the urban bubble within that; let alone for a tiny two seater electric truck that has a 200 mile range. The 45th percentile, i.e., the bottom 90% have a median income of roughly $40,…

Most people don't buy new cars, they buy used cars. Particularly in the bottom 45%, they know they can't afford a new car - they might look at them but they know they know it is a dream (or the car they will buy in 5 years). Car makers know they can only charge this price for a new car because in 3 years it will still have a lot of value left - most new car buyers never pay the full price: they only pay the difference between the cost and the value in 3 years (plus interest).

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#175

Post by jwx48 »

chucksta wrote: post #127
llm_nerd wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The four most common vehicle colours in the US are white, black, grey and silver. I believe this covers like 80%+ of vehicles. Canada is worse still (so much so that many makers basically just offer the shades of grey, sometimes with a special-order red or something for the rebels), and a few days ago I was on a walk and saw a light turn red and a dozen cars that pulled up to stop and every single one was white. Peop…

It also just so happens grey scale is almost always cheaper. Car color historically correlates with prosperity in the US https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/cars-trucks/au... https://www.ppg.com/en-US/autocoatings/color/history-of-colo...

That strikes me as a forced correlation. Something along the lines of "some people are willing to pay more for British racing green, so let's charge $X for it".

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#176

Post by coldpie »

vel0city wrote: post #172
coldpie wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah all of us Americans drive 200mi+ each way nine days a week 'cause the average house is on a 2,000 acre ranch. I never claimed that. > People often really overestimate their driving habits. I agree, and like I said I think 200mi is acceptable. But people do like driving in the US. I used to go up to Brainerd from the Twin Cities regularly; that's 135 miles each way. This is not uncommon, lots of people here lik…

> I used to go up to Brainerd from the Twin Cities regularly; But you're going to stop somewhere along that path already, right? You're not driving straight there and immediately turning around and leaving right? I've done several road trips between DFW, Houston, and Austin in an EV with ~200mi of range and a 400V pack. The DFW Houston trip is nearly 300mi. Compared to my average trip time in my gas cars, its about a…

> But you're going to stop somewhere along that path already, right?

Honestly, no, I didn't. It's only 2 hours. Having to stop for a 30+ minute charge in each direction would add a significant amount of time to the trip.

I don't really understand why you're being so aggressive about this. We are almost entirely agreeing. 300mi is a selling point for buyers because it means an easier time doing 100+ mile road trips, which are not uncommon in the US. More range is a tick in the "pro" column when comparison shopping, and it could convince someone to buy a car other than this one. That's all I'm saying.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#177

Post by freedomben »

bitexploder wrote: post #128
efsavage wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK there's actually only one color and you can wrap it. The wrap kits are supposed to be DIY friendly so you can change it yourself when you want a new color.

The body panels are some sort of composite polycarbonate plastic. They offered a number of colors in the UI for the pre-order system. It basically allows you to configure options that are available and see what it looks like. The wraps are (offered) DIY and they claim it will take two people 14-16 hours. They offer a number of colors that cost $500 right now. Pretty interesting as far as cars go. I think all of the c…

> The wraps are DIY and they claim it will take two people 14-16 hours.

Oh man, that is ... a lot labor. I can't imagine many people are going to want to do it

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#178

Post by bluGill »

lastofthemojito wrote: post #130
whycome wrote: post #12

I don’t care that it’s EV. I’m just stoked that they’re making an actually modular system like this. I don’t know why it’s not possible with other cars.

I blame the dealers, at least somewhat. In the early days of the Scion brand, the idea was something like, all of the cars are shipped to the dealer as base models, customers could choose from a menu of add-ons, and the dealer would install them. Want just the basic car? Fine. Want to add keyless entry and mood lighting and a CD changer and chrome alloy wheels? They'll add those for you. But (at least in my experienc…

Also assembly lines can achieve the scale factors needed to pay for all the jigs needed. A dealer doesn't sell enough cars to afford those expensive jigs. Making your cars in the factory is nearly always going to be cheaper the dealer customization. The dealer can do minor things that are quick and easy, but putting a different back on the bed on is something the factory should be able to do better and cheaper.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#179

Post by SoftTalker »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #153

I wish the design was more function over form. Why is the grill so large? A lower front end would improve efficiency (and thus probably give another 10-20 miles of range), improve visibility, and kill fewer pedestrians. I know why, the market is nostalgia and it wouldn't sell well if it looked more like a mini kenworth which has a hood that slopes down and in and less like a pickup truck. That low range is going to t…

Yeah 200 miles is pretty much the low end of what I'd consider (and I assume that is an "absolute best case" number, e.g. unloaded at a constant speed on a flat road, not running AC or heat but IDK how those are actually computed).

300-350 miles would be a lot better. That would cover most of my trips (and allow for some payload) with a little bit to spare before I needed to stop to charge.

I guess the price isn't too bad. I still remember something like a Toyota or a Ford Ranger or Chevy S10 selling for under 10K new, but inflation and all... probably not terrible for a compact truck in 2026.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#180

Post by [deleted] »

coldpie wrote: post #176
vel0city wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I used to go up to Brainerd from the Twin Cities regularly; But you're going to stop somewhere along that path already, right? You're not driving straight there and immediately turning around and leaving right? I've done several road trips between DFW, Houston, and Austin in an EV with ~200mi of range and a 400V pack. The DFW Houston trip is nearly 300mi. Compared to my average trip time in my gas cars, its about a…

> But you're going to stop somewhere along that path already, right? Honestly, no, I didn't. It's only 2 hours. Having to stop for a 30+ minute charge in each direction would add a significant amount of time to the trip. I don't really understand why you're being so aggressive about this. We are almost entirely agreeing. 300mi is a selling point for buyers because it means an easier time doing 100+ mile road trips, w…

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