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Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

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Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#241

Post by bluGill »

alistairSH wrote: post #25
for_i_in_range wrote: post #11

If not bankrupt in three years like Lucid and Rivian, I'll still buy a Cybercab instead. Also, I hope they succeed. There's definitely a market for them.

I'll be amazed if Tesla meets their sub-$30k target for the cab. But stranger things have happened. And the Slate should have better utility, for anybody who needs a truck/SUV vs coupe. And also comes without the Musk stigma.

The Slate only tows 2000lbs, and has a tiny bed. If you need a truck it isn't for you. Maybe it works as a SUV.

Of course most people only need a coupe to begin with. Too bad you can't buy any that are cheap. (that and you mostly only need a coupe, but at least once a week need something more)

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#242

Post by officeplant »

alistairSH wrote: post #183
roysting wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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,…

A new Honda Civic is $25k, so the same as the Slate. The average new car price in the US is $50k, so double the Slate base price and still significantly more than the upgraded Slate I built. As far as I can tell, the US market has only one sub-$20k car - the base Nissan Versa.

The versa is dead now. The Hyundai Venue is now the cheapest base model vehicle in America at nearly $22k.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#243

Post by superxpro12 »

aidenn0 wrote: post #169
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.

Compared to gas cars: Kia K4 hatchback is $26k with a lot more creature-comforts. Gets 34mpg, so if $6/gal gas is here to stay that's $0.17 per mile of fuel costs. My EV gets almost exactly 4miles/kW average and I pay $0.21 per kW so that's about $0.05 per mile. So $0.12 per mile saved in fuel costs implies about 80k miles for break-even. This excludes costs of servicing, which should be higher on the gas car. [edit…

$.21/kw seems high for home charging... im at $.12, before the extra savings that gets me closer to $.10

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#244

Post by WillAdams »

bluGill wrote: post #174
roysting wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 differenc…

Time was, CAFE forced Detroit to build affordable cars which folks could buy new --- rather miss that --- that said, I'm never going to buy an all-electronic vehicle w/ multiple screens (still annoyed about the radio on my current vehicle going out) GPS tracking and built-in monitoring by way of a backup camera and so forth.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#245

Post by bryanlarsen »

officeplant wrote: post #225
alistairSH wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see lots of tradesmen in Ford Mavericks or Transit Connects. The Slate could work well for some of them - basic truck model, with the ladder rack for long stuff (like ladders or pieces of wood). Saves them some money up front, and gas and maintenance (in theory).

City Vans have completely died in America for the last few years until the Promaster City's recent resurrection. Something like this is a dire need for in city tradesmen in the US. My boss's have been asking me how life is with my Ford E-Transit, but it doesn't have enough range for most of our site technicians which end up driving 200-300 miles a day.

I hear the Kia PV5 is pretty much sold-out world-wide and delivery is now 2027 in most markets.

A reasonably priced cargo van with decent range was a large untapped market for far too long.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#246

Post by ssl-3 »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #235
ssl-3 wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it depends on the person. 200 miles more than covers all of the driving I do on any normal day. Today is an exceptional day, and I'll be driving a total of 120 miles for work. The Slate would cover that just fine with a ton of breathing room. I do take far longer trips than that for pleasure, but they're rare . I think if I only had an EV to drive, and that EV could only do 200 miles on a charge, then I'd be…

Once you reach a reasonable threshold, fast charging is more important than capacity. 200 miles is that threshold IMO, but Slate is "200 miles doing 55 in the summer". I want "200 miles doing 70 in the winter". And the Slate's charging isn't particularly fast: 20-80% in 30 minutes.

Sounds great!

I can live within those limitations.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#247

Post by superxpro12 »

thegrim33 wrote: post #239

I mean, it still seems like a lot for an absolutely barebones vehicle. Going by an inflation calculator, $25K in 2026 translates to $~13K in the year 2000, and in the year 2000 the average completely barebones/entry car sold for $~8K-9K. So this is still 50% more expensive than barebone cars used to be.

Compared to ICE? Yes. EV's are still paying a premium for the battery. That's not going to change any time soon.

Compared to Ford or GM's EV trucks? It's almost 1/3 the price...

The closest comparison is like the Ford Maverick, and that starts at 29.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#248

Post by WillAdams »

rpdillon wrote: post #193
unregistereddev wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 c…

On the flip side, if you want a car that doesn't try to track you and record you, and doesn't upsell you on a subscription for seatwarmers, and doesn't use gas, Slate looks pretty attractive.

I'd be interested in what they could do for a competitor to my Geo Metro/Chevy Aveo, esp. w/ a convertible option.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#249

Post by linuxftw »

neogodless wrote: post #194
linuxftw wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GMC made a modular system for like 50 years, it's called the SBC.

Web search found the "small-block crate" engine as what GM's SBC is. You're saying an engine makes a vehicle modular? https://kagi.com/search?q=gmc+sbc

Small Block Chevy.

Re: Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

#250

Post by neogodless »

linuxftw wrote: post #249
neogodless wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Web search found the "small-block crate" engine as what GM's SBC is. You're saying an engine makes a vehicle modular? https://kagi.com/search?q=gmc+sbc

Small Block Chevy.

You're saying an engine makes a vehicle modular?
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