Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

641–650 of 1001 posts

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#641

Post by tw04 »

resters wrote: post #632

This is extremely refreshing. I think that it would be possible to make something like this in the US for under $15K even. Cars and trucks are so over-engineered and come with tons of low value options intended to drive up the price. For a case in point, consider that headlights that turn on and off automatically in response to darkness (or rain) are not a standard feature on many cars, yet they include a manual swit…

>heavily protected and faces virtually no competition

Huh? Out of the top 25 vehicles sold in the US in 2024, 16 of them are non-US automakers. Just because the US is actively blocking China from dumping heavily subsidized vehicles into the north american market, doesn't mean they "face no competition". Kia and Hyundai alone show that it's VERY possible to break into the US market if you have even a little bit of interest playing fair.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g60385784/bestselling-cars...

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#642

Post by chubs »

I'm very positive, however note that when they mention "injection molded polypropylene composite material" - this (i think) is the same material used for Seadoo Spark jetskis. I owned one and had a minor crash, and because this material cannot be repaired, the entire hull needed replacing, it was an insurance write-off. I hope they've thought about how to make this car repairable and not 'disposable' after the first inevitable minor crash. Of course this may not be a fair comparison because jetski hulls are exposed, whereas car chassis' have panels and bumpers.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#644

Post by fellowniusmonk »

Maxamillion96 wrote: post #496
doright wrote: post #493

From the Wikipedia page: > Unlike most vehicles sold in the United States, the Slate Truck is not expected to have any Internet connectivity Well that's certainly a sentence. It wasn't true just 20 years ago. It makes me wonder about the world we've grown into with deeply intertwined apps becoming not only the norm but expected. The idea is there but I'm wondering about the execution. Here's hoping it takes off.

if the truck becomes popular enough post-market modifications will probably be sold as an extra.

If this thing really comes out in a couple years by the time it's ready for mass production to hit consumer hands there will probably be 2 or 3 self driving kits designed for it. The mods for this thing would be amazing.

A buddy of mine who creates shaped interactive art panels with oleds for disney and other groups interactive events texted me about this, installing video panels on this is going to be a breeze.

I'm more excited about this as a platform than even as a car, this is going to be like browser JS, the Lisa and VW Bug for creating an EV tech skill pipeline.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#645

Post by aidenn0 »

rcpt wrote: post #411
MostlyStable wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Example #5621 that a simple carbon tax would be miles better than the complex morass of regulations we currently have.

The purpose of the CAFE regulations is very explicitly to favor American automakers who make big trucks.

That was one of several purposes.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#646

Post by seanmcdirmid »

resters wrote: post #632

This is extremely refreshing. I think that it would be possible to make something like this in the US for under $15K even. Cars and trucks are so over-engineered and come with tons of low value options intended to drive up the price. For a case in point, consider that headlights that turn on and off automatically in response to darkness (or rain) are not a standard feature on many cars, yet they include a manual swit…

BYD could totally avoid the tariffs by making in the USA (well, they were planning a factory in Mexico, and tariffs on car parts will kill that if something doesn’t change). They already set up a bus factory in SoCal. My guess is that Chinese automakers are still hesitant about introducing their brands to Americans given politics (Volvo and Polestar are Chinese owned but I think the design is still mainly done in Sweden?).

Japanese, Korean, and European brands already make a lot of vehicles to get around tariffs, although it makes sense for some sedans to be made abroad given American lack of interest in them (so economy of scales doesn’t work out), and sedans typically not being tariffed as harshly as trucks.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#647

Post by decimalenough »

tw04 wrote: post #641
resters wrote: post #632

This is extremely refreshing. I think that it would be possible to make something like this in the US for under $15K even. Cars and trucks are so over-engineered and come with tons of low value options intended to drive up the price. For a case in point, consider that headlights that turn on and off automatically in response to darkness (or rain) are not a standard feature on many cars, yet they include a manual swit…

>heavily protected and faces virtually no competition Huh? Out of the top 25 vehicles sold in the US in 2024, 16 of them are non-US automakers. Just because the US is actively blocking China from dumping heavily subsidized vehicles into the north american market, doesn't mean they "face no competition". Kia and Hyundai alone show that it's VERY possible to break into the US market if you have even a little bit of int…

The only real way to break into the US market is to have factories in the US. Trucks in particular are protected by the notorious 25% "chicken tax", which has been in place since the 1960s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#649

Post by theamazing0 »

taylodl wrote: post #113
ryandrake wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. Noooooooooo! No apps, please ! Finally a car not tethered to and dependent on your phone, and we already have our first request to app-ify it! EDIT: Ughhh, according to the video that another user posted, it looks like there's an app, and yes, "updates" go through it :( > - Lack of go…

I'd want the mobile app to be an auxiliary, not a requirement for operating the truck. Keep the dashboard simple.

I think legally they would need to require using an app for their back view camera. All new cars in the United States after 2018 need one and I don't see how it would work without using the phone/tablet as a display.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#650

Post by bob1029 »

benguild wrote: post #385

this is cool but does it meet strong safety standards?

"strong safety standards" are what got us to the point of 5000lb pickup trucks and A-pillars that are so wide they arguably kill more people (predominantly pedestrians & cyclists) than their constituent airbags save.

It is cartoon villain tier to compromise the visual range of the driver at the safety expense of everyone outside the vehicle, who is not shielded by 2 tons of mass.

Much of what is wrong with automobiles is a severe inability to think in higher order terms.

Post reply on HN