Would be a great daily driver. You really don’t need all the bullshit, and complexity, mod cons, etc, on a daily. This ticks a lot of boxes and I might purchase one for just this duty.

I think this is a nice affordable alternative to Tesla. Could use one to go pickup groceries or go down to Home Depot without firing up the 3/4 ton diesel. Would like to see electric tuk tuk's for in city errands.

amazon/Jeff Bezos is a major investor in Slate, and will provide distribution network.

I have also seen mentioned that parts and accessories will be available on amazon.com.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Can't see the post at the office, but have been reading up on these.
Almost the same size as the 80s Toyota pickup, with a bit more bed length.
Fair bit smaller than the [currently smallest on the market] Ford Maverick.

If they can truly bring it to market under $30k it'd make for a great city truck.

You can get the Maverick for that price which is ten times the truck this is.

It’s going to need to stay as close to $20k after the taxpayer subsidized $7500 break or it’s DOA.

Isn’t the end in sight for electric vehicle subsidies?

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
You can get the Maverick for that price which is ten times the truck this is.

It’s going to need to stay as close to $20k after the taxpayer subsidized $7500 break or it’s DOA.

I don’t know about that. Ten times the truck? That depends on what you’re actually going to do with it. Capability, capacity, etc, is worthless if you are never going to use that or utilize that. This will sell.

The thing you need to think about is fuel costs. I’ve been daily driving an EV for 11 years. I power it off my panels on the roof of my house and have done so for 11 years. No gasoline, and little to no maintenance makes up for an awful lot of lost capacity. Even this Slate, with its low capacity, has almost as much payload capacity as my current gas truck, which I will keep permanently. And the Slate can tow my motorcycle(s) to the track, as well as my ski to the lake.

This is a good vehicle for those who want a runabout vehicle. It’s not meant to be a Maverick, or a F150. It’s a solid vehicle to commute in, run errands in, daily drive, and has some extra features, being a truck, where it can be used for landscaping, light towing, dirt/gravel roads. For the money, it’s going to be a great option for many people. Vehicles have becoming ridiculously overpriced. And the Slate will be void of ADAS, IE no driving nannies. And I’ll happily hand roll my windows down.

I'm very interested in this vehicle. I'm a car guy, but I don't have hate for EVs, I see the pros and cons of both ICE and EV.

I like the idea of a small, cheap, KISS vehicle that is from the manufacturer designed for DYI.

I have a 2013 Subaru WRX Hatchback, I love it, to/for me it's an almost perfect vehicle. Fast, great handling, good fuel mileage, fairly easy to work on, great after market, great factor support. Awesome in the snow, Reliable ( the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned ).

But this Slate is just about perfect as a 2nd vehicle. It looks fun, cool, inexpensive, customizable, as an EV no stopping to fuel up, just plug it in for the next day.

The 150 mile range is good enough for what I want, but I would upgrade to 240 miles. The towing and payload is OK for what I would use it for.

Plus it's another made in the USA product that is going to be built in Indiana. I say I'm in. I have a $50.00 deposit on a retro 70's/80's built right now.

I don't know if I'll feel the same in 18 months. But for now I'm excited. I have found my 2nd car.


ARman

It is exceedingly difficult to start up a new car company, new product, and new production line, and get the quality anywhere near the established companies. Hopefully they hired people with significant experience in auto manufacturing.

Word is they will lease a 1.4M sq ft plant in Warsaw, Indiana, that used to be operated by RR Donnelly. Guessing this used to be a Yellow Pages printing plant.

The sales model is probably going to be to sell the truck at a low price with low margin, then make it up on all the modular accessories at much higher margins.

First thing I thought of when I saw the fifty dollar reservation fee was Paul Elio and Elio Motors, the three wheel car guy.

His company has been promising to build these, initially promising a release date of 2012 that has been continuously pushed back.

quote:

There's no audio or infotainment system in the 2027 Slate Truck. Rather, every Truck comes standard with a holder that allows your phone to perform these duties. The accessory division offers in-dash speakers...

No speakers, unless you pony up for the add-on upgrade?

I forsee an even bigger wave of folks driving around with their headphones on than we already have, cutting their already abysmal situational awareness down even further.

"Sorry, officer/firefighter/EMT... I couldn't hear your sirens over the podcast being piped through my noise cancelling headphones, and I couldn't see your lights because I was too busy Tweeting."

Now only if they would offer it sans the electric engine so you could plant a crate engine.

quote:

Word is they will lease a 1.4M sq ft plant in Warsaw, Indiana, that used to be operated by RR Donnelly. Guessing this used to be a Yellow Pages printing plant.

Holy crap, that's where I live! I know a ton of people who used to work at Donnely's before they shut down, and heard that somebody was thinking about leasing it but had no idea it was Slate. That would be awesome for the local economy if they did. That's a huge facility and it sucks to see it sit empty. They used to print the JC Penny catalog there, amongst other things.

I like the product. Keep it simple, basic, and cheap. I don't hate the idea of an EV, I just hate all the complexity and nanny-state stuff that comes with most of them, and we also take enough road trips that I can't have an EV be my only vehicle. Honestly, 99% of the stuff I use my truck for is local, so an EV would work pretty well. It would tow my little boat to the lake just fine, but I doubt it could handle half the firewood or stone that I can put in my Silverado.