"Beta Testing is Torture" Email w/ links

VigilKnotEagle14 · Aug 18, 2026

Slate just released an email with links about the Beta testing they've been up to.

Beta Phase is where the Slate stopped being a model and started becoming an actual truck. Every single assumption was torture tested, then perfected.

IN THE COLD

Last winter, we took our Beta vehicles into real world freezing conditions. SEE FOR YOURSELF.

IN THE HEAT

We also tested our trucks in the unrelenting heat of Arizona and Nevada. Spoiler alert — our trucks kept their cool: WATCH SLATE’S “HOT TRIP” OUT WEST.

FOR THE LONG HAUL

Before these trucks reach you, they’ll have completed thousands of component tests designed to make sure they’ll stand up to whatever you throw at it – and then some.

VigilKnotEagle14 · Aug 18, 2026

I'm looking forward to seeing how the trucks perform in person, both through the ride-alongs and test drives, but then eventually through the elements.

Seems like the videos posted to YouTube from reviewers and such have folks praising the handling and balance, but even through all that and seeing these videos, it is something ya just gotta feel under your hands and feet, ya know? Commuting daily in Midwest wintersis still going to be a different kind of punishment.

Here's the pictures they included in the email:

Slate Auto Pickup Truck "Beta Testing is Torture" Email w/ links unnamed

Slate Auto Pickup Truck "Beta Testing is Torture" Email w/ links unnamed (1)

Slate Auto Pickup Truck "Beta Testing is Torture" Email w/ links unnamed (2)

Harley Earl · Aug 18, 2026

The marketing team is doing good work. Not an easy job to coalesce all the data and distill it down. Certainly can feel the love for the Slate in their work.

VigilKnotEagle14 · Aug 18, 2026

Harley Earl said:
The marketing team is doing good work. Not an easy job to coalesce all the data and distill it down. Certainly can feel the love for the Slate in their work.

Absolutely- even though the links are to older videos many of us have seen, A) some folks haven't seen them and B) they package these emails in a way that still grabs attention.

sidneyhornblower · Aug 18, 2026

These are the type of videos I'd prefer to see, rather than the "here's the new polka dot Dippin Dots collaboration" video. Real world testing, real data, real engineering: all that gives me hope that Slate is a serious company that might survive. Wraps are cute; hills, heat, and cold are real obstacles. Bravo Slate. More please, like perhaps the line running at Warsaw. Maybe...?

kvermeer · Aug 18, 2026

The links are obfuscated in the top post, they resolve (after tracking is removed) to https://www.slate.auto/en/preorder and to two other URLs on the Slate site which (in spite of my obsessive browsing) are new to me:

https://www.slate.auto/en/cold-test

https://www.slate.auto/en/heat-test

And they don't appear to be linked from any other pages on the site, which is odd. FAQ entries for "I've heard that EVs don't work well in winter, can the Slate handle cold?", "How strong is the A/C?", and "Can the Slate still use its full payload in hot weather?" with links to those pages seem like a good thing to add.

Speaking of fuzzing/crawling the Slate site, the "/en/" is interesting - they've also got https://www.slate.auto/es/, a full copy of the site translated to Spanish, including:

https://www.slate.auto/es/cold-test

https://www.slate.auto/es/heat-test

While I've lost fluency rapidly over the past decade of disuse, I still feel that

¡BRRRRRRR!

captures my feelings about Houghton better than the simple English "BRRRRRR!". I almost went to college there, so glad I stayed further south.

Slatester89 · Aug 18, 2026

VigilKnotEagle14 said:
Slate just released an email with links about the Beta testing they've been up to.

BETA TORTURE TESTING. NO SHORTCUTS.
Beta Phase is where the Slate stopped being a model and started becoming an actual truck. Every single assumption was torture tested, then perfected.

IN THE COLD
Last winter, we took our Beta vehicles into real world freezing conditions. SEE FOR YOURSELF.

IN THE HEAT
We also tested our trucks in the unrelenting heat of Arizona and Nevada. Spoiler alert — our trucks kept their cool: WATCH SLATE’S “HOT TRIP” OUT WEST.

FOR THE LONG HAUL
Before these trucks reach you, they’ll have completed thousands of component tests designed to make sure they’ll stand up to whatever you throw at it – and then some.

Watching the winter test, I come to one conclusion for the real world:
Winter driving 1. Wrapped Slate 0.

The normal day to day winter "spray" will destroy wrap on the fenders, doors, and most likely any tailgate wrap. I doubt a wrap will make it thru the first winter... com'on global warming.

b.

cadblu · Aug 18, 2026

You know what else is torture?

The WAIT.

kvermeer · Aug 18, 2026

Slatester89 said:
The normal day to day winter "spray" will destroy wrap on the fenders, doors, and most likely any tailgate wrap. I doubt a wrap will make it thru the first winter... com'on global warming.

There are thousands to millions of wrapped vehicles already going through winters everywhere, the vinyl actually does a great job of protecting the underlying panel from gritty salty slush. Wraps aren't a new thing, they're actually way better at surviving those conditions than paint!

Yeah, enthusiasts with wrapped exotics might keep their cars out of the salt, but they're doing it for other reasons. Every delivery van you see with a wrap and giant logo is basically the same thing as a Slate, heck, practically every snow-plow truck has a vinyl decal on the doors and they drive through the worst of it.

My experience with wraps on cars is limited to my shop's work truck decals and what I see around me, but I've been installing PPF on my carbon MTB's downtube, fork, and chain/seatstays for years. It handles the gnarliest mud, sand, and gravel that the trail can throw at it, but you peel it off to replace after a few years and it's like you've got a brand new frame.

Just try not to take your ice scraper to the paint, use the brush instead.

tubes · Aug 18, 2026

sidneyhornblower said:
These are the type of videos I'd prefer to see, rather than the "here's the new polka dot Dippin Dots collaboration" video. Real world testing, real data, real engineering: all that gives me hope that Slate is a serious company that might survive. Wraps are cute; hills, heat, and cold are real obstacles. Bravo Slate. More please, like perhaps the line running at Warsaw. Maybe...?

It's a little bit for everyone. Everyone has their own itch. My itch are these videos. The "art car" person has different thoughts. All cool.

tubes · Aug 18, 2026

I rewatched both videos because it reminds me of the good times when I worked. Loved the beta phase.

My favorite parts:
- Keipper's poorly tucked in shirt. Handsome guy, but then he let's his nerd show.
- All logos are fuzzed out in both videos, including U-haul, but they let Roman's "YUENGLING" through loud and clear.

Beer is a necessary part of this process.

Johnologue · Aug 18, 2026

sidneyhornblower said:
These are the type of videos I'd prefer to see, rather than the "here's the new polka dot Dippin Dots collaboration" video. Real world testing, real data, real engineering: all that gives me hope that Slate is a serious company that might survive. Wraps are cute; hills, heat, and cold are real obstacles. Bravo Slate. More please, like perhaps the line running at Warsaw. Maybe...?

This is the power of videos made for YouTube and not Shorts/TikTok...

fxrdr31 · Aug 18, 2026

Slatester89 said:
Watching the winter test, I come to one conclusion for the real world:
Winter driving 1. Wrapped Slate 0.

The normal day to day winter "spray" will destroy wrap on the fenders, doors, and most likely any tailgate wrap. I doubt a wrap will make it thru the first winter... com'on global warming.

b.

Nooooo lol. I hope the wraps they were using weren't final production ones so fingers crossed the last much longer

malewizard · Aug 18, 2026

Got an email to look at a video online. Watched in complete confidense that my original decision will not be altered or swayed,and I got a total confirmation of what I wanted to know,and felt. I live in a very HOT state,with high humidity (as a matter of fact the heat index today is 113), and I wanted to hear that
#1 The heat test had no effect on battery drain
#2 That the cabin A/C maintained a steady temp, at about 62F (with a load going up a hill no less).
I have no doubt they are gonna get the crash test cert of 5 NHSA stars, and an FS rating. I was already sold,but this was the icing.
We've all owned I'm sure, one of the big boys vehicles,and I have NEVER been impressed at what I got for the cost. Nobody was willing to go down in price or even offer any competition until SLATE started about three years back. First just a buzz,then some things came to fruition,and now its going strong. I wish them the absolute best JUST to compete with these guys,and put them in their place.

petefromwisconsin · Aug 18, 2026

malewizard said:
I wish them [Slate] the absolute best JUST to compete with these guys,and put them in their place.

Especially because an EV does Not have to be complicated. ALL the other EVs are very complicated for no reason I can discern other than to avoid the price erosion of a plain & simple product. Legacy auto can not survive on vehicles that sell for less than 50k$. I think it is a cruel joke to pretend that they will deliver complicated and big EVs for less than 30k$. They won't. I opine that the Fathom is just the bait to bring in people who are then pushed to buy Maverick hybrids.

"Beta Testing is Torture" Email w/ links

VigilKnotEagle14

Active Member

VigilKnotEagle14

Active Member

Harley Earl

Well-Known Member

VigilKnotEagle14

Active Member

sidneyhornblower

Well-Known Member

kvermeer

Well-Known Member

Slatester89

Well-Known Member

cadblu

Well-Known Member

kvermeer

Well-Known Member

tubes

Well-Known Member

tubes

Well-Known Member

Johnologue

Well-Known Member

fxrdr31

Well-Known Member

malewizard

Active Member

petefromwisconsin

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Similar threads