So many posts about, will you still buy if the EV credit

[Benjamin Nead]

I will not get the credit in any case.

Really? Why's that?

 

[hbuck]

I see a lot of posts about will you still buy if the ev credit goes away.

Here is my take on this.

For the quick answer, No.

Here is why, first off I love the idea behind Slate , so much that I have even applied for a few different positions with the company. However the Slate truck for me is not a necessary vehicle, I am big into modifying and customizing vehicles, I have been looking for a clean mini truck project like a 90s Mazda b2000, Toyota pick up, maybe even a S10 or Ranger.

I am not Pro EV or anti EV, I do not currently own any EVs, however when Slate announced the pick up I was very interested in this platform. I personally think for what you are getting ( as cool as it is to get a very basic truck) that the price with the EV credit is already pushing the max I would spend for this. Now I guess if your plans are to buy this to replace an existing vehicle and use it as a daily driver or use them as fleet trucks then the price with the EV credit is great, considering you get a new truck with a warranty. For me this is just another toy. I can go spend less then half of this on a clean 2wd 90s mini truck, and with the basic mechanics and fuel economy of these old 2wd, 4cyl trucks and the amount of time I would be using it, it would take me decades to spend the money in maintenance, fuel, etc to come close to spending the price of the slate without the EV credit.

So for me, I am hopeful the EV credit holds out long enough to get my reservation. I do not believe that Slate has enough margin to be able to bring the price down close to the price it would be with the EV credit.

The senate kills it at the end of the year. I wonder if the reservation is good enough for the feds to keep the tax credit, since billionaires are getting another tax cut.

 

[Benjamin Nead]

The senate kills it at the end of the year. I wonder if the reservation is good enough for the feds to keep the tax credit, since billionaires are getting another tax cut.

That's a refundable $50 "yeah, I'm kinda interested" deposit. You really don't start owning this thing until you make a real down payment (a couple thousand, maybe) and start signing legal documents. That might not start happening for most of us until sometime late next year (2026.)

I've been in communication with my 2 Democratic Senators for months now about clean tech cuts. They know me well. If you or anybody else reading this has Republican Senators, call the congressional switchboard TODAY (Mon. June 30, 2025) at 202-224-3121 and DEMAND they vote NO on this bill.

 

[hbuck]

That's a refundable $50 "yeah, I'm kinda interested" deposit. You really don't start owning this thing until you make a real down payment (a couple thousand, maybe) and start signing legal documents. That might not start happening for most of us until sometime late next year (2026.)

I've been in communication with my 2 Democratic Senators for months now about clean tech cuts. They know me well. If you or anybody else reading this has Republican Senators, call the congressional switchboard TODAY (Mon. June 30, 2025) at 202-224-3121 and DEMAND they vote NO on this bill.

I’m afraid my Texas Senators are a lost cause, never mind Elon moving his stuff to Texas.

 

[E90400K]

I've been driving an EV for a decade now and will never go back to anything powered by gasoline. Full stop. The pickup truck format really isn't a high priority for me, but I like Slate minimalist approach and that's an important consideration. I don't want any car with AI-assisted cup holders that requires a monthly subscription to keep working.

My current EV is a 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV and I'm on the 2nd battery (free warranty replacement) as of 2020. So, my thoughts are this 2nd battery will last as least as long as the 1st . . . to around 2028. Now that I've moved from a relatively large city to a rural area, I'm starting to feel the range limitations of a 16kWh pack. That's really the only thing I don't like about this car. That and the general rarity/expense of parts that do happen to break or wear out.

The other car I have my eye on is the relaunched Chevy Bolt EV. They're promising an LFP pack and that's good. They're even promised a "smaller Bolt" and if this true, that may sway me in that direction. I'm also hearing much about Ford's LFP plans and a line of vehicles they're developing at the "Skunkworks" facility that are promised to be cheaper that what's generally available today.

I'll get on my political soapbox for a moment to say that all the cuts to clean energy infrastructure and eliminating the tax breaks that encourage consumers to consider everything from EVs to heat pumps is amazingly short-sighted. The rest of the civilized world is on their way to electrifying everything. Those who are responsible for keeping us in the fossil fuel age will deservedly suffer at the ballot box over these next couple of election cycles.

Shortsidedness is not understanding the entire infrastructure that generates electricity is supported by fossil fuel.

 

[Benjamin Nead]

Shortsidedness is not understanding the entire infrastructure that generates electricity is supported by fossil fuel.

Not true. It's still more than it should be - and I'm afraid it's not going to get better in the next few years (especially here in uh-MERK-uh) - but to say the entire infrastructure will always be or currently is 100% supported by fossil fuel is truly defeatist. Interestingly, there's a lot of renewable energy utility projects in cue in the US for 2025. A lot of stuff that has been put on hold is tried up in the courts as well. But even sudden legislation attempting to can't suddenly cut off everything. And the Chinese and Europeans are doing their own thing, which is good.

Here's how it could be. Simon Clark isn't saying anything here that hasn't been carefully plotted by Saul Griffith, Mark Z. Jacobsen or Tony Seba. All the actual tech has already been invented and is only getting cheaper (unless taxed or tariffed unfairly) Worth your time to watch though to see where this can go. There about a minute's worth of a commercial in the middle of this 25 minute presentation on YouTube (hint: subscribe to Nebula to get a version without) . . .

 

[Neil Nelson]

Here in Utah I buy solar power from my electric utility, Rocky Mountain Power.

 

[evtruth]

Shortsidedness is not understanding the entire infrastructure that generates electricity is supported by fossil fuel.

Except more energy is now generated in the United States via renewables than with coal, which is the dirtiest form of fossil fuel used to generate electricity. Coal is dropping while renewables are increasing.

However, even when electricity to charge an EV IS generated with coal, it is still AT LEAST 3x CLEANER than the emissions from the average American combustion vehicle.

Then there's natural gas, the bulk of our generation, which is twice as clean as coal generation (so 6x cleaner than the average combustion vehicle).

Then there's the State of New York where 70%+ of the electricity is generated via nuclear and renewables. EVs in New York have an insanely quick carbon payback because of that.

 

[Benjamin Nead]

Here in Utah I buy solar power from my electric utility, Rocky Mountain Power.

Do you know that Utah is the only US state where it's legal to install so-called "balcony" solar? The JerryRigEverything channel on YouTube just put this one up today . . .

 

[Neil Nelson]

You have four solar panels giving during the summer around at 2.4 kWh each per day of 9.6 kWh. During the summer I am using 200 kWh per month that four solar panels will generate in 21 days. During the Winter I use 1000 kWh per month with four solar panels giving 1000/9.6=104 days. And then solar panels will only generate around 50% at best of summer power in the Winter making the 104 days 208 days. 208/31=6.7 times 4 or around 27 solar panels to cover my house requirements for the Winter. Hopefully it will not rain much during the Winter. And then I live alone in a small house. And then you need batteries to store energy for night time and when it is overcast or raining.

 

[dirkslinkhard]

I will get one regardless. The tax credit isn’t what sold me on this vehicle. If the credit does go away I think slate will have to lower the price very close to the $20k. They have to know that people will cancel their reservations if they don’t and that could be a big hit.

They stressed about affordability, so it has to stay in that low $20k. There are too many people that will not pay $30k for a featureless 2-door truck

 

[Neil Nelson]

Where else can you get a featureless 2-door truck EV for $30k new?

 

[SlateModGarage]

For me 2 slates are cheap cars for my kids to drive. I am ordering two and hope to write them off as test bed for some parts manufacturing. But I will let my girls test drive them to school and college.

Also, I just sold my 2001 Ranger with 200k miles and need $6k of work for the clutch and suspension (front and back) and rear axel needed rebuilding for $8k still. This idea of finding good used old small trucks here in SC under 10k without needing a lot of work is next to impossible here.

 

[OldGoat]

You have four solar panels giving during the summer around at 2.4 kWh each per day of 9.6 kWh. During the summer I am using 200 kWh per month that four solar panels will generate in 21 days. During the Winter I use 1000 kWh per month with four solar panels giving 1000/9.6=104 days. And then solar panels will only generate around 50% at best of summer power in the Winter making the 104 days 208 days. 208/31=6.7 times 4 or around 27 solar panels to cover my house requirements for the Winter. Hopefully it will not rain much during the Winter. And then I live alone in a small house. And then you need batteries to store energy for night time and when it is overcast or raining.

We generate solar and are really happy with it. It’s true that for now, battery storage for nighttime house appliances is expensive. But man, when storms have knocked the utility grid down, having battery juice is worth every penny. No stinking, noisy generator to fill with fuel. Very unhappy that Republicans are killing any renewable energy things they can and I will no longer vote for any of them.

 

[E90400K]

Not true. It's still more than it should be - and I'm afraid it's not going to get better in the next few years (especially here in uh-MERK-uh) - but to say the entire infrastructure will always be or currently is 100% supported by fossil fuel is truly defeatist. Interestingly, there's a lot of renewable energy utility projects in cue in the US for 2025. A lot of stuff that has been put on hold is tried up in the courts as well. But even sudden legislation attempting to can't suddenly cut off everything. And the Chinese and Europeans are doing their own thing, which is good.

Here's how it could be. Simon Clark isn't saying anything here that hasn't been carefully plotted by Saul Griffith, Mark Z. Jacobsen or Tony Seba. All the actual tech has already been invented and is only getting cheaper (unless taxed or tariffed unfairly) Worth your time to watch though to see where this can go. There about a minute's worth of a commercial in the middle of this 25 minute presentation on YouTube (hint: subscribe to Nebula to get a version without) . . .

57% of US electrical energy is fueled by natural gas, coal and crude oil (with a 1.2% increase in the global electricity market). China just this year approved 95GW of coal power plant construction, the highest level since 2015. So, that's on the fuel side.

But I was actually speaking to the use of fossil fuels to create the infrastructure that is built to generate electricity. Hence the short sidedness on the entirety of the whole energy production picture. If you think the fossil fuel industry is going anywhere in the next 100 years, it's not.