When will I get my Slate?

[brian10x]

Thank you, turning 79 come Nov, nice to think I’m still younger than many.

I'm 137 in September

 

[Bonjo]

Please Brian, geesh

The phrase "balls to the wall" means to put in maximum effort or to operate at full speed or capacity. It's an informal idiom that implies going all out and holding nothing back.

Origin:
While some may associate the phrase with a potentially offensive anatomical reference, its origin is actually rooted in aviation. In military aviation, particularly during the Vietnam War era and earlier, pilots would push the throttle and mixture levers all the way forward to achieve maximum speed and power. These levers often had ball-shaped knobs on the end, hence the phrase "balls to the wall".

Well, you’re close. Actually, the phrase refers to the flyweights of a machine’s centrifugal governor. As the machine‘s speed increases, the flyweight balls move outward, toward the wall, as it were. “Balls to the wall” describes running a machine at its full speed.

 

[sodamo]

Well, you’re close. Actually, the phrase refers to the flyweights of a machine’s centrifugal governor. As the machine‘s speed increases, the flyweight balls move outward, toward the wall, as it were. “Balls to the wall” describes running a machine at its full speed.

"Balls to the wall" and "balls out" are both idioms that mean to work with maximum effort or speed, often in a reckless or uninhibited way. While both phrases share the same core meaning, "balls to the wall" is often associated with a more recent origin in aviation, specifically referring to pushing the throttle control to its maximum position. "Balls out," on the other hand, may have a slightly broader usage and is also linked to steam engine governors.Both phrases, however, have likely gained popularity due to their vulgar and attention-grabbing nature

 

[Teach]

...Given that the $7,500 discount will not apply when Slate begins to sell...

I thought I read somewhere that companies that sold less than 200k EV cars in the previous year, or something like that, will still have the tax credit?

 

[Neil Nelson]

Editor's note: President Donald Trump signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) into law on July 4, 2025. A major component of the bill was the elimination of the federal electric vehicle tax credit, which will now expire on September 30, 2025. The information in this story is still valid for those who purchased an electric car at any point in 2025 up until the end of September. After that, there will be no more tax credits on any new or used electric vehicle regardless of where it was made.

https://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/the-ins-and-outs-of-electric-vehicle-tax-credits.html

 

[Letas]

I thought I read somewhere that companies that sold less than 200k EV cars in the previous year, or something like that, will still have the tax credit?

I saw it too, but not seeing it on the actual bill.

SEC. 70502. TERMINATION OF CLEAN VEHICLE CREDIT.
(a) In General.--Section 30D(h) is amended by striking ``placed in
service after December 31, 2032'' and inserting ``acquired after
September 30, 2025''.

And that quoted section currently reads...

(h)Termination
No credit shall be allowed under this section with respect to any vehicle placed in service after December 31, 2032.

This is directly from the bill. I'm not smart enough to be certain there isn't an exception, but my layman's interpretations says no

 

[KevinRS]

A significant number of reservations will cancel, but it's hard to predict just how many. The total cost of the slate is significantly lower than other vehicles that had reservations, so the cancellations might be lower.
A bigger and more unpredictable impact will be what's happening with the market at that point. If the tariffs that have been announced and delayed repeatedly go into effect, the competition will be raising prices, slate might have to too if enough of their supply chain is impacted, but they are trying to source everything they can locally. Even if the tariff's don't happen, because manufacturers limit investment in an uncertain market, supply may be down, and prices up.

I was never counting on the $7500, at most I'd have only got part of it, because I don't have that high of a tax liability.
I did the math a few weeks ago, and even with nothing but the standard deduction, you've got to be making over something like $75k a year to get the whole $7500 back. If you anything else reducing your taxed income: deduction for retirement contributions or anything, that number goes up.

 

[Bonjo]

"Balls to the wall" and "balls out" are both idioms that mean to work with maximum effort or speed, often in a reckless or uninhibited way. While both phrases share the same core meaning, "balls to the wall" is often associated with a more recent origin in aviation, specifically referring to pushing the throttle control to its maximum position. "Balls out," on the other hand, may have a slightly broader usage and is also linked to steam engine governors.Both phrases, however, have likely gained popularity due to their vulgar and attention-grabbing nature

I’ve been a professional aviator for over 40 years, and have never heard that phrase used in that context.

 

[brian10x]

A significant number of reservations will cancel, but it's hard to predict just how many. The total cost of the slate is significantly lower than other vehicles that had reservations, so the cancellations might be lower.
A bigger and more unpredictable impact will be what's happening with the market at that point. If the tariffs that have been announced and delayed repeatedly go into effect, the competition will be raising prices, slate might have to too if enough of their supply chain is impacted, but they are trying to source everything they can locally. Even if the tariff's don't happen, because manufacturers limit investment in an uncertain market, supply may be down, and prices up.

I was never counting on the $7500, at most I'd have only got part of it, because I don't have that high of a tax liability.
I did the math a few weeks ago, and even with nothing but the standard deduction, you've got to be making over something like $75k a year to get the whole $7500 back. If you anything else reducing your taxed income: deduction for retirement contributions or anything, that number goes up.

TARIFFS. No apostrophe. Forum spelling NAZI on duty.

 

[sodamo]

I’ve been a professional aviator for over 40 years, and have never heard that phrase used in that context.

gonna assume that professional didn’t include military Vietnam.

 

[brian10x]

I've heard that expression for decades. I'm in the adult film industry as an actor/director.

 

[Kit352]

I put my reservation down hour one of day one but I don't think that will matter much. More than likely they will sell trucks based on location and popularity at first. It's the sensible thing to do. People nearer Warsaw will probably get a big advantage when it comes to buying. They will want to flesh out a repair network before the willingly sell to people in Hawaii or Alaska.
That being said I wouldn't expect and retail sales trucks until q1 2027 at the earliest. Trump tariffs are no doubt putting pressure on putting the assembly line together as the parts chain for equipment is a mess right now as companies turn to a wait and see approach with just about everything. I'm sure some YouTubers and reporters will get preproduction trucks in 2026 a long with maybe some of the more popular members on forums being invited to long term test vehicles
But actual here's my money give me the keys transactions won't happen until 2027. At least in any sort of real numbers. The first batch of trucks will most likely be production nightmares so keeping the numbers low at first gives Slate a chance to chase down problems on 10 trucks instead of 100k.
Full blown 100k a year production won't be until 2029.

 

[Neil Nelson]

Kit352, Since Slate is distributing their trucks by rail and transportation trucks, I doubt it will make much difference on where the Slate is shipped to. Quarter 1 of 2027 seems about right. The Slate trucks will not start off being nightmares since there is very little that can go wrong.

 

[brian10x]

Kit352, Since Slate is distributing their trucks by rail and transportation trucks, I doubt it will make much difference on where the Slate is shipped to. Quarter 1 of 2027 seems about right. The Slate trucks will not start off being nightmares since there is very little that can go wrong.

My real concerns are the electronics. Here in the auto repair wild West we see a lot of electronics failures. I'm hoping, since Slate is buying so much "off the shelf" components that the electrical will be robust and field tested prior to installation.

 

[Paul Rodgers]

I like sodamo's explanation! Never heard that before.
I will put golf-balls on throttle and engagement levers on my lawn tractor!