Articles and Videos of Interest That Don't Merit Their Own Threads

[Luxrage]

Hemmings wrote an article two weeks ago comparing the Slate to a Ford Model A:
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/out-of-balance-is-the-slate-the-new-model-a/

 

[AZFox]

Who knew Capital One had a YT channel with videos like this?
It's just a quick overview.

 

[motorolas]

Who knew Capital One had a YT channel with videos like this?
It's just a quick overview.

Did not know they have a channel either, seems like their videos get a decent amount of views in the 200k–300k views.
Slates got an uphill battle for sure, but they sure do have the big manufacturers thinking about small size trucks again at least

 

[motorolas]

Telo and Aptera made a video

The Dream Driveway


Neither is my cup o' tea, but both EV startups.
Both companies been going for a while now (Aptera in 2019, but kicking around since 2006; and Telo Trucks in 2022).
I believe they are working together on integrated solar panels on the Telo MT1, similar to the panels on the Aptera).

Haven't bothered to dive deep into any of these two, but it smells like the Canoo, Faraday Future, Nikola, Lordstown Motors, etc. of it all.

Slate could be up their, but it seems to have a greater chance to make it to market with the little information I pulled from you know where.

 

[motorolas]

Slate poaches key Tesla manufacturing leader to build its electric pickup truck
https://electrek.co/2025/08/22/slat...pboard&utm_content=electrek/magazine/Electrek

Napoleon Reyes is a US Marine from Indiana who got a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue after leaving the force.

The new engineering manager announced this week that he is leaving Tesla to join Slate:

A bit late on the post but after nearly 5 years working at Tesla in Fremont, I made the difficult decision to leave the Company and move closer to home with my family. It was an incredible experience being part of multiple line expansions and multiple Model Y program launches. Leading and managing the Model Y Refresh launch for GA in Fremont this year tested me professionally however we ultimately succeeded due to our amazing cross functional team collaboration. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with such great people, and I will forever be proud and thankful for everything we accomplished together.

I will be taking on a new role as Senior Manager, Plant Vehicle Engineering at Slate Auto in Warsaw, In.

 

[sodamo]

sounds very good 🤙🤙🤙

 

[sodamo]

Dream. - may be appropriate title

 

[Luxrage]

Haven't bothered to dive deep into any of these two, but it smells like the Canoo, Faraday Future, Nikola, Lordstown Motors, etc. of it all.

I've had a coworker who has been following Aptera for years and years. He was also an Elio fan and almost got his hands on an ElectraMeccanica SOLO before they recalled almost all of them. The Telo trucks seem nice, but I think they're going to outsource production, which is always a recipe for quality control problems. It's what did the SOLOs in.

 

[KevinRS]

Telo also seems to be planning on starting with real low volume, so low that I doubt you'd be able to get your hands on one for several extra years.

 

[SichuanHot]

Telo and Aptera made a video

The Dream Driveway


Neither is my cup o' tea, but both EV startups.
Both companies been going for a while now (Aptera in 2019, but kicking around since 2006; and Telo Trucks in 2022).
I believe they are working together on integrated solar panels on the Telo MT1, similar to the panels on the Aptera).

Haven't bothered to dive deep into any of these two, but it smells like the Canoo, Faraday Future, Nikola, Lordstown Motors, etc. of it all.

Slate could be up their, but it seems to have a greater chance to make it to market with the little information I pulled from you know where.

What an aptly named video as Aptera will remain a dream since they haven't made anything for sale for a decade.

 

[motorolas]

Cars Are So Expensive That American Buyers Need Seven-Year Loans


I remember 36 months (3 year) loans for autos, now 84 month (7 year loans)
Pandemic affected ASP on vehicles, insurance, and loans.

Average auto loan on $50k at 7 years is ~$16k in interest paid, which is $5k more on a 5 year loan (previous standard loan length).

Folks are looking for more features and luxury status, etc, and in turn look for that smaller payment amount.

10-11 years average use of car (holding on to cars longer).

250+ million cars on the road, more than there are active drivers.

Slate, Ford and Tesla mentioned of lower cost vehicles by the hosts,
Keith Naughton auto reported replied back that EV's still will be more expensive up front due to the batteries, etc.

7-8 percent loans.

Average price of used cars are now increased to "close to $30K" due to demand.

I still recall we had purchased our 2018 Subaru Crosstrek in 2021 for $17k and in 2022 we saw the used price went up to $22-23k until it dropped in 2023-23 to ~$19-20K, I looked a my now 8 year old Crosstrek used and it's about $15-18k still.
And if I look at a used 2022, it's around $22-27k.

 

[AZFox]

Cars Are So Expensive That American Buyers Need Seven-Year Loans

Another good one.
Thanks @motorolas.

Food for thought.
8% of $50,000 is $4,000 spent in a year.
It's spent on the borrowed money, not the car itself.

 

[bartflossom]

Looks like there is a ceremony at the plant today. Chris is interviewed by some dipstick with the usual negative questions on squawk box cnbc this morning.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

Another good one.
Thanks @motorolas.

Food for thought.
8% of $50,000 is $4,000 spent in a year.
It's spent on the borrowed money, not the car itself.

It's an interesting milestone when you finally get to a point where you can choose to pay cash vs taking a loan for 121 days in order to score some dealer incentive on an auto. (I'm well aware of the lease vs buy arguments on depreciating assets, yada yada yada). Otherwise, it's a nauseating reality when you look at interest on autos, credit cards, and then mortgages.