Mike the Car Geek: Slate Up-Date May 2026

[cadblu]

Mike the Car Geek: Slate Up-Date May 2026

 

[Susan]

I thought I was going to hate this video, based on its comments. But besides the nonsense about comparing the Slate to the Chevy Bolt it wasn't bad.

Just his opinion, of course, as the text in the screenshot clearly states

 

[E90400K]

The dude is an idiot. An ICE is not comprised of ten thousand parts. Lol.

 

[KevinRS]

The dude is an idiot. An ICE is not comprised of ten thousand parts. Lol.

How many parts is it if you count every bolt, nut, gasket, etc? A quick search is saying 30,000 parts.

 

[E90400K]

How many parts is it if you count every bolt, nut, gasket, etc? A quick search is saying 30,000 parts.

Possibly for an entire car, but not just the engine. The doofus in video said 10,000 parts just for the engine alone. It indicates he really doesn't know much about automobiles.

 

[KevinRS]

Possibly for an entire car, but not just the engine. The doofus in video said 10,000 parts just for the engine alone. It indicates he really doesn't know much about automobiles.

A car engine can be in the thousands though. Add a modern automatic transmission and you can probably find plenty of cars with 10k individual parts between the 2.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Awesome! We're witnessing the beginning of yet another argument over minor details. How long can we bicker over the number of parts in cars? And don't leave trucks out. What about Hot Wheels? I heard some models can have parts in double digits... shocking!

🤣 I got nothing meaningful to add, so I fall back to self-entertaining humor. 🤣

 

[E90400K]

A "car geek" should know that an automobile engine isn't made up of "tens of thousands of parts; the rockers, the (valve) springs, the bolts, the castings, the head gaskets...". LOL.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

I thought I was going to hate this video, based on its comments. But besides the nonsense about comparing the Slate to the Chevy Bolt it wasn't bad.

Just his opinion, of course, as the text in the screenshot clearly states

I agree that almost no one is cross shopping the Bolt with the Slate Truck. But I also agree Slate needs to come in under it and if they launch at a true mid-20k price point they will. I think for every $1k over $25K the final base price point is Slate will lose potential customers. If Slate can come in around ~$25K or below they will be in a good spot especially if that’s after destination fee.

Slate is a Single Cab Pickup Truck Battery Electric Vehicle. At a true mid-20K price point ($23,500-$26,500) they will get the SEO advantage of not just being the cheapest BEV on the market, but the cheapest Pickup Truck in general on the market, and the next cheapest Single Cab isn’t even close.

 

[bartflossom]

I've always heard an Ice drivetrain MOVING PARTS count is 1500 to 2000 and EV is somewhere around 30. Is it accurate? I don't know.

 

[E90400K]

I agree that almost no one is cross shopping the Bolt with the Slate Truck. But I also agree Slate needs to come in under it and if they launch at a true mid-20k price point they will. I think for every $1k over $25K the final base price point is Slate will lose potential customers. If Slate can come in around ~$25K or below they will be in a good spot especially if that’s after destination fee.

Slate is a Single Cab Pickup Truck Battery Electric Vehicle. At a true mid-20K price point ($23,500-$26,500) they will get the SEO advantage of not just being the cheapest BEV on the market, but the cheapest Pickup Truck in general on the market, and the next cheapest Single Cab isn’t even close.

Well, add a wrap to the Slate, and if you need more than 90 miles of range and get the larger battery, if the Slate is $26,500, that puts it at $30,000. You can get a Nissan Frontier 2WD extended cab for $31K when discounted (they are always discounted at dealers). Then its real close and the Nissan is a much more capable pickup truck.

 

[CorvusCorvax]

Well, add a wrap to the Slate, and if you need more than 90 miles of range and get the larger battery, if the Slate is $26,500, that puts it at $30,000. You can get a Nissan Frontier 2WD extended cab for $31K when discounted (they are always discounted at dealers). Then its real close and the Nissan is a much more capable pickup truck.

I didn't notice that the Nissan is a BEV.

Nor is it simple. Nor, last I checked, can you easily turn it into an SUV.

There are plenty of buyers out there who aren't interested in towing, or pretend to want to drive off-road, or drag around a lot of spare interior volume and extra seats for no reason. If you gave me $30k, right now, and told me that for my $30k, you could have a Slate or a Frontier, the choice wouldn't be a choice. I'd laugh and say "gimme a Slate, and make sure it comes in grey."

I'm not cross-shopping Frontiers and Mavericks, because I do not want an ICEV. I don't want to hassle with a dealer, nor a salescritter. I don't want to hassle with a service department and their usual crew of cretins. The current car sales model SUCKS, and I am tired of it.

Playing the game of "small truck" and pretending all other things are equal is dumb. All other things ARE NOT equal. Which is why this particular cross-shopping discussion misses the mark.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

Well, add a wrap to the Slate, and if you need more than 90 miles of range and get the larger battery, if the Slate is $26,500, that puts it at $30,000. You can get a Nissan Frontier 2WD extended cab for $31K when discounted (they are always discounted at dealers). Then its real close and the Nissan is a much more capable pickup truck.

Well, add a wrap to the Slate, and if you need more than 90 miles of range and get the larger battery, if the Slate is $26,500, that puts it at $30,000. You can get a Nissan Frontier 2WD extended cab for $31K when discounted (they are always discounted at dealers). Then its real close and the Nissan is a much more capable pickup truck.

Agreed anything above ~25K after destination fee is going to lose them potential customers. I’m just saying I think they still have a chance at $26,500. Especially with Fleet Sales. Since if you don’t need to tow the next cheapest Single Cab Pickup is nearly $40K. Preferably a low mid-20s would be great. Perfect price besides $20K would be $23,500 standard range, $26,500 long range, $28,500 standard range w/ SUV Kit. But only way I see that potentially happening is once they develop greater economies of scale and need to drop the price due to decreasing demand from the initial early adopters already buying one. Which would make room for a e4x4/AWD option with the larger battery pack around $28,500.

Though if they announce that price starting it likely means they were very successful in working with their suppliers to get down to that price point. But also they likely have a major refresh planned 2-3 years from now and maybe even a second model planned for 2030 if they are able to keep this same development to production timeline momentum.

 

[Susan]

Well, add a wrap to the Slate, and if you need more than 90 miles of range and get the larger battery, if the Slate is $26,500, that puts it at $30,000. You can get a Nissan Frontier 2WD extended cab for $31K when discounted (they are always discounted at dealers). Then its real close and the Nissan is a much more capable pickup truck.

Is the Nissan electric? Because if it isn't, I don't want it. Not with gas at over $6/gallon in CA. And also, I never want another ICE car.

Oh and I just searched and the Nissan has one of those ridiculous monster truck hoods that I really despise.

So, some people might want one of those, but a lot of people actually want a small 2 door electric pickup truck. And for someone who doesn't ever want the bother of towing, the Slate is capable enough.

 

[E90400K]

I didn't notice that the Nissan is a BEV.

Nor is it simple. Nor, last I checked, can you easily turn it into an SUV.

There are plenty of buyers out there who aren't interested in towing, or pretend to want to drive off-road, or drag around a lot of spare interior volume and extra seats for no reason. If you gave me $30k, right now, and told me that for my $30k, you could have a Slate or a Frontier, the choice wouldn't be a choice. I'd laugh and say "gimme a Slate, and make sure it comes in grey."

I'm not cross-shopping Frontiers and Mavericks, because I do not want an ICEV. I don't want to hassle with a dealer, nor a salescritter. I don't want to hassle with a service department and their usual crew of cretins. The current car sales model SUCKS, and I am tired of it.

Playing the game of "small truck" and pretending all other things are equal is dumb. All other things ARE NOT equal. Which is why this particular cross-shopping discussion misses the mark.

Is the Nissan electric? Because if it isn't, I don't want it. Not with gas at over $6/gallon in CA. And also, I never want another ICE car.

Oh and I just searched and the Nissan has one of those ridiculous monster truck hoods that I really despise.

So, some people might want one of those, but a lot of people actually want a small 2 door electric pickup truck. And for someone who doesn't ever want the bother of towing, the Slate is capable enough.

I replied SPECIFICALLY to Tyson's statement: "...but the cheapest Pickup Truck in general on the market, and the next cheapest Single Cab isn’t even close." My statement is accurate and material to the discussion.