Extended battery price? Another clue... "less than SUV kit"

[tubes]

I'm not a fan of putting unused hardware into a device that can be unlocked. It is wasteful on many fronts. That's what bothers me.

Software is different, but not completely. I can give a pass on that. I just don't like having a vehicle (or computer, or whatever) toting around unused hardware resources.

OK, maybe I won't puke. Perhaps just a vomit burp.

 

[MotoGary]

I'm not a fan of putting unused hardware into a device that can be unlocked. It is wasteful on many fronts. That's what bothers me.

Software is different, but not completely. I can give a pass on that. I just don't like having a vehicle (or computer, or whatever) toting around unused hardware resources.

OK, maybe I won't puke. Perhaps just a vomit burp.

I feel the same way about humans. Why do so many come equipped with brains that never get used? And what's up with the appendix? Male nipples? Wisdom teeth? Little toes?

 

[1yeliab_sufur1]

I feel the same way about humans. Why do so many come equipped with brains that never get used? And what's up with the appendix? Male nipples? Wisdom teeth? Little toes?

ahem that my good sir is why the lobotomy was invented

 

[DT444T]

I feel the same way about humans. Why do so many come equipped with brains that never get used? And what's up with the appendix? Male nipples? Wisdom teeth? Little toes?

We actually found, kinda recently, that the appendix DOES have a purpose.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/appendix

 

[Imhotep]

Oh great. Had mine removed in the 90’s. That was the first time a doctor told me I should be dead already.

We actually found, kinda recently, that the appendix DOES have a purpose.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/appendix

 

[danielt1263]

So extended battery + SUV (and presumably fastback) kits will increase price somewhere between ~$6-9k. Darn, I was hoping the 4-seater kit would be more affordable.

Yes. I've said from the beginning that if you need the extended battery and SUV kit then the Slate isn't a cost effective option.

Likely, that would mean $32k or more. The base Equinox EV is $35k, so for just a few more K you get more horsepower, more range, more towing capacity, and four doors... none of which can be added to the Slate. And frankly, getting a baby seat in and out of a 2-door vehicle is a huge pain.

That said, some people want the ability to convert between SUV and Truck or are willing to put up with the minuses in order to avoid the touchscreen.

 

[DT444T]

Yes. I've said from the beginning that if you need the extended battery and SUV kit then the Slate isn't a cost effective option.

Likely, that would mean $32k or more. The base Equinox EV is $35k, so for just a few more K you get more horsepower, more range, more towing capacity, and four doors... none of which can be added to the Slate. And frankly, getting a baby seat in and out of a 2-door vehicle is a huge pain.

That said, some people want the ability to convert between SUV and Truck or are willing to put up with the minuses in order to avoid the touchscreen.

And not all of us have kids to worry about, either. Which is another reason the Slate is so up my alley.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

ahem that my good sir is why the lobotomy was invented

...and wrote a song for it:

 

[clofan]

Truth be told I don't need either! The rear seats will be good for the ~4 times a year I need to move the car seat from the wife's passport, but moreso for the occasion of transporting more than 2. The extended range batt is just so I could cross the state in a single charge. My normal commute is 6 miles a day with chargers both at home and work, absolutely no issue keeping it charged.

I do wonder if what the earlier poster said might be possible... Everyone gets the extended range kit year 1 to keep manufacturing costs and complexity down. Would certainly make the decision easier, and make the SUV kits more expensive than a (free) battery upgrade! If the extended range is like $1k for year 1 that makes the decision easier for some, but harder for others.

Ah well. Find out in a couple weeks.

 

[MotoGary]

We actually found, kinda recently, that the appendix DOES have a purpose.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/appendix

True. However, apparently everyone can function quite normally without one, but when they fail it can potentially kill you. Not an equitable trade-off if you ask me!

This got me thinking--What would be the vehicle equivalent of an appendix? The best corollary I could come up with is some emissions equipment. In most cases the vehicle can run just fine if you properly remove it, but if it fails it can potentially disable a vehicle. Therefore it's effectively worse than useless.

Perhaps the human appendix was also just a bureaucratic mandate in human creation/evolution/simulation?

(I fully expect a certain forum member to take the bait and run wild with this. You know who you are 🤓)

 

[pdxmotorhead]

The early cars with the single type $ for capacity model Tesla's if you ran the battery down you could call customer service and they would turn the extra capacity on temporarily, it gave a limp mode so you could get to the next gas station, it turned back off after the next 80% charge. I always felt this was a strategy to give folks more confidence and get them to buy the car, I don't think they did it for more than 2 years, in the early days Tesla did all kinds of custom stuff with some customers in exchange for free supercharging... was very smart getting customers to participate in extended testing.

 

[phidauex]

Early Tesla was doing all sorts of odd things to convince people to buy. Slate won't build them all with one battery and software lock it - that would be crazy. For one thing, adding 10-15% to the cost of all of your vehicles just to have one pile of batteries rather than two piles is a terrible tradeoff. Second, battery supply is constrained right now - putting a bigger battery in each Slate would mean building that many fewer Slates - 35% fewer compared to all standard range models.

 

[Jasman]

I think it was Slate's new CEO who said there is just a single SKU. That leads me to believe that every blank Slate would have the same battery size, with the lower-range model being software-locked.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I think it was Slate's new CEO who said there is just a single SKU. That leads me to believe that every blank Slate would have the same battery size, with the lower-range model being software-locked.

Have you browsed through the Slate FAQ?

 

[kvermeer]

I do wonder if what the earlier poster said might be possible... Everyone gets the extended range kit year 1 to keep manufacturing costs and complexity down. Would certainly make the decision easier, and make the SUV kits more expensive than a (free) battery upgrade! If the extended range is like $1k for year 1 that makes the decision easier for some, but harder for others.

I'm worried that the only model available is going to be a $28500 extended-range unit, but the headline price will be a $23999 standard-range that isn't available for purchase in year 1. That wouldn't be the Slate ethos, but it would be a typical 2026 rug pull...

For just $1k the extended range upgrade would be easier to justify.