Recent content by Doug T

Tesla has been successful with EV manufacturing, so hopefully the Tesla hires bring important experience and help enabling Slate to succeed. It strikes me however the Slate manufacturing approach is very different compared to Tesla. Tesla uses large gigafactories that are integrated with the...

It would seem late in the cycle to change batteries and hold to the current production schedule. My guess is that this is a negotiation strategy. Slate to SK On: "we have lost the tax incentive, so we need a better price to make this product competitive in the market." If so, Slate will use...

Thanks for the heads up on this. Obviously, I was unaware of the interference issue and the possible legislation. That picture of that ridiculous 1960s style radio I posted seemed a lot funnier before....

A mandate is not required here. If an owner wants to install an AM radio, there will be many options. I mentioned this to a friend of mine and his response was: "Back in the day I attached a "transistor radio" to the dash of my old truck that did not have a radio." Worked great. $10 on Amazon.

It struck me that you mentioned Sandy Munro. Looking back through his videos, for several years he has been a fan of Tesla vehicles and manufacturing strategy. He and therefor Slate understand the ins and outs and cost tradeoffs. Tesla builds cars in Gigafactories that are integrated with the...

So I think that we have established that doc fees are not really about the cost of submitting documentation and destination charges are not really about shipping the vehicle. They can pretty much be anything the seller wants. They just must be disclosed. Since the maximum doc fee in Indiana is...

The thing is, this not a particularly unique design. For example here is an Ioniq 5:

I chose Minimalist Design but for a kind of nerdy reason. Watching the Munro Live video, I was struck by the simplicity and elegance of this design. EVs have always had the potential to be the simplest and most reliable of vehicles, and this Slate truck fulfills this potential. The drive train...

These are interesting points about doc fees that I had never thought about before.. As far as I can tell these fees simply cover applying for a title, registration, etc. with your state of residence. This strikes me as another way Slate can be a different kind of car company. In the spirit of...

Here is a story from the Detroit Free Press about Destination Charges Destination charges are hidden fee automakers can't seem to explain Highlights: By Law, Destination Charges must be clearly stated. They are not required to be charged. They are not required to be equalized. Dealers often...

As I understand it, Slate cannot legally sell directly to end customers in the state of Indiana. The only OEM that is allowed to is Tesla. My expectation is that the Slate legal department is working to get this law changed. Let's assume that they succeed. The model that Slate has presented is...