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They are currently doing demo in the production facility, and will be pouring concrete in some areas to make a stronger foundation where it is needed for the equipment. I think the current "crash test articles" would be basically iterations of prototypes, testing different builds to see which...

Flat tow, especially behind an RV can have some complications. My grandfather used to do it with his scouts, they had manual locking hubs on all 4 wheels. Part of the issue is the geometry of where the rear wheels of the RV are and how far they are from the hitch. If he made a moderately sharp...

If slate doesn't pan out, or my current 100k+ mile versa with a CVT fails first, I'll be shopping for a used small EV. I don't need huge range, actually looking at the numbers confirmed this. I've figured out that the garage and even the electrical panel may be electrically limited, so I may...

I had seen something a while back saying it would probably be one of the "M" auto places, for the same reasons, each of those has around half the "2500 locations" so maybe they will be using 2 of the 3?

The phone being the navigation system for the truck is part of why it's there. In one of the videos, there was a rail shown below the dash panels, that things like the phone mount attach to, looks like there is some flexibility in placement. DIN placement may also be flexible, especially since...

Interesting that they already have a bunch of crash tested trucks, Haven't heard that they had got that far.

Even the SUV cap is supposed to be shipped. You can opt to have anything installed, but it seems it would be done at the closest of the shops that they are contracting with for service.

I've also thought of, with the utility of a small truck, some may not replace the battery even if it's only holding 50% charge, as long as their trips with it are within that range. 15-20 years out it just graduates to only making very local trips: runs to the big box hardware store, short...

Part of their business model from the start has been getting to profitable faster than anyone else has done, so I think they may have more margin built into the quoted price, giving them some flexibility if costs go up.

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...

Part of the issue with most vehicles now, is they are trying to make them less and less repairable. Even a brake job with some cars and trim levels, you've got to connect to the computer and tell it to retract the rear calipers. Not every shop has the hardware and expensive software update to do...

I think there are multiple levels of DIY involved in the discussion. From what I've seen, most of the truck is designed to be worked on with a minimal handful of tools, and should be in reach of just about anyone to do in their driveway. How much do those batteries weigh anyway? Sure, if you...

Got to keep in mind, this isn't even a beta, it's a prototype, with a bunch of 3d printed parts. They could easily modify some of these detail areas before they even get to the pre-production testing units for crash testing and similar. Also, things like the dash cubby, with it's sockets, seems...

As far as phones overheating, I've found that having the phone in front of an AC vent solves that. Not sure exactly where the AC vents are in the slate though, as long as partial flow can be directed at the back of the phone, from my experience it cools enough that even having screen on + gps +...

I am hoping that the plastic formulation they are using will have a UV inhibitor included: it just about has to, or they won't last 2 years in sunnier states, that should take care of questions about that. Plastic panels may save some on weight, along with the manufacturing savings mentioned...

FM radio chips in phones, I never saw a phone where it was actually enabled. I personally don't have a car radio that lets me play music through it from my phone, only calls, but everyone I know who does, has dropped listening to FM radio entirely. I'm sure there are statistics out there, and...

As long as they can successfully launch, the current marketing seems to have been good enough that they don't have to worry much about having too much inventory for some time. They had 100k people put down $50 each in the first month. Just going as they are, they probably are going to have...

Dealing with the battery/power train means dealing with 400v DC with a considerable amount of current behind it. Short something, and bad things happen. puncture a cell, and bad things happen.

That monthly $100 even with zero use seems excessive. There is more to the maintenance part than reading the meter though. The cost of maintaining and repairing all the lines has to be shared between all the customers. For a couple of months here in California the solar companies have been...

The blind spot that warning systems are at a minimum about is that area you have to look over your shoulder to see. With mirrors properly adjusted those should be the only ones. One issue even for safe drivers is when something happens like: on the highway, you check over your shoulder after...