100K+ Reservations for Slate Truck already! (as of May 12, 2025)

[E90400K]

I would very much like to see the EV incentive reinstated, but for very different reasons than the political. It was the “Green / Climate change” focus that killed it, rather than emphasizing benefits tied to manufacturing, labor, technology, etc. Except for not having my Slate EV yet, living 100% off grid I may be one of the greenest living on this forum, but never would even my most politically correct friends have the audacity to suggest my rationale is to be green. Neither is my interest in the Slate.
While there are some that would save that rebate, or at least say they are, I’ll wager there are many other that would spend it. When I did my solar system, I got a rebate, did I save it or build a bigger system and rationalize the additional cost? That $7500 might buy some Slate accessories.

At some point the manufacture of EV has to be at equal or less than the cost to manufacture an ICEV. The alternate fuel tax incentives have been in place over 20 years at this point, but 2007 was when the incentives directly targeted BEV. Other than Tesla, no domestic manufacturer sells EVs at a profit 20 years into incentive programs (there have been a lot of incentives on the industry side as well as the consumer side). Manufacturers just can't rely on BEV consumer tax incentives forever. IMO it makes them not innovate and move the tech forward.

My opinion, not some right-wing talking point (in case Shrink36s gets triggered again).

 

[Tom Sawyer]

That's what I thought incentives were to do - help foster adoption, not become something to be relied on. Tangential, but I heard that incentives to petroleum are a thing too.

You were doing fine right up to the last line...

 

[E90400K]

That's what I thought incentives were to do - help foster adoption, not become something to be relied on. Tangential, but I heard that incentives to petroleum are a thing too.

You were doing fine right up to the last line...

https://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/subsidy/

This is the report from the Feds on what Uncle Sam spends on energy subsidies. Good reading if one is interested.

 

[sodamo]

So I agree, but let me pose another approach, directly Slate related.
Ever since whenever we have heard the $27500 number floated. Let’s say that proves to be a good number. I think it is fair to say quite a few of us on the forum have used that $27500 as a budget number, whether payment based, cash saved, or however.
So what if, come the big June reveal Slate says, yes, $27500, BUT, for the first xxxx reservation conversions the price is (pick a number) $25000 and a 20% discount on first $yyyy of accessories up to $2500? Slate still gets $27500 min, but margin changes a bit, maybe sells more accessories, we possibly buy accessories we otherwise wouldn’t.

 

[Shrink36s]

Most EV’s available to the US public are out of the price range of much of the population. Most people buy used cars. Used cars outpace new car sales by about 2 to 1. The average new car buyer is over 50 and has an income over $100,000. The incentives of leases have helped increase profits for the auto industry, and put new cars in people’s driveways, but not enough to outpace used sales.
Used EV’s were still pricy for a long time. Only recent cheaper options have hit the used market in higher numbers. People do get nervous buying high mileage EVs due to the cost of battery replacement (a big worry), and the cultural understanding that a high mileage vehicle will cost you more in maintenance. That’s a hard cultural narrative to break. The devil you know seems like a safe bet (buy used ICEV).
Anyway, previous incentives plus sub $30k pricing would help increase the market share if EVs across the US. Used incentives would also help to make used more affordable as well. As EV market share increases, the industry will produce more EVs, reducing the costs further, which, in theory, will reduce the need for incentives. We’ve never been able to hit that tipping point. In part due to no one focusing on cheaper entry, and in part due to … big oil.
Oil has a huge lobby, and they’ve had their hands in the larger vehicle push, and individual car ownership push, and pushing against mass transit.
It isn’t as simple as “incentives didn’t work and we can’t keep forever.” The industry and the politics work against it. Clean energy is actively being tanked as we speak. Who do you think is behind that too?

 

[JoeBlow-Kokomo]

Didn't they say they were only going to produce around 150k per year?

In another week or so they will have sold out the first year of production.

So glad I got my reservation in

Highly unlikely they'll produce 50k in the first year. Rivian just built 42,xxx vehicles in this their 5th year. Yes, way more expensive, but you're going to have a long slow build up to full capacity "somewere down the line". not first year.

 

[sodamo]

Highly unlikely they'll produce 50k in the first year. Rivian just built 42,xxx vehicles in this their 5th year. Yes, way more expensive, but you're going to have a long slow build up to full capacity "somewere down the line". not first year.

As long as 1 of them is mine 😄

 

[KevinRS]

Highly unlikely they'll produce 50k in the first year. Rivian just built 42,xxx vehicles in this their 5th year. Yes, way more expensive, but you're going to have a long slow build up to full capacity "somewere down the line". not first year.

Someone would have to find the quote, but the plan is to be at full capacity in a year, or something similar.
With a simplified line, no paint shop, and as much as possible coming in preassembled, they should be able to ramp up faster than others. How hard they push once they are actually shipping may depend on what the order queue looks like, and my expectation would be that if they get to full speed and still have a long queue they would announce they are building a second factory, possibly multiple states away from the first, to save on shipping finished vehicles. This would all be at least a year from now though.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

my expectation would be that if they get to full speed and still have a long queue they would announce they are building a second factory, possibly multiple states away from the first, to save on shipping finished vehicles.

How would that save money on shipping? The parts would need to be 'shipped' to the second assembly facility.

Speculation is like a wish. Spit in one hand & wish in the other - see which hand has more.

 

[JoeBlow-Kokomo]

Someone would have to find the quote, but the plan is to be at full capacity in a year, or something similar.

That MEANS "after a year, they will be ready to run full capacity" = THE SECOND YEAR............... like (most) every other factory in the world. You don't just turn on the lights and produce 100,000 vehicles in a year. it's a ramping up THE ENTIRE YEAR so they are ready come year 2 to have a SHOT at hitting capacity. And that' usually a wish.
They aren't going to have 1,000 (or whatever the number) trained, skilled workers waiting for that clock to hit midnight to start humping. They are going to have a few hundred, untrained workers starting to learn how their production line will work. Those workers, and thus THE LINE will have to run at slow to partial speeds as everyone gets trained and skills get up to speed. Resulting in a slow and gradual speed up of assembly. The WORST thing they can do is try to speed up that process and let shoddy work get out to customers. Can you imagine the speed of reporting on ANY type of failure? There will be mechanical issues, (robots!!!) there will be supply issues from vendors AlL making brand new parts for them, etc etc
Hopefully they really are breaking ground on design to build, but everyone does that too, and they still all take at least a year (most longer) to reach full production potential.

 

[KevinRS]

How would that save money on shipping? The parts would need to be 'shipped' to the second assembly facility.

Speculation is like a wish. Spit in one hand & wish in the other - see which hand has more.

Shipped from various suppliers across the country, to the second factory. So shipping of parts would have little cost change. It would only be an issue if the parts were being made by Slate.

That MEANS "after a year, they will be ready to run full capacity" = THE SECOND YEAR............... like (most) every other factory in the world. You don't just turn on the lights and produce 100,000 vehicles in a year. it's a ramping up THE ENTIRE YEAR so they are ready come year 2 to have a SHOT at hitting capacity. And that' usually a wish.

I certainly don't expect them to make 100k the first year. Even if it was a linear ramp up from zero to the 150k planned over 12 months, which is unlikely, that would only be 75k in the first year.
If they are successful in ramping up though, and get to that rate of ~2800 a week some time in 2028, and the wait list is growing instead of shrinking, that is when I'd expect news on expansion.
Sure the Ford mystery truck is planned to launch some time around then, but that may not cool things down much depending on details from Ford, fuel prices, etc.

 

[metroshot]

Curious to know how many reservation holders requested a refund/cancelled their reservation once the federal incentives went away. Correct me if I got this wrong but Slate has continued to promote reservations at 160,000, but no word on cancellations. Not expecting any such announcements, just been wondering where those numbers are lately.

They probably won't tell you the amount of cancellations - they like most marketing will say that they got a total of x number of reservations.

Based on past reservation to order percentage, I'd say now, about 40-50% reservations will convert to an actual order.

 

[kvermeer]

Based on past reservation to order percentage, I'd say now, about 40-50% reservations will convert to an actual order.

Which past vehicle's reservation history are you comparing with? Was that a $50 refundable "reservation" or a non-refundable "deposit"?

 

[cadblu]

Sure the Ford mystery truck is planned to launch some time around then, but that may not cool things down much depending on details from Ford, fuel prices, etc.

Ford will do anything in its power to steal the spotlight away from Slate. I expect some “big” announcements on their factory progress, spy shots, advanced tech, and low price teases on their new universal platform ev truck. Slate‘s customer base is directly in their line of sight.

 

[bartflossom]

Ford will do anything in its power to steal the spotlight away from Slate. I expect some “big” announcements on their factory progress, spy shots, advanced tech, and low price teases on their new universal platform ev truck. Slate‘s customer base is directly in their line of sight.

Agreed, they are late to the game and will be doing everything to get people to wait for them. I have a Maverick now and the godawful games the dealerships played for it's first two years with "market adjustments" and added crap nobody wants will probably be played again for their new ev. I feel good about the slate's appeal and sales against it.