Nice article from MIT -- Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS]

[bartflossom]

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?

A small, no frills EV could be the right vehicle for this moment.

MIT article

 

[sodamo]

Nice. No real news, but positive.

 

[ClayJar]

To include at least the headline and subhead here seems appropriate:

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?​

A small, no frills EV could be the right vehicle for this moment.​

So, regarding this bit: "Some customers will choose to upgrade their truck with optional add-ons, like a Bluetooth stereo system, vinyl wraps, or even power windows. But the price will still likely come in well below the roughly $50,000 average for a new vehicle in the US."

Has anyone played a game of "How expensive can I load up a Slate in the maker?" I'd be curious enough to try it myself if nobody already has. 😎

 

[WV Slateman]

To include at least the headline and subhead here seems appropriate:

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?​

A small, no frills EV could be the right vehicle for this moment.​

So, regarding this bit: "Some customers will choose to upgrade their truck with optional add-ons, like a Bluetooth stereo system, vinyl wraps, or even power windows. But the price will still likely come in well below the roughly $50,000 average for a new vehicle in the US."

Has anyone played a game of "How expensive can I load up a Slate in the maker?" I'd be curious enough to try it myself if nobody already has. 😎

Yes. IIRC nobody has been able to get over $47-48K or so.

 

[bartflossom]

To include at least the headline and subhead here seems appropriate:

Yeah. I get lazy.

 

[ClayJar]

There are some "Price Coming Soon" items that could put me higher, but adding all the accessories and everything, my high score in the Maker currently sits at $46,488.36 (which doesn't include destination or any fees, of course -- them's the rules for the Most Expensive Slate Maker game).

I started with the Fastback, added Crayola, covered that entirely with partial wraps, and so on. A full breakdown is inside this spoiler button (to keep the post small).

Spoiler: High-Score Breakdown

$31,950.00​	Fastback SUV
1,549.99​	Crayola Collab
679.99​	Upper Partial Wrap (Magic Hour)
359.99​	Roof Partial Wrap (Magic Hour)
649.99​	Lower Partial Wrap (Magic Hour)
1,099.99​	Grit and Grind
229.99​	Shoulder Decals (Magic Hour)
139.99​	Accent Decals (Magic Hour)
169.99​	Gumball Bumper Stripe
429.99​	Multicolor Racing Stripe
589.99​	The Doer Body Decal
349.99​	Front Lamp Upgrade | Animated
499.99​	Tail Lamp Upgrade | Animated
279.95​	3" Light Pods
39.99​	The Five Switch | Upgrade Version
799.95​	40" Rooftop Light Bar
299.99​	Front Fog Lights
499.99​	Front Bumper Upgrade
299.95​	Rock Light Kit
124.99​	Fastback Roof T-Rail
499.99​	Cab Rack System
349.99​	Fastback Cab Rack Extension
54.94​	One-Key System | 2-Pack
599.99​	Rear Bumper Upgrade
949.00​	COR Portable Battery Generator
100.00​	Tailgate Lock Kit
99.99​	2" Rear Hitch Receiver Kit
599.95​	Outpace 2-Bike Rack
349.99​	Running Boards
59.99​	Synthwave Grille Plate
149.99​	Fender Flares
104.99​	SUV Rear Bolster Insert
64.99​	Door Bolster Insert
49.99​	Door Armrest
99.99​	SUV Rear Armrest
49.99​	The Throwback Interior Decal
249.99​	Front Center Integrated Speaker
149.99​	Front Left + Right Integrated Speakers
44.99​	Interior Accessory T-Rail | B-Pillar
14.99​	Interior Accessory T-Rail | HVAC
29.99​	Frunk Cargo Hooks
49.99​	Door Cubby Organizers
249.99​	Center Console
69.99​	Carpet Floor Mats | Front Seat
74.99​	SUV All-Weather Floor Liner | Back Seat
49.99​	All-Weather Floor Liner | Frunk
275.00​	Slate Telematics Module
$46,488.36​	TOTAL SCORE

 

[MrTom]

Nice. No real news, but positive.

Don't mean to be Debbie Downer but the article says U.S. folks don't give a rat's patoot about greenhouse gasses and might buy a Slate anyway (even though they hate EV's) because 50% of Americans are in an affordability crisis. Woohoo.

I do wish Slate success.

 

[jhevil]

To include at least the headline and subhead here seems appropriate:

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?​

A small, no frills EV could be the right vehicle for this moment.​

So, regarding this bit: "Some customers will choose to upgrade their truck with optional add-ons, like a Bluetooth stereo system, vinyl wraps, or even power windows. But the price will still likely come in well below the roughly $50,000 average for a new vehicle in the US."

I'm going to point out that very very few car buyers custom-purchase their vehicles. They might search for specific features of the available models on the lot or (less frequently) they might pick a few different trim models that they are willing to purchase. However, I doubt there is a strong percentage of car buyers that are selecting specifically power windows or the specific bluetooth stereo (laughable, since BT is standard on most cars at the moment).

I would actually like to see the number of new cars sold in the US that a person selected the vinyl wrap that was going to be on the vehicle. I would presume that number to be less than 1000 of the 16.3 million new cars sold in 2025. You know.... 0.006 percent of cars sold.

 

[RevMS]

I'm going to point out that very very few car buyers custom-purchase their vehicles. They might search for specific features of the available models on the lot or (less frequently) they might pick a few different trim models that they are willing to purchase. However, I doubt there is a strong percentage of car buyers that are selecting specifically power windows or the specific bluetooth stereo (laughable, since BT is standard on most cars at the moment).

I would actually like to see the number of new cars sold in the US that a person selected the vinyl wrap that was going to be on the vehicle. I would presume that number to be less than 1000 of the 16.3 million new cars sold in 2025. You know.... 0.006 percent of cars sold.

In the '80's and earlier this was very common. For some time now it's been uncommon with most options being available only in trim packages rather than line items. Suposedly in the last few years it's becoming more common agian.

 

[SailorDan]

My new truck was custom ordered, partly to get manual wind windows, and my wife's Cadillac CTS almost was, until they found a 5-speed manual transmission model that had been used as a luxury loaner at events like the Masters. (You try finding a manual tranny Cadillac!) There are a few of us who prefer it that way.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

To include at least the headline and subhead here seems appropriate:

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?​

A small, no frills EV could be the right vehicle for this moment.​

So, regarding this bit: "Some customers will choose to upgrade their truck with optional add-ons, like a Bluetooth stereo system, vinyl wraps, or even power windows. But the price will still likely come in well below the roughly $50,000 average for a new vehicle in the US."

Has anyone played a game of "How expensive can I load up a Slate in the maker?" I'd be curious enough to try it myself if nobody already has. 😎

I thought the answer was ~$46K + TTL? Since there are several unpriced options, its an impossible answer currently.

Edit: @ClayJar has an example above!

 

[dcoldone]

many things were different 15 years ago. i think it is probably better to just leave the politics at the door in this forum.

 

[Johnologue]

It doesn't even need to be (directly) political. The AI crisis is driving up costs across the board, taking jobs, taking investments and resources that would have gone to other areas. People are paying more for utilities, and AI is even being used for things like "personalized pricing" that will literally charge some people more for the same product or service.

There is at least one crisis that makes most Americans pay more while having less income, and I don't believe that is controversial.

 

[AZFox]

This isn't Reddit.

 

[SpryTime]

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?

A small, no frills EV could be the right vehicle for this moment.

MIT article

"......forgoing the frills that Americans have come to expect in vehicles"

I don't expect or desire frills. This is a key factor as to why I'm interested in the Slate. When I purchased by 2002 Frontier I had to search long and hard to get as basic of a small truck as I could. I didn't even want cruise control or power windows and I didn't really care about the stereo. I simply couldn't find one, I had to get the body accent package, which did come with cruise/power-windows, CD player.

I'm a bit of a nerd with everything else, retired from the tech world.

We all may have some growing pains with a startup. But long term, EVs are simple / straight forward. Which hopefully translates to less maintenance and increase reliability.