2027 Slate Pickup Test Drive Review by Motortrend : fun and reasonably nimble

[E90400K]

meh. why?
Barman took it from concept to robots on a factory floor; well done.
Now she continues to spearhead the most important part for endusers - responsible for vehicles we'll actually buy and drive.

Clearly, the investors want a wider focus to monetize accesories and any other revenue stream that is possible outside of the base vehicle itself. Slate is playing at a price point no one else is restricted to - not the other EV startups, not the legacy brands with their broad portfolios; I see nothing wrong with the move.

Slate is trying to do something that hasn't been done in what - 70, 80, 100 years?

Let's say Slate can't meet its revenue and profit goals on a timeframe expected by the investors - who do you think gets shown the door? It'll be Faricy, much more so then Barman or Keipper.

Not that I want to rehash my thoughts, but since you asked. 99.9% of the time removing a CEO from her position means their is or are financial situations that the CEO created or are beyond her skill set to resolve. Had Barman not been employee #1 hire as CEO in the Slate startup quest I wouldn't have as much concern over her removal. She assembled the team from the ground up to create the truck from thin air. Then just as the plan is gelling, they pull her from the C-suite? The reason is "oh, we now need to focus on the consumer retail side"? Nah.

In 2022, the Principles at Re:manufacturing obviously thought Barman had all the creds and skill set necessary to bring the Slate FN to market. The plan has always been to sell the aftermarket products as a significant revenue stream and profitability center for the company. Bringing Faricy in to spearhead that side of the business is not a CEO level effort, that is a staff position managed by a CEO. If Barman's only expertise is creating the physical product and assembling the team and machine to build it, then the choice of putting her at the CEO position was the wrong decision from the get go. Or it means she ran out of talent to push the plan to the final milestone on the Gant Chart.

Ousting Barman from the CEO spot tells me something is amiss at Slate. Slate is asking me to place a $25K bet on their business decisions, replacement of the CEO just as critical mass is being reached is not comforting.

If Faricy was stuck in as CEO to be the typical Wall Street Suit to manage Slate's IPO because he looks like the rest of the Wall Street investor buffalo, then that is even more discomforting. You mentioned Slate is trying something that hasn't been done in 70 - 100 years, well, that endeavor was the Ford Motor Company, which didn't IPO until 51 years after it became the world's largest automotive manufacturer. Staying off of Wall Street is what allowed Ford Motor to prosper. Slate doesn't have any ass behind it at this point to let a bunch of Wall Streeters run the company.

 

[Frozen North]

Are we all ok with copy paste of entire articles now? Seems like bad form.

Aside from that, I really like the quote " the Slate becomes a Rorschach test for Americans’ unconscious attitudes about basic transportation". Couldn't be more true.

The funny thing is that because I clicked through and read it on the motortrend website, I saw the link to the "Mercedes Hyperscreen" mentioned in the Slate article. That car is bonkers in all kinds of ways, but there's a place in that article where "Ola Källenius, Mercedes-Benz Group chairman of the board of management, said ... the reliance on screen controls by the industry as a whole has gone too far. This is why Mercedes brought back and will continue to introduce sensible buttons."

Guys, the Slate has something something in common with MERCEDES FREAKING BENZ!

Yeah, a de Dion rear axle..

 

[Orley]

Went to the article and scrolled through the 36 pics. Nice set of close-up shot of things you've all seen before but I saw details that I hadn't seen before. If you need some more Slate "porn" take a look.

 

[dmon4u]

" cranking out production Slates in October or November " So there will be a stockpile of them come December !

 

[tubes]

Pictures
One of the pictures had the old footwell panel in the bed so some of the pictures may still show some slight inaccuracies.

Chris Barman
As for the Barman move: we know nothing. The fact she's still there and engaged in the project (giving test drives) says something positive. When the executives at my startup were moved to new positions they simply disappeared. I've seen speculation on this forum that the "next model" to come out won't happen until 2031 because it will take 5 years and they won't start working on until the assembly line powers up. Don't be so sure! If Barman and Keipper are at work on it now, we may have a surprise within 2 years.

10,000 orders
And I have no idea what to think about the 10,000 orders comment. It feels like the author interpolated and extrapolated a few things. For example, the article reads: "Company spokesperson Jeff Jablansky says those 10,000 buyers are still guaranteed to take delivery in the first two quarters of 2027. "

We know this to be false. We know some of our good friends here like @ClayJar ordered in the first minute and got first shift were finally relegated to Q3 after residing in DWCS for a month.

The author apparently spoke with Jablansky and summarized his comments in short form and it came out a little off.

 

[tubes]

So it appears that Slate invited some journalists to take a ride and asked them to embargo their stories until July 30. We got drops from Top Gear, Business Insider and this MotorTrend. Any more?

MotorTrend is OK, but sometimes a little breathless. I'm hoping Car and Driver gets a chance.

EDIT: Moments after I wrote that last sentence, Car and Driver dropped their review. As usual, they have good things to say and some very frank tough things, but nothing catastrophic:

https://www.slateforums.com/forum/t...pickup-an-ev-for-the-new-austerity-era.15815/

 

[Auer]

Top Gear's style is mostly meant as entertainment too.

 

[evilsaloon]

Turned off my adblock for giggles while reading this article. Every - and I mean EVERY - ad in the photo section was for a RAM gigatruck abomination

 

[wickersty]

$26,400 is the $24,950 + $1450 delivery charge in case anyone is wondering where that came from.

That's so annoying that they are writing it like that. There's such a bias against the Slate. Do they refer to all other cars with prices including Delivery and fees? No. But with the Slate they are happy to be disingenuous and make it seem more pricey than it is. Shame.

 

[2thlesswithta2s]

99.9% of the time removing a CEO from her position means their is or are financial situations that the CEO created or are beyond her skill set to resolve.

Most startups reshuffle leadership at least once between concept, development, & ramp up phases. It takes different skills & styles for each step. It's not an indicator of incompetence, mistakes, or malfeasance. On the contrary, it shows foresight & adaptability. The bigger danger in startups is a strong CEO who refuses to give up control when the role has grown beyond their core skills that were invaluable in early stages.

 

[2thlesswithta2s]

$26,400 is the $24,950 + $1450 delivery charge in case anyone is wondering where that came from.

In that case it's not really the base price, is it? And I thought delivery charge would vary by region. Either way, it's misleading as presented.

 

[E90400K]

Most startups reshuffle leadership at least once between concept, development, & ramp up phases. It takes different skills & styles for each step. It's not an indicator of incompetence, mistakes, or malfeasance. On the contrary, it shows foresight & adaptability. The bigger danger in startups is a strong CEO who refuses to give up control when the role has grown beyond their core skills that were invaluable in early stages.

I'll have to disagree, not at the very top of the senior executive level and especially with Slate and Barman.

She took the RE:Manufacturing vision for the FN and brought it into reality. As of March 2026, all of the core design for the truck and the design and plan of execution to create the manufacturing facility were locked down, all under Barman's leadership and control. From the information released since April 2025 when Slate stepped out of obscurity, there appears to be little in the way of failed execution. Even in June 2026 at the offical price reveal, the $24,950 price hit exactly the mark Slate called "mid-twenties" for the price. Even the late 2026 delivery of retail units remains on track.

All of that was the work of Chris Barman and the team she put together. None of it was the result of Faricy's work nor his executive influence. He has added nothing to the Slate nor its execution. The repositioning of Barman and the add of Faricy has never been truthfully explained. That is why it is concerning (to me at least).

My issue is, for her personally, once Barman was taken out of the Chief Executive Officer spot, the credit she most strictly and richly deserves is lost on the public.

 

[danielt1263]

In that case it's not really the base price, is it? And I thought delivery charge would vary by region. Either way, it's misleading as presented.

No, the delivery charge does not vary by region, except outside the contiguous US. My guess is Alaska, Hawaii, & territories have to pay extra, but that's it.

I don't think it's misleading necessarily, some publications always include delivery when talking about costs, some don't. At least that's my impression.

 

[AZFox]

Most startups reshuffle leadership at least once between concept, development, & ramp up phases. It takes different skills & styles for each step. It's not an indicator of incompetence, mistakes, or malfeasance. On the contrary, it shows foresight & adaptability. The bigger danger in startups is a strong CEO who refuses to give up control when the role has grown beyond their core skills that were invaluable in early stages.

This.

Chris Barman was hired because she knows how to develop cars.

Peter Faricy was hired because he knows how to develop companies.

 

[Goodyear]

The

Pictures
One of the pictures had the old footwell panel in the bed so some of the pictures may still show some slight inaccuracies.

Chris Barman
As for the Barman move: we know nothing. The fact she's still there and engaged in the project (giving test drives) says something positive. When the executives at my startup were moved to new positions they simply disappeared. I've seen speculation on this forum that the "next model" to come out won't happen until 2031 because it will take 5 years and they won't start working on until the assembly line powers up. Don't be so sure! If Barman and Keipper are at work on it now, we may have a surprise within 2 years.

10,000 orders
And I have no idea what to think about the 10,000 orders comment. It feels like the author interpolated and extrapolated a few things. For example, the article reads: "Company spokesperson Jeff Jablansky says those 10,000 buyers are still guaranteed to take delivery in the first two quarters of 2027. "

We know this to be false. We know some of our good friends here like @ClayJar ordered in the first minute and got first shift were finally relegated to Q3 after residing in DWCS for a month.

The author apparently spoke with Jablansky and summarized his comments in short form and it came out a little off.

The 10,000 orders statement is very concerning. I don’t believe they will hit 50,000 deliveries within the first 12 months just because of the reality of start up manufacturing challenges. But if there are only 10,000 actual preorders then they will have a significant challenge ever getting to the 80k break even. The author;s statement restating what Jeff Jablansky apparently said is that 10,000 trucks will be delivered in the first 6 months. Giant disconnect going on here. It would be very nice to know how many Pre Orders they received by the 30 day cutoff. I would hope there was better than a 5 1/2% conversion rate on 180,000 reservations.