Battery Architecture Thought Experiment

[bartflossom]

My guess is that chemistry will be LFP.

I hope so.

 

[fuzzyweis]

Oh man if they switch to LFP then that's pretty much a lock for me, only thing about it that I wasn't really a fan of.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

But wouldn't LFP battery chemistry reduce range? I don't see that as a benefit.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

But wouldn't LFP battery chemistry reduce range? I don't see that as a benefit.

It would reduce range for a given weight of battery, because it's less power dense. But the small battery was going to have empty space anyway, so you could have the small battery be LFP and the big battery NMC.

 

[bartflossom]

But wouldn't LFP battery chemistry reduce range? I don't see that as a benefit.

I see the benefits as being able to charge to 100% every night, plus reduced fire risk. Reduced range is the trade-off.

 

[AZFox]

It would reduce range for a given weight of battery, because it's less power dense.

They could either reduce range or keep similar range and increase weight (reduce load capacity).

 

[GaRailroader]

I don’t think they are reducing or increasing range. Standard battery is showing 150 mile range and extended battery 240. If the 150 battery is LFP then it would be a little heavier for the same 55 kWh size. But like ElectricShitBox said, clearly they have extra space on the standard battery. That would be a change that would suddenly make the standard battery more attractive to most buyers.

I do know that Telo is planning on LFP for the ~260 mile range and NMC for the 350.

 

[sodamo]

Leaning toward standard battery, but would be great if it could get closer to 175-200 miles

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Leaning toward standard battery, but would be great if it could get closer to 175-200 miles

I’m with you there!

But I recall some talk about the standard or base battery potentially being adjusted in some way to achieve the mid $25k price goal. My thoughts were that indicated a reduction in range. 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[AZFox]

But I recall some talk about the standard or base battery potentially being adjusted in some way to achieve the mid $25k price goal. My thoughts were that indicated a reduction in range. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I think between the two, reducing range would be more likely than adding weight and reducing load capacity.

Maybe LFP could be a third battery option rather than a replacement for the standard NMC battery.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

Slate really needs to release more information, or we're all going to lose our minds in here.

 

[AZFox]

Slate really needs to release more information, or we're all going to lose our minds in here.

Too late. 😉

 

[GaRailroader]

Note that the specs on the Slate.auto site are quite limited compared to what was on the press release in April of 2025. Was this always the case or have they been removing details from what is posted on their site? Specifically, now it no longer references standard and extended battery sizes, just expected ranges.

 

[IanNubbit]

I remember them saying battery things where changing after the rebate was dropped and they wanted to lower the price, I definitely want LFP for multiple reasons, but 150mile range is like a bottom I can accept. I bet they planned on building the batteries, and have now changed to fully built assemblies coming in to lower cost along with possible change in material.