Deep dive article: 70 Slate prototypes built already

[bartflossom]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/07/jeff-bezos-slate-auto-ev.html

 

[cadblu]

Well, there were a couple of interesting facts I picked up from this article. Slate assembled 70 betas and prototypes in a makeshift factory located 20 miles from their Troy headquarters. That's impressive since they were mostly hand built without automation. Granted, it took them 2 years to accomplish this working in stealth mode. At full rate production they will crank out about 70 vehicles in one hour. And I like that they play music in the factory!

 

[sodamo]

Not even 3 years yet! 70 prototypes vs 1 Telo!
The naysayers can be wrong. Will be most interesting to get a six month update.
i know I can hardly wait.

 

[slateya]

“Dozens of prototypes”. Hadn’t heard a number that high yet.

 

[sodamo]

From the article

Slate is using the location — a stone’s throw away from a massive General Motors assembly plant — to produce more than 70 vehicles for internal testing, certification and everything else a company needs to prepare to produce and sell vehicles in the United States.

 

[cvollers]

Well, there were a couple of interesting facts I picked up from this article. Slate assembled 70 betas and prototypes in a makeshift factory located 20 miles from their Troy headquarters. That's impressive since they were mostly hand built without automation. Granted, it took them 2 years to accomplish this working in stealth mode. At full rate production they will crank out about 70 vehicles in one hour. And I like that they play music in the factory!

In that same amount of time (or longer), Telos built exactly one Alpha prototype that looks like it was slapped together in a month.

 

[Sparkie]

There is an interesting disconnect in the news (and even with some users in this forum).

I'm amused whenever I hear multiple analysts state how difficult it will be for Slate to succeed -- especially as they reference Lucid and Rivian. Yes indeed, those companies are still struggling with slumping sales and require continuous rounds of venture capital investing to stay afloat.

These analysts confidently close their statements about how challenging it will be for Slate to compete in that market. The analysts' alleged "market" is the luxurious EV truck and SUV market -- some have more exquisitely designed interiors than my home with more entertainment consoles too! Their disconnect is that is NOT Slate's market.

Let me help with the re-connection:
How many people can afford the massive monthly payments just have that expensive living space mostly sitting empty in their driveway?

There are indeed many engineering challenges for Slate, but those details have not been covered in the article. So far, the solutions they disclosed seem logical to me (modular design, no paint, molded panels instead forged metal). I am confident they will find appropriate solutions with the rest of the challenges.

 

[sodamo]

Seems to me that over the years, negative reporting has become more popular, maybe even the norm. If a writer can’t end on a definitive negative note, at least strongly hint.
i have a friend with a Lucid, but it would never be on my radar strictly based on price.

 

[cvollers]

There is an interesting disconnect in the news (and even with some users in this forum).

I'm amused whenever I hear multiple analysts state how difficult it will be for Slate to succeed -- especially as they reference Lucid and Rivian. Yes indeed, those companies are still struggling with slumping sales and require continuous rounds of venture capital investing to stay afloat.

These analysts confidently close their statements about how challenging it will be for Slate to compete in that market. The analysts' alleged "market" is the luxurious EV truck and SUV market -- some have more exquisitely designed interiors than my home with more entertainment consoles too! Their disconnect is that is NOT Slate's market.

Let me help with the re-connection:
How many people can afford the massive monthly payments just have that expensive living space mostly sitting empty in their driveway?

There are indeed many engineering challenges for Slate, but those details have not been covered in the article. So far, the solutions they disclosed seem logical to me (modular design, no paint, molded panels instead forged metal). I am confident they will find appropriate solutions with the rest of the challenges.

Quite a few people in the automotive press don’t get what the Slate is all about. Because they don’t understand it, they compare it to the market they know, not the market that used to exist. I also think certain reviewers get spiffed to do positive reviews. Demuro, I may or may not be looking at you.

 

[Swinefuzz]

There is an interesting disconnect in the news (and even with some users in this forum)... Their disconnect is that is NOT Slate's market.

Let me help with the re-connection:
How many people can afford the massive monthly payments just have that expensive living space mostly sitting empty in their driveway?

I agree 100%. All of the doomsayers (YouTube influencers prone to clickbait drama tactics like using words like "FAIL" and making cartoonish O-faces in their thumbnails) always use the same thinking, that because people buy big 4-door pickups that "PROVES" that everybody wants big 4-door pickups. Fact: a lot of people wait until their current daily driver dies a sudden death to go out and buy a new ride. They choose something off the lot that fulfills emotional needs like the desire to impress friends. Dealers know this, so they stock loaded vehicles and reap higher profits. They do have a few barebones vehicles around, but they hide them in back. This is normal auto industry sales tactics. The big auto companies are obsessed with huge profits and use such tactics to achieve those profits. It's unethical, but also no one is putting a gun to the buyer's head to make them behave the way they do. We all could employ a little emotion control and just say no to these high prices.

I'm not in the poorhouse, but I'm not rich, either. I'm a holdout. I haven't bought a new (or used) vehicle in 27 yrs because I hate modern vehicles. I don't hate them because I hate tech (I don't. I love tech, I custom built this PC I'm on right now). But I don't want to be buried in tech in my mode of transportation. My eyes are on the ROAD when I'm driving. And I hate all the ridiculous features cars are loaded with nowadays. And modern vehicles are not DIY friendly like vehicles made pre-2000s. I'm never going to buy a vehicle that REQUIRES me to take it to get basic maintenance and common repairs like a belt change or water pump. And a $900 payment for 72 or more months PLUS the full coverage insurance required throughout the span of that auto loan. Also, I don't suffer from "keeping up with the Jones's" syndrome.

Last week, I made a point to count all the kinds of trucks on the roads (I normally pay almost no attention to these things). I excluded big rigs and box trucks, etc, just counted PU trucks, and I didn't take an exact count, but over the course of about 20 minutes I probably spotted roughly ~100 trucks. Out of those, I saw ~3-5 total big (full size) 2-door trucks (only 1 of them was a std cab, the rest were ext cab), only 2 old 80s or 90s small trucks (like the Toyota SR5) and literally all the rest were big 4-door trucks (so about 93%) and nearly all of them had no tools or equipment in the bed and nothing attached to that tow hitch and only one occupant: a lonely bro who enslaved himself to a massive debt for what purpose?

Everybody's in a fantasyland, wishful thinking mode, dreaming what they want as opposed to what they actually need.

I truly believe that Slate is going to be big, especially with growing companies needing fleet trucks to do basic install/repair work around town and little startup companies that just need that first truck. AM/FM radio not required. Long battery range not required. Huge payload rating not required. Huge towing capability not required. Off-roading winch not required. AWD not required. Oil changes not required. Radiator coolant not required. Dealer markups not required. Sales commission not required. Insecure bro masculinity-signalling not required.

Another reason Slate will be big with companies is the easy repairability: if a worker bashes into a telephone pole, they can self-swap out a fender or tailgate panel in an hour with common tools as opposed to sending the truck to a professional body shop for several days. And why pay for paint when you're just going to slap on a vinyl wrap with all your company info on it? Companies with multiple Slate Trucks in their fleet can stock fenders and vinyl wrap panels ready for install that day, making upkeep a breeze.

I also believe this concept is going to be way more popular with regular folk like me than the naysayers think. Everybody, literally everybody, is sick and tired of car prices. SA will introduce another model (I predict a small 2-door sedan with a smaller battery and smaller price), not an SUV or minivan) and within 5 yrs will open another factory.

The modularity and simplicity of the Slate Auto business model is WAAAAAAAAAY overdue.