Ford Fathom VS Slate: Everyone's Wrong (according to Tailosive)

[metroshot]

The Electric Duo said that Ford is planning on taking reservations for the Fathom in January 2027 and that deliveries would be in the Fall of 2027, so the Slate should release earlier (late 2026). When’s your order window?

One thing that Tailosive has absolutely right is that the dealerships will never sell the Fathom for MSRP, especially if there’s demand. The same thing happened with the Lightning and the Maverick. They were initially supposed to be sold for 40K and $20K, respectively. It never happened.

If you go to any legacy automaker’s website and look at their inventory you’re not going to find the base model. If you go to their car lots you’re not going to find the base model either. They usually don’t order any, because the profit margin is lower and truthfully most people usually go for the mid-range spec anyway.

I hope it sells well regardless. We need more EVs that fit different people’s needs. I hope the Slate sells well too. I don’t know why both vehicles can’t coexist. Auto sales are not a zero sum game.

My Slate window is spring 2027. I will wait for a test drive to make up my mind.

Fathom is going to open reservations in late 2026.

As for pricing at MSRP, it can be done.

Experienced it 2 times with Ford EVs that were custom ordered:

1. 2022 Lightning pre-order had to shop around to find a Ford dealer that would not mark up. Found one 2 counties away in Orange County. They were very straight forward - no games - no extra stuff added at huge markups - no APR games - honored lower APR rate from time of reservation.

2. 2023 Mach E pre-order would not honor MSRP at the Lightning dealer the year before so had to go further out to Norm Reeves in Cerritos, CA who would honor MSRP, incentives, pre-ordered APR rate, and personal cash offer coupon (PCO).

It pays to shop around because I have 8 Ford dealers close by but they would not honor MSRP pricing.

Worth the drive to find "honest" Ford dealers that don't mark up.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

My Slate window is spring 2027. I will wait for a test drive to make up my mind.

Fathom is going to open reservations in late 2026.

As for pricing at MSRP, it can be done.

Experienced it 2 times with Ford EVs that were custom ordered:

1. 2022 Lightning pre-order had to shop around to find a Ford dealer that would not mark up. Found one 2 counties away in Orange County. They were very straight forward - no games - no extra stuff added at huge markups - no APR games - honored lower APR rate from time of reservation.

2. 2023 Mach E pre-order would not honor MSRP at the Lightning dealer the year before so had to go further out to Norm Reeves in Cerritos, CA who would honor MSRP, incentives, pre-ordered APR rate, and personal cash offer coupon (PCO).

It pays to shop around because I have 8 Ford dealers close by but they would not honor MSRP pricing.

Worth the drive to find "honest" Ford dealers that don't mark up.

I think you’re making our point about Ford dealerships in general, Captain. You were 25% for honest/straightforward for long standing branded dealers. We will see how Slate plays out. They might outperform.

 

[Trace26]

My Slate window is spring 2027. I will wait for a test drive to make up my mind.

Fathom is going to open reservations in late 2026.

As for pricing at MSRP, it can be done.

Experienced it 2 times with Ford EVs that were custom ordered:

1. 2022 Lightning pre-order had to shop around to find a Ford dealer that would not mark up. Found one 2 counties away in Orange County. They were very straight forward - no games - no extra stuff added at huge markups - no APR games - honored lower APR rate from time of reservation.

2. 2023 Mach E pre-order would not honor MSRP at the Lightning dealer the year before so had to go further out to Norm Reeves in Cerritos, CA who would honor MSRP, incentives, pre-ordered APR rate, and personal cash offer coupon (PCO).

It pays to shop around because I have 8 Ford dealers close by but they would not honor MSRP pricing.

Worth the drive to find "honest" Ford dealers that don't mark up.

A lot of people don't have the time or energy to be doing all that.

 

[E90400K]

That's one consideration. Probably nearly every video on the Fathom just about has to mention the Slate, and there are probably a lot more eyes on Ford videos than Slate videos. The Fathom announcement might actually have boosted preorders for Slate.

And I think more important is when the Slate FN was revealed, it was revealed in the flesh, err... metal, I mean revealed in the Plastic! I saw the FN day one after the reveal on 4/25/25 and reserved it that day. When I saw it, it immediately hit home that the FN was EXACTLY the form factor I was looking for in a pickup truck (yup, I do wish the bed was 6-feet rather than 5). The Fathom, besides the stupid name, it's a mystery as to WTF it looks like. The UEV Ford pickup was announced a year ago and now the price was officially announced and we still have no idea what it looks like.

 

[E90400K]

Even if the Fathom had a 2-door cab configuration option, at this point still playing the "what's-it-look-like" game after the Model T moment was announced in August 2025, still would not garner interest from me, and probably a lot of us forum members.

 

[E90400K]

A lot of people don't have the time or energy to be doing all that.

Boy did I get in forum arguments about that very topic on the Bronco forums back in 2020/2021. Some Ford dealerships were promising $XXX under MSRP or $XXX over invoice. There were three dealerships in particular. Granger Ford in Iowa, Stephans in WV, and one in PA. I suggested that when counting in the time and cost for travel, the price savings were not worth the effort. Granger had a huge order take that forced Ford to admonish Granger and curtail shipments to them in lieu of the other 3,000 Ford dealerships across the country. It pissed the rest of the Ford dealerships off, which forced Ford to cut back Granger's allotments, and then the ADM started happening at some dealerships. I was lucky, my local Ford dealership was decent and kept the sales of Broncos at MSRP.

It was a fricking mess. Good that Slate is direct to consumer in that regard.

 

[SichuanHot]

I don't like Ford dealerships.

 

[Imhotep]

The video's comments are interesting.

If Ford wanted to undermine interest in the Slate with their recent announcement their plan seems to be backfiring.

Thanks for pointing this out; I hadn’t looked at the comments. Lots of love for the Slate out there (assuming it’s not only us watching this).

I hadn’t followed the Telo much but didn’t think they were ever planning to manufacture at scale. Seems like Slate is less vaporware than either Fathom or Telo and yet people are talking like you can buy all of them now.

 

[sodamo]

My Slate window is spring 2027. I will wait for a test drive to make up my mind.

Fathom is going to open reservations in late 2026.

As for pricing at MSRP, it can be done.

Experienced it 2 times with Ford EVs that were custom ordered:

1. 2022 Lightning pre-order had to shop around to find a Ford dealer that would not mark up. Found one 2 counties away in Orange County. They were very straight forward - no games - no extra stuff added at huge markups - no APR games - honored lower APR rate from time of reservation.

2. 2023 Mach E pre-order would not honor MSRP at the Lightning dealer the year before so had to go further out to Norm Reeves in Cerritos, CA who would honor MSRP, incentives, pre-ordered APR rate, and personal cash offer coupon (PCO).

It pays to shop around because I have 8 Ford dealers close by but they would not honor MSRP pricing.

Worth the drive to find "honest" Ford dealers that don't mark up.

Now imagine living on an island, 1 dealer. My friend had a Lightning on order. When it came in 2 years later, dealer want $7k over MSRP. He walked.

 

[E90400K]

Now imagine living on an island, 1 dealer. My friend had a Lightning on order. When it came in 2 years later, dealer want $7k over MSRP. He walked.

I hope your friend said "FU" when he walked. I would have.

 

[VigilKnotEagle14]

Peanut gallery here, throwing my $0.02 into the wishing well after catching up on the whole thread:

First time seeing the Ford Fathom is reading this post. First gut reaction is- ok, it's a current-styled Ford. Blends in with the Lucids, GMCs, Chevys, etc. that I commute alongside daily.

It'll be a fine vehicle. It'll suit many people.

That being said, what's the maintenance going to look like when an accessory breaks during normal or hard use? What's the repair cost going to be for parts and/or labor? Then there's the whole dealership tango alongside that.

For what I want and need, and for my lifestyle/commute, the Slate is still the vehicle for me. The DIY/ right-to-repair is huge for me and I'm willing and able to do it.

As Cubicle23 said in another post:

The Slate was always , and by design and intent, not for everyone.

And that is true for most every car. It's for someone. In this case, the Fathom isn't for me, though I am still smashing that refresh button on the community events page on Slate's website for when they're finally coming to the Midwest for even a simple touch-a-truck (WI/IL/IN) 😅

 

[metroshot]

Peanut gallery here, throwing my $0.02 into the wishing well after catching up on the whole thread:

First time seeing the Ford Fathom is reading this post. First gut reaction is- ok, it's a current-styled Ford. Blends in with the Lucids, GMCs, Chevys, etc. that I commute alongside daily.

It'll be a fine vehicle. It'll suit many people.

That being said, what's the maintenance going to look like when an accessory breaks during normal or hard use? What's the repair cost going to be for parts and/or labor? Then there's the whole dealership tango alongside that.

For what I want and need, and for my lifestyle/commute, the Slate is still the vehicle for me. The DIY/ right-to-repair is huge for me and I'm willing and able to do it.
.....

All I can tell you about maintenance is that EVs are very low compared to ICE / Hybrid / PHEV.

No dealer service needed.
Brakes will need lot less service as the regen will avoid using the friction brake pads.

My Mach E for the past 3 years only needed:

• Wiper blades
• Windshield refills
• Cabin air filter
• Set of tires at 30K miles.
• Tire rotation & balance

No oil changes, no tranny service, no spark plugs, no brake service, etc...

 

[sodamo]

I hope your friend said "FU" when he walked. I would have.

Me too, but given the history, maybe a blessing in disguise.

 

[E90400K]

All I can tell you about maintenance is that EVs are very low compared to ICE / Hybrid / PHEV.

No dealer service needed.
Brakes will need lot less service as the regen will avoid using the friction brake pads.

My Mach E for the past 3 years only needed:

• Wiper blades
• Windshield refills
• Cabin air filter
• Set of tires at 30K miles.
• Tire rotation & balance

No oil changes, no tranny service, no spark plugs, no brake service, etc...

But I'm set up for ICEV maintenance. LOL. New ICEV really don't need much periodic maintenance.

 

[AZFox]

But I'm set up for ICEV maintenance. LOL. New ICEV really don't need much periodic maintenance.

Are you set up for Ford Recalls?

MSN:
All 2026 Ford recalls by model