Fort Worth Showing - Who's Going?

[KJRaven]

That's a lot of interesting info! I'm super curious about the battery update. It's good to hear they have an expert for trying to sell to fleets, because I get the feeling Slate's success will depend on fleet adoption.

I wish I could share. I think it is a good decision that they made. Lets just say that the decision on which battery to get will be much easier. It should be public info in June when they announce the pricing and open it up for orders.

 

[KJRaven]

So, you think the ball joint will allow angular adjustment up/down & left/right? That would be very handy, especially for a phone. I would imagine it might not be needed as much for a tablet.

Thanks again for your help.

when i was in the truck i took a quick look at the phone mount. it does have some movement, but not much. it is also probably still pre production not sure how similar it will be to the final model.
Also, if you don't have the phone that it was made (Probably iPhone) for then it isn't going to fit in the holder, and a different mount will be needed. the "T" track does offer a ton of flexibility for adding an aftermarket phone mount. personally I like the Magsafe mounting options.

 

[KevinRS]

I think yes, long term Slate needs fleets, because unless it goes wildly popular and stays that way, after some number of years, with a truck that will likely last 10+ years for many, the consumer market for new Slates may see decreasing sales, with everyone wanting one having one. Fleets will probably be what keeps them going long term. Not traditional huge fleets or cross country, but local repair, local delivery, local services.

 

[KJRaven]

I think yes, long term Slate needs fleets, because unless it goes wildly popular and stays that way, after some number of years, with a truck that will likely last 10+ years for many, the consumer market for new Slates may see decreasing sales, with everyone wanting one having one. Fleets will probably be what keeps them going long term. Not traditional huge fleets or cross country, but local repair, local delivery, local services.

it will be interesting to see. they are hoping to get multi year intent to purchase letters from fleets so that they can know what to expect. Sadly my city is not very accepting of EVs, I am going to try to purchase one for my department as a parts vehicle to replace our 2006 ranger. Once i have it in service i can loan it out to other departments that i think it would work well for.
Since it will be under $50k I won't need to take it to council for approval, which has been the road block for EV adoption. It will be a decent test for us to see if we want to buy more in the following years. $25k is basically a rounding error compared to the $2.5 million I budget for vehicle replacements each year. So it is low risk, and high reward.

 

[bloo]

The price that they are targeting is under $25,000, and there will be some changes to the battery options, i was asked to not share specifically what, but the decision resulted in a cheaper option that makes the blank slate much more appealing.

Well... some of us have wanted LFP for the basic battery.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

Well... some of us have wanted LFP for the basic battery.

🤞