From a design point of view, what limits the slate to 1000 pounds towing capacity

[atx_ev]

is it axles? Battery? motor? etc

Someone posted about the toyota IMV 0/hilux champ concept. It is 12K in 3rd world markets because they have stripped everything. Crank windows, 2 doors, no radio, etc. Very much the same philosophy as the slate.

It mentions things like no ABS makes it easier for upfitters to put a beefier axle in.

When we talk about payload and towing, what is the limiting factor?

I do think people might underestimate the "upfitter" market in the sense that upfitters want a stripped down vehicle that they can build up. vs having to strip it down first.

 

[AZFox]

One possibility: brakes

 

[E90400K]

It's a small, lightweight unibody design, is my guess. Brakes on the Munro video seemed pretty beefy, but that is a good guess to. Heck it might just be a range limiting factor.

 

[AZFox]

It's a small, lightweight unibody design,

The slateboard design is not unibody.

 

[E90400K]

The slateboard design is not unibody.

I'd not call it a pure EV skateboard either. It's really in my view a spaceframe w/ bolt-on plastic panels design similar to the Fiero. Maybe it should be called a "skateframe"(?). But the point is the Slate design is not a true body-on-frame, which allows for higher towing capacities.

From a towing perspective I look at the frame design as closer to a unibody than a body-on-frame.

 

[AZFox]

I'd not call it a pure EV skateboard either

Eric Keipper explains what it is in the Rich Rebuilds video.

 

[Whitesands]

Likely frame, since its capped to 1000 like some that used to have bumper hitches. Of course, it could be they haven't tested it since none of the protos have a hitch on them.

 

[AZFox]

My take:

The reason the Truck can only pull 1,000 pounds is because it's an economy car, either in a pickup or an SUV form factor, with as little as 820 pounds of load-carrying capacity.

Economy cars don't pull heavy trailers.

Edit: To put it another way, it's not some specific Truck attribute, it's just the nature of this particular beast, because low price (cost-of-ownership) is a top priority in its design.

 

[atx_ev]

My take:

The reason the Truck can only pull 1,000 pounds is because it's an economy car, either in a pickup or an SUV form factor, with as little as 820 pounds of load-carrying capacity.

Economy cars don't pull heavy trailers.

Edit: To put it another way, it's not some specific Truck attribute, it's just the nature of this particular beast, because low price (cost-of-ownership) is a top priority in its design.

but which parts (design choices) of it limit the towing or payload?

 

[AZFox]

but which parts (design choices) of it limit the towing or payload?

What I'm saying is: Any and all.

Pick your favorite. When making that choice they chose not to increase cost to achieve extra towing capacity.

Edit:
They're Systems Thinkers that determined parameters, including towing capacity, and designed to those parameters.

Bonus feature of that: IMHO abstract parameters like "the experience of owning, driving, and riding in the Truck" were given more-than-usual priority.