Inside EVs: I Saw The Affordable Slate Truck In Person. Now I’m Worried

[Mac-Tyson]

https://insideevs.com/news/773876/slate-truck-live-impressions-china/

The article really focused on if this is truck that Americans will actually want and if it’s the type of vehicle that can compete against Chinese EVs.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

For the second part I understand that he brought up that point because local GOP Politicians were saying this was the answer to affordable Chinese EV’s. The premise of that statement I don’t agree with because both type of vehicles are designed with a different design philosophy in mind. But the issue is the author clearly thinks the Chinese EV design philosophy is the only path forward for BEVs. He seems very biased towards Chinese BEVs especially at the end when he says that we are losing so hard to China. That’s not the case Tesla Model Y and 3 are the best selling BEV’s in the US, Europe, and many other countries. They also are still competitive in China despite the higher MSRP and losing market share due to the price war. The Big 3 are slowly shifting towards EV’s they haven’t put their best foot forward with them to this point. Basically just having something on the market (with varying levels of effort) while they develop their BEVs. But I digress the fact is you can’t compare them to Chinese EV’s and there’s no point in comparing them when Slate is only selling in the US and Chinese EV’s aren’t being sold here.

The First Point this isn’t the type of Truck EV Enthusiasts want so I understand why this article and EV focused subreddits hate on the Slate Truck. But it is the type of truck that can appeal to the demographics Slate is aiming for as long as they can land at a true mid-20K price point. The fact that there’s no more vehicles in the segment means there might be less demand for them but it also means there’s no competition in that segment. People are getting tired of the market trends that have made new vehicles so expensive right now. A vehicle that goes against those same trends with a fun idea is the perfect counter culture vehicle for this moment. Plus with the demand of Kei Truck imports there’s a clear demand for this type of vehicle even in its base Blank Slate configuration. Also unlike the Kei Trucks the Slate Truck will be legal to drive in all 50 states and all highways.

The one point I agree a little bit with is about comfort. I don’t agree it needs carpeting. Like Rubber Mats are more than acceptable. But something like the comfort of the seats and amount of road noise when driving is going to be very important for the Slate Truck. Minimalist and even rugged is fine, but being just uncomfortable in general wouldn’t (but don’t think that will be the case for the production model). But outside of that, the interior just needs a feel of economical quality. Which I think the Slate Truck will achieve.

 

[KevinRS]

Goes on about if it will beat Chinese trucks, but the 2 markets are not in competition at all. Chinese aren't sold in the US, and Slate wont be sold outside the US.
He also stated the price as "under $30,000" which seems to me to be an overstatement on the price. It was planned at under 20k after the 7.5k credit, and now mid-20s.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

Goes on about if it will beat Chinese trucks, but the 2 markets are not in competition at all. Chinese aren't sold in the US, and Slate wont be sold outside the US.
He also stated the price as "under $30,000" which seems to me to be an overstatement on the price. It was planned at under 20k after the 7.5k credit, and now mid-20s.

I feel like the author heard the comments from local gop members and that just stuck in his head for comparison. The author has tested Chinese EV’s extensively in China but has never lived with them so he has a good understanding of them but not the realities of them. From my understanding from watching the podcast where he talked about this before writing the article, he’s only been shown the best parts and for short intervals. So he’s comparing a truck that isn’t on the market yet with EVs that he’s never daily drove. Honestly the author as someone who is Pro-EV should be happy that local GOP Politicians are excited for Slate. That means they will support them and Republicans buy vehicles too maybe some will choose the Slate Truck as their next vehicle. I would have preferred if the author wouldn’t have even touched this topic because it wasn’t needed and I’m glad the comments on the article are disagreeing with him on his second point and saying they are interested in the Slate Truck.

 

[GaRailroader]

I think the fact that Tesla is doing so well in China is a testament to that Chinese EVs ain’t all that. I don’t think the author has anything to worry about with Slate. They are targeting 150k copies per year, I think they will find a market for that volume.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

I think the fact that Tesla is doing so well in China is a testament to that Chinese EVs ain’t all that. I don’t think the author has anything to worry about with Slate. They are targeting 150k copies per year, I think they will find a market for that volume.

Even if they only sell half that targeted number in their first year they will still likely make the Top 5 (possibly Top 3) best selling EV Models list in the US. Which will be great press.

 

[KevinRS]

Even if they only sell half that targeted number in their first year they will still likely make the Top 5 (possibly Top 3) best selling EV Models list in the US. Which will be great press.

Trying to find some info for reference relative to that, it appears argonne national labaroatory stopped tracking sales by model in 2019. They do show for 2024 over 1.5M PEVs sold, 80% being BEVs, so 150k would be a bit under 10%. PEV incudes plug in hybrids, BEV is just Battery electric vehicles.
EVs have reached around 10% of vehicles sold.
This year through August there have been just over 1m PEVs sold, 48,725 were pickups, no 2 seaters of any kind.
According to Car and Driver, this year as of July, model rankings are
Model Y 146k
Model 3 80k
Equinox EV 27,749
Mustang Mach -E 21,785
Ioniq 5 19,092
So yeah, if Slate sells half their planned yearly output the first year, so 75k, they would probably be only behind the 2 Tesla Models. That would put them in a lot of headlines. That actually makes me wonder if their first year output will be that high, $25,000 per unit, times 75k units is approaching 2B in sales, Just funding getting the parts fast enough to make that many trucks might be a financial issue unless they have got a lot more investment in than I've heard about.

 

[Mac-Tyson]

Trying to find some info for reference relative to that, it appears argonne national labaroatory stopped tracking sales by model in 2019. They do show for 2024 over 1.5M PEVs sold, 80% being BEVs, so 150k would be a bit under 10%. PEV incudes plug in hybrids, BEV is just Battery electric vehicles.
EVs have reached around 10% of vehicles sold.
This year through August there have been just over 1m PEVs sold, 48,725 were pickups, no 2 seaters of any kind.
According to Car and Driver, this year as of July, model rankings are
Model Y 146k
Model 3 80k
Equinox EV 27,749
Mustang Mach -E 21,785
Ioniq 5 19,092
So yeah, if Slate sells half their planned yearly output the first year, so 75k, they would probably be only behind the 2 Tesla Models. That would put them in a lot of headlines. That actually makes me wonder if their first year output will be that high, $25,000 per unit, times 75k units is approaching 2B in sales, Just funding getting the parts fast enough to make that many trucks might be a financial issue unless they have got a lot more investment in than I've heard about.

Well Slate has the advantage that each Slate Truck comes off the line the exact same way with the only difference being the long range and short range batteries. It’s also a very simple design with very few parts. So I think the factory will be able to pump out that many trucks in its first year so long as they have all the necessary materials to build them.

edit: about the funding issue they’ve raised $700 Million across two fundraisers and are currently in their 3rd. The third should go a lot better since the smaller investors now know the big fish are investing in Slate since it’s now public information, plus all the hype around the brand going viral makes the pitch easier. So they will get more big fish investors but also small fish investors that should lead to their biggest investment round yet. That is so long as Slate has a good pitch to answer the question can Slate still be competitive without the Tax Credit. Which from what I’ve seen in interviews they do have a good pitch for that question.

 

[KevinRS]

Yeah, they have raised 700m, and most of that has gone to things like the factory. If you figure a significant part of the price of a vehicle goes to the parts to make it and the work done actually making it, they need a significant part of that near 2b to make that theoretical 75k trucks, on top of the money spent on the factory, design, testing, etc. Of course they don't need it all at once, and if they can get things set up in a short enough loop in the money flow, the first x trucks sold pay for the next batch's parts etc.

 

[cadblu]

Trying to find some info for reference relative to that, it appears argonne national labaroatory stopped tracking sales by model in 2019. They do show for 2024 over 1.5M PEVs sold, 80% being BEVs, so 150k would be a bit under 10%. PEV incudes plug in hybrids, BEV is just Battery electric vehicles.
EVs have reached around 10% of vehicles sold.
This year through August there have been just over 1m PEVs sold, 48,725 were pickups, no 2 seaters of any kind.
According to Car and Driver, this year as of July, model rankings are
Model Y 146k
Model 3 80k
Equinox EV 27,749
Mustang Mach -E 21,785
Ioniq 5 19,092
So yeah, if Slate sells half their planned yearly output the first year, so 75k, they would probably be only behind the 2 Tesla Models. That would put them in a lot of headlines. That actually makes me wonder if their first year output will be that high, $25,000 per unit, times 75k units is approaching 2B in sales, Just funding getting the parts fast enough to make that many trucks might be a financial issue unless they have got a lot more investment in than I've heard about.

You're raising a very valid point concerning factory output at Slate Auto. The subassembly and final assembly lines are yet to be built. We've seen the 'current state' of the ongoing demolition and outfitting the factory in recent news articles. Although they have simulated mockups and prototypes in place, and unless they are purposely holding back on progress photos, they are most likely not ready for anything near 75k units especially in the first year. Don't expect a lot of automation in the Slate factory in year 1 as production tooling still needs to be proved out.

Any benchmark comparison to Model Y output is pure fiction, considering Tesla's deep experience, highly automated factories and robotics. Hopefully Slate will get there someday, but there is going to be a lot of growing pains.

 

[Paul]

I like how everyone is always so upset that it doesn't have four doors. It's like nearly every vehicle sold in the US has four doors, Every truck here has a bathtub bed with four doors, only the rest of it is giant so you can't fit it anywhere, climb into the bed, and it guzzles a ton of fuel. Somehow this awkward thing has become the standard of what everyone wants. Every SUV looks exactly the same, with four doors. It's just nice to have someone designing something different. If someone doesn't like the Slate, there's 99% of the car market to choose from of vehicles that all look exactly the same. Why make this one of that. There's at least some of the market that wants something different. Configuration is about perfect for me. The philosophy is about perfect for me. I'm sure there are others out there.