Interview: Sandy Munro calls Slate genius and a disruptor

[<3 Crank Windows]

SUMMARY (via AI)

Comprehensive Expanded Summary

• 🛠 Recar to Slate: A Startup’s Unconventional Launchpad
  The company now known as Slate began as Recar, incubating in a borrowed space within the speaker’s own factory. This symbolic origin underscores how community and mentorship can foster innovation. Unlike most EV startups funded by billions, Slate began almost from scratch—with a team of auto veterans and sheer grit.
  
  
• ⚡ Blitz-Scaling the EV Development Cycle
  In an industry where vehicle development typically takes half a decade or more, Slate moved from inception to crash-tested, production-ready model in just over two years. It earned a five-star safety rating (including Sorb testing), mapped out cost structures, and finalized a factory in Indiana—all on a modest budget. The speaker marvels at this pace, framing it as a modern echo of America’s WWII industrial feats.
  
  
• 🪓 Radical Minimalism: How to Profit from a $20K EV
  Slate's model is the antithesis of Tesla or Rivian. Rather than starting at the high-end to offset costs, they launched with a $20,000 utility EV. The path to profitability required stripping the vehicle down to its core—removing every non-essential system and designing for simplicity and adaptability. This extreme cost discipline is the only way to make money at that price point.
  
  
• 🔧 Innovation in Manufacturing: Tailor-Welded Blanks and Functional Modularity
  Slate’s manufacturing approach reflects high-efficiency thinking. Tailor-welded blanks allow multiple thicknesses of steel to be joined before stamping—saving material and reducing scrap. Additionally, the vehicle’s modular design lets it convert from a truck to an SUV in 75 minutes using wrap panels, a feature unmatched by other automakers. It’s smart, frugal engineering at its best.
  
  
• 🧑‍🏫 Veteran Leadership with Vision, Not Ego
  The team includes former engineers from Chrysler, GM, Ford, Honda, and Toyota. Eric Kyper, founder and lead engineer, is particularly praised for his talent and humility. Despite being courted by other firms, he chose to build Slate independently, valuing freedom and the creative process over corporate prestige. This type of leadership, the speaker argues, is what differentiates real innovators from corporate climbers.
  
  
• 📈 An Auto Reveal That Let the Product Speak
  At Slate’s launch event, the trucks themselves were the stars—rolling out one after another without theatrics. Unlike traditional reveals, which feature models, speeches, and scripted demos, this event felt authentic. The emphasis was on substance over flash, earning genuine excitement and respect from the speaker and attendees.
  
  
• 📚 Strategic Warfare in Business: From Sun Tzu to Christensen
  Slate’s market entry is guided by military and business theory. Drawing from The Art of War, they “attack where the enemy is not”—building a class of vehicle no other EV startup has pursued. Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma also looms large, suggesting that true disruption begins at the bottom, not the top. Slate’s model echoes how Japanese and Korean automakers once entered the U.S. market with inexpensive compacts before dominating entire segments.
  
  
• 🧨 The Demise of Giants: GM as a Modern Parable
  In 1960, GM held over 60% of the U.S. market. Today, that share is around 12–13%. The speaker blames this collapse not on competition, but internal decay: MBAs chasing bonuses, executives avoiding risk, and a loss of product passion. He warns that without radical cultural reform, other legacy automakers will meet the same fate.
  
  
• 🧪 Tesla’s Forced Innovation as Blueprint for Slate
  Tesla succeeded partly because traditional suppliers refused to work with them. As a result, they were “forced” into vertical integration—designing their own seats, HVAC systems, and production tooling. These hardships became strengths. The speaker believes Slate is walking a similar path, by necessity, and that this will ultimately give it a competitive edge.
  
  
• ❤ Cultural DNA: Builders, Not Bureaucrats
  What truly defines Slate, according to the speaker, isn’t just strategy or technology—it’s culture. The team is composed of people driven by craftsmanship and challenge, not title or salary. These are inventors and builders who care deeply about their work. And in today’s corporate landscape, that ethos is rare and deeply powerful.

 

[Cody]

Man, how can you not be anything but excited about Slate Auto and the Slate Truck after hearing this interview. Q4 2026 - Q1 2027 can't come soon enough...

Looking forward to Sandy Munro's walk through of Slate's engineering facilities next week!

 

[cvollers]

So impressed. After years of working in organizations completely focused on internal politics and infighting for promotion (and meetings for the sake of having meetings), it’s great to hear that Slate is taking a fresh approach built on passion for the product.

 

[Mad Mac]

The Model T of EVs.
The first mass-affordable EV.

"Any color the customer wants,
as long as it's black" Henry Ford

 

[TabulaRasaMotors]

I think they will have a winner on their hands if they can execute.

 

[Tran]

That's what I kept thinking of while listening to the positive stuff about Slate and the truck. I was wholly entertained the whole time by Munro's praise and how different Slate's approach is compared to the usual the automotive business dogmas.

 

[E90400K]

The Model T of EVs.
The first mass-affordable EV.

"Any color the customer wants,
as long as it's black" Henry Ford

But that is my takeaway. Sandy asked "Why didn't Toyota start out with a Lexus?" Implying other start ups begin with a top-tier product. Well, the Model T is the example Ford did (basically) start with a bottom market product as it was the follow-up to the 1903 Model A. But the Model T price was a factor of its manufacturing on the moving assembly line that drastically cut production costs rather than content. It's not a direct comparison, IMO.

 

[E90400K]

So impressed. After years of working in organizations completely focused on internal politics and infighting for promotion (and meetings for the sake of having meetings), it’s great to hear that Slate is taking a fresh approach built on passion for the product.

Been there, lived that. I do agree on the Harvard MBA comments. Lol.

 

[cvollers]

But that is my takeaway. Sandy asked "Why didn't Toyota start out with a Lexus?" Implying other start ups begin with a top-tier product. Well, the Model T is the example Ford did (basically) start with a bottom market product as it was the follow-up to the 1903 Model A. But the Model T price was a factor of its manufacturing on the moving assembly line that drastically cut production costs rather than content. It's not a direct comparison, IMO.

I think the point is that the Model T only came one way: standard. One color (black) and one set of features. The Slate takes that idea and adds the ability to customize it DIY and add more battery capacity from the factory. People who love to work on their cars are going to have a field day with this thing.

 

[cvollers]

Been there, lived that. I do agree on the Harvard MBA comments. Lol.

Look what listening to MBAs almost did to Ford at Le Mans.

 

[E90400K]

I think the point is that the Model T only came one way: standard. One color (black) and one set of features. The Slate takes that idea and adds the ability to customize it DIY and add more battery capacity from the factory. People who love to work on their cars are going to have a field day with this thing.

I do wish it will be available with electric mirrors. I've not seen that as an option. I think it is a safety issue. Electric mirrors would not add much cost to the Slate if included as standard equipment. I'm not sure how many people here have actually owned or used a car with manual roll-down windows and manually adjusted mirrors, but it's a PITA to adjust the passenger mirror. If the doors have electric locks standard, then there is a wire harness into the door already. Parts bin switch and mirror motors have to be cheap at this point in automotive history.

 

[E90400K]

Look what listening to MBAs almost did to Ford at Le Mans.

Lol. I'll just go with what they did to me personally and the company I worked for.

 

[cvollers]

I do wish it will be available with electric mirrors. I've not seen that as an option. I think it is a safety issue. Electric mirrors would not add much cost to the Slate if included as standard equipment. I'm not sure how many people here have actually owned or used a car with manual roll-down windows and manually adjusted mirrors, but it's a PITA to adjust the passenger mirror. If the doors have electric locks standard, then there is a wire harness into the door already. Parts bin switch and mirror motors have to be cheap at this point in automotive history.

Agreed...this should be an option if not standard equipment. Even my incredibly simple FJ has power mirrors (and windows too). That said, unfortunately there are a lot of drivers out there who never use their side mirrors...I'm hoping Slate makes it easier for people to use their side mirrors correctly.

 

[E90400K]

Agreed...this should be an option if not standard equipment. Even my incredibly simple FJ has power mirrors (and windows too). That said, unfortunately there are a lot of drivers out there who never use their side mirrors...I'm hoping Slate makes it easier for people to use their side mirrors correctly.

I'm assuming the mirrors are fixed glass with adjustable heads. Fine for the driver's mirror, PITA on the passenger side.