Is the timing of Slate's rollout in Winter 2026 a good decision?

[sodamo]

You're gunning for a rail trip across America with your Slate in the rear...admit it.

Yup
back in 2005 I shipped my vehicles Atlanta to Hawaii. Went by rail to Ca port.

 

[Letas]

Why wouldn’t delivery be a combination rail and truck?

Pretty likely it will be, unless they strike a deal with a carrier.

 

[AZFox]

Storms out west shut down major shipping lanes every winter. Not unheard of for I80 and I90 to close for a week straight. Guess how we get trucks from Warsaw to the west coast?

My guess: by rail.

Rail is a far more efficient, as well as more environmentally-friendly option for transporting light vehicles compared to trucks.

 

[GaRailroader]

As WI native who's been shipped all over...
Midwesterners don't know what a snowstorm is (at least in the last 20 years!) Storms out west shut down major shipping lanes every winter. Not unheard of for I80 and I90 to close for a week straight. Guess how we get trucks from Warsaw to the west coast?

Also, even a 12hr disruption can throw off a shipping schedule. Miss an appointment today, wait overnight, clocks up and time for a 34hr reset... Easy to compound these.

Most autos ship via rail from the plant to regional mixing centers where they are subsequently loaded on trucks for the last mile. The rail carrier that services the Warsaw plant has more auto plants on its network than any other railroad in the US.

 

[hbuck]

Having experience with EVs, I am questioning Slate's decision to begin deliveries in the winter months. As EV owners know all too well, extreme cold weather conditions are very harsh on range and battery efficiency. This being the first EV purchase for many, I think a winter rollout will not bode well for Slate's initial reliability perceptions.

I appreciate that time to market is important, and beating out other contenders was part of Slate's strategy. With setting up a new assembly plant and filling all the open jobs, 18 months was the logical target to begin production deliveries.

That said, I think it would be wise for Slate to rollout early deliveries in warmer climate states, e.g. California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, etc. This strategy would reduce some of the potentially bad publicity associated with EVs in extreme cold weather. The rest of us will need to wait until Spring / Summer 2027. But I was expecting that anyway.

I would love to pick up my Slate in Indiana in May 2026. I even up in the north starting in May through September. Then if I could pick up my Slate in early/mid may that is ready to be four gown on my RV it would be great!

 

[Doctors Do Little]

I would love to pick up my Slate in Indiana in May 2026. I even up in the north starting in May through September. Then if I could pick up my Slate in early/mid may that is ready to be four gown on my RV it would be great!

That would seem ideal. (I'm happy to hear you live north of TX in the summers, too!)