Playing devil's advocate here, comparing Slate Truck vs. Ford Maverick

[Swinefuzz]

The whole video was riddled with errors and bias and insinuations and bro posturing. Suggests the Slate Truck would get poor safety ratings due to lacking other features, like more doors? Huh? Says not driving a 4 door indicates you have no friends to haul around. Oh, okay. Even suggested that a car that runs on FREE SOLAR ENERGY is impractical. His reasoning just doesn't make any sense. It's all about having swagger and attitude.

 

[cvollers]

Yet, isn't that Slate's core target market, young'uns?

Maybe, maybe not. It’s a target segment but not their only target segment. Anyone trying to fit the square Slate into a round family vehicle hole is flat out wrong. Young families looking for a family hauler are not the Slate target.

 

[Letas]

Maybe, maybe not. It’s a target segment but not their only target segment. Anyone trying to fit the square Slate into a round family vehicle hole is flat out wrong. Young families looking for a family hauler are not the Slate target.

Yeah, I think this misses the “youngns” market pretty bad.

Can’t effectively haul family.
Needs a home to charge it.
Perfect “second car”.

Not really in touch with the current <40yo market

 

[cvollers]

Yeah, I think this misses the “youngns” market pretty bad.

Can’t effectively haul family.
Needs a home to charge it.
Perfect “second car”.

Not really in touch with the current <40yo market

Unless your single young’n is buying their first new car in which case it’s perfect for moving into that first apartment…the one with charge stalls in the garage.

 

[MaverickResource]

We just purchased a 25 maverick lariat hybrid AWD. It’s an awesome vehicle. Seeing low 40s mpg around town and 30s on the highway. Loaded with tech. Comfortable, quiet but has a lot of utility… 1500 lb payload and 4k towing.

we also have a Slate reservation.

the Slate won’t replace the maverick… it compliments it. The Slate will be our around town car while the maverick will handle our highway trips and cruising, sometimes AWD drives and or our sometimes towing hauling needs. Once we get the Slate the mav will get little use and should last 20+ years.

we like the efficiency and displaced emissions of an EV, and the low cost + simple tech and DIY nature of the basic slate is all we want. our 150 mile range slate will have no wrap, decals or mods other than maybe the suv topper with no rear seat or roll bar / or bed cover and I’ll add some speakers and a double din stereo with wireless CarPlay. Might even keep the roll up windows

Im with you on this concept. We have our Maverick (for truck purposes) and an EV for the everyday around town car

 

[MaverickResource]

You may be confusing "features" for "value." Value is going to be different for everyone. I will never need to haul a little league team 500 miles on dirt roads with a trailer. The Maverick may offer that as a feature, but I would value that capability at exactly zero dollars. The things I do value that are swaying me towards the Slate? The simplicity of an EV drivetrain. What we should be comparing is the Lightning, Silverado EV, Scout, or Rivian R1T. Of course, the video would have to be "which is better, 3 Slates or 1 Rivian?"

lol, good stuff here. I mostly agree

 

[MaverickResource]

The whole video was riddled with errors and bias and insinuations and bro posturing. Suggests the Slate Truck would get poor safety ratings due to lacking other features, like more doors? Huh? Says not driving a 4 door indicates you have no friends to haul around. Oh, okay. Even suggested that a car that runs on FREE SOLAR ENERGY is impractical. His reasoning just doesn't make any sense. It's all about having swagger and attitude.

The swagger and attitude are just natural.

what is this non-sense you are talking about solar and impractical etc? (I've had an EV for years and solar...I am down for that...hence me being on the Slate forum)

my point is I think they are asking too much for the slate at $27500...

I want a SLATE...I just dont see the value at that price when there are other trucks AND EVs I think are a better bang for your buck

 

[MaverickResource]

Maverick prices have risen recently due to tariff issues (the Maverick is made in Mexico). I just priced a 2025 Maverick like yours (Lariat trim, Hybrid AWD, 4K tow package) at Ford's "Build & Price" site. Results:

$38,440 Base MSRP (assuming no dealer markup)
$745 for 4K Tow package (no other options)
$1,695 Destination charges
$695 Acquisition fee

Total = $41,575 MSRP and fees

I'm sure it's a great little truck, but seems like a Slate has room to undercut it on price, even in the (likely) event that the federal EV tax credit goes away.

The cheapest Maverick I can build now is $30,535 MSRP with fees. That's for an XL with FWD and no towing package or other options. I wouldn't be surprised if a Slate, even with some options and no tax credit, turns out to be priced competitively.

Def fair points here. Looking at Maverick prices raising is a little discouraging. When first released, it was an AMAZING value.

 

[GaRailroader]

How is solar energy free?

I suppose if you are over producing and you don’t have net metering then if you don’t put it in your EV batteries then you are giving to the utility for free. There are EV chargers that can be configured to use over production for EV charging. I do have net metering on my solar array so I sell over production to the utility and buy it back between 11p and 7a at 6.2 cents per kWh to charge my EVs.

 

[metroshot]

Price parity between gas cars and EVs hasn’t happened yet though we are getting closer. .....

More geographic location for comparing price difference which is huge in So Calif.

I pay a lot less EV charging using Tesla Superchargers ($0.31/kWh) than charging at home ($0.61/kWh).

And to add insult, gas prices are now $6.00 gallon.

Hate to say it, but I haven't had a $400 gasoline month in over 3 years.

 

[cvollers]

I suppose if you are over producing and you don’t have net metering then if you don’t put it in your EV batteries then you are giving to the utility for free. There are EV chargers that can be configured to use over production for EV charging. I do have net metering on my solar array so I sell over production to the utility and buy it back between 11p and 7a at 6.2 cents per kWh to charge my EVs.

I think what he means is that solar requires an investment to actually be able to capture the energy. There is always a cost, but typically a fixed cost not a variable cost like electricity you buy off the grid.

 

[Swinefuzz]

You made it seem like there were no safety standards in the Slate.

Minimize or deny the obvious positive traits of the competition to make oneself seem superior. Some people can only "win" by cheating, but then it isn't really winning at all. Half the human race has a painful and humiliating lesson to learn.

 

[Swinefuzz]

Crabs in a bucket.

Out of control Capitalism, in this case Big Auto and Big Oil, their lobbyists and govt cronies, have trapped us all in a bucket. They are in the business selling cars to make money. Fine. Capitalism isn't bad. Ultra-greedy Capitalism is. They are only happy with HUGE PROFIT$ (some car prices are literally about 50% profit) and will do anything possible to maintain that business environment. Big Auto has dragged their feet on clean, cheap energy because they are in league with Big Oil who has what the world needs, energy, and no one has bigger profits than Big Oil. The marketers for these industries manipulate our emotions by suggesting we aren't real men unless we have a huge truck with a loud, rumbling engine and an expensive tow package. Most people who own really big trucks don't use them for hauling or towing, they use them for social messaging.

The Tow Bro's video is typical CBM, Crabs in a Bucket Mentality.

The Slate Truck is the first modern vehicle I've considered purchasing in over 25 yrs. I want to switch to electric for a multitude of reasons. I don't work daily in construction anymore, so I don't need big towing power. I don't need to haul my friends or family to my workplace, so I don't need a 4 door that seats 5 or 7 or 10. I don't need to intimidate other commuters with a monster truck. I don't need a truck I can't repair or maintain myself. I don't need big screens to distract me from the road, from my overwhelming car payment, from the present moment. And I don't want to pollute the air I breathe.

If you think like the Tow Bro, Big Auto and Big Oil want you to think, you put yourself in the bucket.

 

[GaRailroader]

More geographic location for comparing price difference which is huge in So Calif.

I pay a lot less EV charging using Tesla Superchargers ($0.31/kWh) than charging at home ($0.61/kWh).

And to add insult, gas prices are now $6.00 gallon.

Hate to say it, but I haven't had a $400 gasoline month in over 3 years.

I was referring to acquisition cost not operating cost. Clearly cost to operate EV is much lower than cost to operate ICE. I pay 6.2 cents per kWh in Georgia. Electricity is an order of magnitude cheaper in Georgia with home charging versus buying gas. Add to that the almost no maintenance required on an EV and the pros add up.

 

[GeoLogic]

Lamentably, questioning the "free" character of solar is entirely valid. Costs for even a modest home PV array are presently so high you will never recoup the up-front investment required over the ~25 year useful life of such a system. And it's only a matter of time before utilities start refusing to pay for net metering. As PV costs eventually do come down all the further, the density of home systems will increase sufficiently where utilities can't sustain paying for everyone's generation any longer, so they'll just up and stop doing it. Just watch.

We installed our system mostly for energy independence-- Carbon reduction for us in the hydroelectric PNW is lesser of a practical factor. But for week-long power outages, such as we sustained during several ice storms these past multiple years, and if Cascadia were to go full-margin, we have reliable electricity to sustain all of our home operations. And with an EV, we'd also sustain ability to drive about. In an M9 event here in Oregon, you can say goodbye to gasoline measured in months at minimum: We have no refining in the entire state, and all of our fuel is piped in from Washington. It's astonishingly vulnerable. So there's yet another reason why I wish to own an electric vehicle, especially one as practical as the Slate promises to be. In a pinch it could handle family of four transport, hauling... Everything one might need in a local emergency. The Maverick would be a useless 45 thousand dollar brick, with no gasoline. No thanks.