pricing, demand next year, not sure about ordering

[cds]

I'm leaning towards the SUV kit and a heavy duty cargo net in place of a bulkhead. That way, I can use it either as a cargo van with seats removed or as an SUV with the seats installed and cargo net removed. A minivan version would be optimal for me but alas.... 🤷‍♂️

Has Slate confirmed that the seats can be removed from the SUV? When I asked customer service about a year ago, they said that wasn't possible, and in recent videos Eric Keipper has talked about the sensors that detect whether the SUV kit is installed correctly and with all parts in the correct order. I'm not clear on what happens if the sensors detect that all the parts are NOT installed. So far I haven't seen confirmation that the no-rear-seat SUV configuration is going to be doable, but I'm very much hoping that changes.

 

[Kopsis]

If Slate ends up struggling to make sales to the point they're discounting more than 20%, would you really feel comfortable buying one at that point? Companies don't get healthy selling at a loss. It's usually a desperate attempt at life-support while the pivot to a different product or strategy.

 

[cadblu]

Has Slate confirmed that the seats can be removed from the SUV? When I asked customer service about a year ago, they said that wasn't possible, and in recent videos Eric Keipper has talked about the sensors that detect whether the SUV kit is installed correctly and with all parts in the correct order. I'm not clear on what happens if the sensors detect that all the parts are NOT installed. So far I haven't seen confirmation that the no-rear-seat SUV configuration is going to be doable, but I'm very much hoping that changes.

If what you are suggesting turns out to be true, I don’t think it will be long until some clever folks here figure out a way to trick the sensor into a positive state, that the rear seat is installed.

Just to be clear, I’m not endorsing this idea, nor will I be attempting it.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

If what you are suggesting turns out to be true, I don’t think it will be long until some clever folks here figure out a way to trick the sensor into a positive state, that the rear seat is installed.

Just to be clear, I’m not endorsing this idea, nor will I be attempting it.

Yeah, that's why I'm hoping that the seats folded down with a big mat on top will suffice for light duty truck things.

 

[Gozer]

Everything you express in your post leads me to believe your making this decision based on fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of what could happen, fear of Slate failing. Fear of manual windows.
I get it, Slate is a startup. History reveals a graveyard of EV startups.
Maybe you should just sit back and see what happens the first year.

Or live boldly and go for the ride.
In 2022 I took a chance on another startup and bought an Arcimoto FUV for a twenty-two mile (one way) work commute.
Thirty-two thousand miles in four years and I have absolutely no regrets.
Yes the company is no longer in production, but there are people still making a living repairing, maintaining service, modifying, buying and selling new and used FUV's. My ride is better now than when I bought it.
Arcimoto owners are doing better than Fisker owners.

Slate is a whole level of magnitude higher in engineering, leadership, and execution than any other startup and that reflects in their funding. My opinion is Slate is a solid bet.
I've been commuting with my FUV waiting for someone to make an EV that can replace my 1997 RAV4.
I'm not spending $60K+ on a Cybertruck or a Rivian and I'm never going to a legacy auto dealership ever again.
I take delivery of my Slate SUV in six to eight months and look forward to it as a compliment to my Arcimoto.

 

[Goodyear]

There are legitimate concerns about whether a one model electric vehicle start up will ultimately survive. If you want to look at real world cases the conditions that are required for success are 1) sufficient capitalization (can they live for 3-4 years with higher costs, lower sales, external threats (recession etc) 2) is the product any good? Reliable-appealing to enough customers 3) public perception of continued and future success and financial stability 4) evolution and growth of their business model to bring new products, excitement and product development to the market in a reasonable time frame.
Frankly Slate’s chances of success are going to be determined by the same measures that have determined most business’s success, particularly since they don’t have a carnival barker like Elon to sell a dream.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

There are legitimate concerns about whether a one model electric vehicle start up will ultimately survive. If you want to look at real world cases the conditions that are required for success are 1) sufficient capitalization (can they live for 3-4 years with higher costs, lower sales, external threats (recession etc) 2) is the product any good? Reliable-appealing to enough customers 3) public perception of continued and future success and financial stability 4) evolution and growth of their business model to bring new products, excitement and product development to the market in a reasonable time frame.
Frankly Slate’s chances of success are going to be determined by the same measures that have determined most business’s success, particularly since they don’t have a carnival barker like Elon to sell a dream.

Rationally, it is idiocy to be an early adopter.

But, I realllyyyyy like the ethos of Slate, so I'm in. Let's hope 140K of my friends join...ANNUALLY

 

[tubes]

Rationally, it is idiocy to be an early adopter.

But, I realllyyyyy like the ethos of Slate, so I'm in. Let's hope 140K of my friends join...ANNUALLY

Exactly!

I've been so damn financially conservative my entire life. I over-analyze every single purchase over $10. I keep cars a minimum of 15 years. My dear wife always talks to the manager at the store and gets manager specials. We wear clothes way too long. It is fatiguing. This has to stop, we need to live it up before we die. Time to tap into some emotion.

This is my mid life crisis car delayed 20 years. I'm going for it, but not with a Vette. Instead, with a plastic gray truck!

 

[RedJoker]

Has Slate confirmed that the seats can be removed from the SUV? When I asked customer service about a year ago, they said that wasn't possible, and in recent videos Eric Keipper has talked about the sensors that detect whether the SUV kit is installed correctly and with all parts in the correct order. I'm not clear on what happens if the sensors detect that all the parts are NOT installed. So far I haven't seen confirmation that the no-rear-seat SUV configuration is going to be doable, but I'm very much hoping that changes.

That's a good point. I've always heard that the seats require the roll bar to be installed, not that the roll bar requires the seats to be installed. Do the seats have airbags? If not, there shouldn't be an electrical connection for the truck to know if the seat is there or not.

I guess we'll all just wait and see.

 

[AZFox]

Has Slate confirmed that the seats can be removed from the SUV?

Things may have changed, but the video clip in this post has Chris Barman describing her "dogmobile" configuration as a Fastback SUV with the partition installed and rear seat removed.

That's not confirmation, but at least at one time it was anticipated to be possible.

 

[RedJoker]

If what you are suggesting turns out to be true, I don’t think it will be long until some clever folks here figure out a way to trick the sensor into a positive state, that the rear seat is installed.

Just to be clear, I’m not endorsing this idea, nor will I be attempting it.

Just to be clear, I have no idea that a simple resistor has been used to fool the system when an airbag has been removed. Maybe the newer systems have more smarts than just an open circuit detection but the older systems did not.

... or so I've heard ...

 

[Goodyear]

Rationally, it is idiocy to be an early adopter.

But, I realllyyyyy like the ethos of Slate, so I'm in. Let's hope 140K of my friends join...ANNUALLY

I agree, that’s why I put my order in. If they only make a few thousand, hold onto it for your grandkids and it will probably be worth 5 times as much as a collector item.

 

[JoeUser]

Having followed the EV market closely for many years, I suspect the Slate will hold it's value better than any other EV on the market.

1. User-friendly repairs/upgrades supported by the manufacturer. The first owner of any vehicle is mostly covered by warranty, and if anything isn't covered, will be more likely to be able to pay 'dealership' labor rates for repair. Once a vehicle is on the used market, that changes dramatically. Slate is extremely well positioned to be a good used vehicle, because DIY/independent repair is encouraged.

2. Software is hard. Besides Tesla and Rivian, nobody has managed to make and support a compelling 'software defined vehicle'. Lucid, Polestar, all the legacy OEMs, their central software stack is riddled with problems that only get worse with age as the processors degrade. Slate, in having no screens, no extra 'features' and virtually no telematics (unless optioned, and easily removed) will happily function exactly as it did on day one. You will not find yourself unable to turn off the heat because the screen is frozen, for example.

3. Technology is always changing. Most EVs are tech-forward, which leads to extremely short windows of desirability as what is cutting-edge today will be boring tomorrow. Even ICE vehicles from the 2010s are filled with tiny, awful screens and buttons that have no function after the first few years (3G dependent devices, XM/Satellite radio buttons, OnStar), or phone apps that don't function. Apps and gadgets that seem like luxuries today will be garbage and clutter a few years from now. Slate, obviously, avoids all this.

Modern EVs all suffer from these 3 issues, which has nothing to do with what makes the wheels spin... and this is before you factor in that the barebones utility pickup market has been underserved for decades, as evidence by the prices commanded by 90s single-cabs today.

TLDR: Slate resale value will likely be quite good, barring any catastrophic engineering/manufacturing hiccups.

 

[tubes]

Well I accidentally went down a rabbit hole I didn't want to go down. Somehow I got directed to Slate's Glassdoor entry. I could only read a few reviews because Glassdoor doesn't like retirees (really). From what I could see, the employees suffer all the crap a start-up suffers. Some days it isn't fun. Some take it pretty hard and report back to Glassdoor.

The point is, if you are nervous and want an excuse to worry about Slate, read the Glassdoor. If you want to press on, remember that startups are by nature chaotic and not well suited for some to work there. And startups make mistakes, some that may affect the product. Although they try to control it, we see glimpses of the chaos on the outside: employees giving conflicting responses, rapidly changing configurations, abandoned/delayed configurations like the power windows, a maker that is incomplete and sucks, US Mail swag randomly sent, and so on.

 

[Cassie]

Some of us are going to cheat the cargo top code by simply removing the rear seat and rollbar from the full SUV squared/fastback kit. Voila…no bulkhead or truck glass!

You ask lots of valid questions. My view is that $300 is a good bet that it will be a fun and useful little truck.

When Gen 2 rolls out, Gen 1 goes to one of my kids!

Whoa, doc...how do you decide between kids? 🫢 Things're 'bout to get interesting...🤣