Slate announces Tesla supercharger access + 4,000 service / repair shops RepairPal partnership!

[Dorbiman]

Possibly, but then why make it public. It makes no sense and is a lose-lose situation. The way I see it there really is no negotiation leverage on Slate's part because of the tight schedule and production tooling is set (or should be set). If SK On says pound sand on a price reduction, sit looks bad on her. If she then has to switch suppliers to lower the Truck MSRP, she delays the schedule it looks bad on her. If it's just a BS tactic and seen as such, she it looks bad on her. If I'm Slate's other suppliers, I take a different posture with dealing with the company.

I think it's not as big of a deal as it seems. My take on it was that Slate is looking to secure more battery capacity from other suppliers, now that other OEMs have backed off a bit. Many OEMs do this today with batteries. The ID.4 had both LG Chem and SK. The Mach E used both NMC and LFP batteries during the same model year. It looks like Slate is looking to do the same; redundant supply. I don't see them doing a 100% pivot away from SK, I see them trying to get more capacity secured.

 

[Dorbiman]

I am referring to this quote, “What we’ve done is we’ve stepped back and surveyed multiple battery suppliers, and what we’re seeing is there are others in the industry that are pulling back as well on their EV launch plans—so it’s opening up capacity,” Barman said. “So we’re going out and seeing…taking survey on what’s there, and see what we can do to look at pricing.” I read that as trying to find a lower-cost battery (cell) supplier. Again, why the need to make such things public, if only to try and instill in us prospective customers Slate is trying to reduce its parts costs to achieve a low MSRP in reaction to the lost EV tax credit at the consumer tier. They should be trying to reduce parts costs regardless of current US tax policy. My opinion of course.

I don't assume that they would pass savings on the consumer. Again, I don't think it matters that this is public, and I don't think SK On cares at all either, if Slate continues to buy the batteries per their contract. But like you said, just my opinion.

 

[cadblu]

As for the RepairPal thing, we can each make up our own minds on that. Here's a link where you can find RepairPal network stations near you. Personally - this almost looks like an April Fools prank. Yea sure, I'll take my Slate to the muffler shop for a battery repair. In my book, this is a capital letters FAIL on the service issue.

RepairPal is definitely a non-starter for me. Incidentally, they were recently acquired by Yelp. So they next time you are looking to have accessories added to your Slate, I'm sure they will cheerfully refer you to a nearby restaurant with a 4-star rating. Want fries with that lift kit?

 

[zipn]

RepairPal is definitely a non-starter for me. Incidentally, they were recently acquired by Yelp. So they next time you are looking to have accessories added to your Slate, I'm sure they will cheerfully refer you to a nearby restaurant with a 4-star rating. Want fries with that lift kit?

YELP is a racket! I have a friend with a small business. YELP extorts fees, etc - to get placed in searches. Can't trust them.

 

[cadblu]

YELP is a racket! I have a friend with a small business. YELP extorts fees, etc - to get placed in searches. Can't trust them.

Wonder if Yelp inflates the ratings for their listed repair shops. I've dealt with a few for my other vehicles and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Slate may want to reconsider if the service / repair centers tarnish their reputation. There is a lot at stake here.

 

[atx_ev]

some advertisement somewhere slate wrote 200+ repair shops, so they for sure know the network for 4000 is not the number.

 

[AKrietzer]

Does anyone else have trouble getting repairpal to find their shops? I put in my city, state and zip code, and a make of car, and it doesn't show any locations. I even zoomed out and don't see anything in the US. Does it only show a certain distance? I had never heard of them.

 

[Whitesands]

Does anyone else have trouble getting repairpal to find their shops? I put in my city, state and zip code, and a make of car, and it doesn't show any locations. I even zoomed out and don't see anything in the US. Does it only show a certain distance? I had never heard of them.

I found the same problem. I did find some in a city an hour away, mostly chain tire shops of which there is one in my town. I plan to use local for the simple stuff, just not sure about battery and HV type repair.

 

[KevinRS]

On the batteries, they already have a contract, so it's doubtful they were pressuring for a renegotiation, or that it would be a bad sign of where they are with design. Mentioning it publicly, they could easily be farther with it than they let on, or it could be for more production capacity, and maybe different battery options 6 months or more into production.

 

[E90400K]

I think making the topic public is simply an indication where Slate is on battery cost relative to the sunseting of the $7,500 consumer tax credit.

Slate was heavily relying on the tax credit to achieve its retail price of "under $20,000" for a bare-bones, single-color-choice, low-content, short-range, EV pickup truck.

At now $27,500, the economics for the stripped platform, manual windows meme is a harder sell. Add $5,000 for the DIY 2-door SUV kit, $500 for a DIY wrap kit, and $3,500 for the 240-mile battery, and that price puts you well into about 20 or so different small SUV that have 4 doors, paint, carpet, a radio, and a national dealership network for service and warranty repairs.

If Ms. Barman does not have a serious pucker factor going on, she's not operating in reality. Most SUV soccer moms don't give a shit about 3D-printing blinker light covers.

 

[cadblu]

"Add $5,000 for the DIY 2-door SUV kit, $3,500 for the 240-mile battery"

During one of the interviews (can't recall which one) it was inferred that the pricing is reversed, meaning that the ER battery is $5K and the SUV kit is $3500. The bottom line is still the same if you order both.

 

[slateya]

The announcement on repair partners was always going to be disappointing because all of the available options are disappointing.

I am a diy er through and through and do not really care. Sorry for your loss if you have to deal with shops. I have hope that if Slate is planning for good DIY Support through Slate University that they are also planning to provide good support in repair instructions, tools, and training for their service partners. Hope Springs eternal right.

Battery changes are not that big of a deal. As already pointed out it is common. Even in the ICE world. For example, the lauded Toyota 22re engine was made with two different deck heights. No indication on the outside of the difference and mixed in different models. The mixing & match game on the way to productionhas been played by OEM for generations.