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

[KevinRS]

The 200 is ones authorized to work on EV high voltage systems. More of the 4000 will be able to do basic car stuff

Exactly. Unless the shop is something like a tire shop that only does tires, most slate work should be basic enough that just about any shop should be able to do it. Part of the shops probably won't do wraps though.
Even at that, I'd expect that 200 to grow even just in the next year as more shops get customers wanting other EV work done, so they get their mechanics certified or hire EV mechanics.

 

[E90400K]

Yet in the extremely rare occasion an EV will need service since it has so many less rotating parts, it may not be economical for independents to train their staff and acquire the tools and equipment needed for EV repair. In addition, most EV are sold by legacy manufacturers (even Tesla is a legacy now) and have direct access to manufacturer's training, special diagnostic tools and service equipment. This may make it difficult for independent shops to stand up EV repair capabilities because they are competing with manufacturers dealerships that are required to service the EV they sell.

If anyone paid attention to Ford when it mandated its independent franchise dealerships were required to buy-in with $1M to become a Ford EV franchise. Ford Corporate also required its EV dealers to upgrade their facilities to be LEED compliant. FoMoCo found a lot of pushback from its franchise owners because the EV sales didn't support the (forced) investment.

Perhaps Slate chose RepairPal because RepairPal was the only entity that was interested in participating vs. better known national franchise groups such as Napa, Mieneke, or Pep Boys.

 

[KevinRS]

Yet in the extremely rare occasion an EV will need service since it has so many less rotating parts, it may not be economical for independents to train their staff and acquire the tools and equipment needed for EV repair. In addition, most EV are sold by legacy manufacturers (even Tesla is a legacy now) and have direct access to manufacturer's training, special diagnostic tools and service equipment. This may make it difficult for independent shops to stand up EV repair capabilities because they are competing with manufacturers dealerships that are required to service the EV they sell.

If anyone paid attention to Ford when it mandated its independent franchise dealerships were required to buy-in with $1M to become a Ford EV franchise. Ford Corporate also required its EV dealers to upgrade their facilities to be LEED compliant. FoMoCo found a lot of pushback from its franchise owners because the EV sales didn't support the (forced) investment.

Perhaps Slate chose RepairPal because RepairPal was the only entity that was interested in participating vs. better known national franchise groups such as Napa, Mieneke, or Pep Boys.

The problem with those national franchises is they don't cover all regions. Around me there are Napa stores, but I've never seen one that does repair. Actually looking it up, the napa site lists independent shops that are affiliated. The nearest Meineke is 60+ miles away, looks like there are somewhere between 900-1400 locations nationwide. Pep Boys has 850, and they have a map on their site that shows the whole swath of northwest to midwest states they have nothing in.
The majority of service these shops will be doing will have nothing to do with the powertrain, and any shop could handle. For the HV powertrain stuff everyone seems to be worried about, it's not like especially when the warrantee is in force they will be diagnosing and replacing cells or rebuilding the motor unit. Those are going to be swaps, sure they will require certification, but with the tools, they should be relatively simple operations. Nothing like the pickups where the whole body has to be removed from the frame to get to the powertrain.

 

[E90400K]

The problem with those national franchises is they don't cover all regions. Around me there are Napa stores, but I've never seen one that does repair. Actually looking it up, the napa site lists independent shops that are affiliated. The nearest Meineke is 60+ miles away, looks like there are somewhere between 900-1400 locations nationwide. Pep Boys has 850, and they have a map on their site that shows the whole swath of northwest to midwest states they have nothing in.
The majority of service these shops will be doing will have nothing to do with the powertrain, and any shop could handle. For the HV powertrain stuff everyone seems to be worried about, it's not like especially when the warrantee is in force they will be diagnosing and replacing cells or rebuilding the motor unit. Those are going to be swaps, sure they will require certification, but with the tools, they should be relatively simple operations. Nothing like the pickups where the whole body has to be removed from the frame to get to the powertrain.

I don't even know what RepairPal is. Never heard of it until Slate announced an affiliation with them. RepairPal just seems like some accreditation entity and what are the standards they are accredited to?

The RepairPal shop closest to my home is 40 minutes away. I'll be in that neighborhood tomorrow, so I intend to put eyes on it.

But I agree with you, any reputable shop should be able to handle most issues outside of the high voltage system charging and discharging operating conditions. My question on swaps is do these potential RepairPal shops have the equipment and facilities to handle EV batteries. Are they going to invest in the proper tools and test equipment. Where I live there are hardly any EV. The Ford dealership that was selling the Mach E and Lightning dropped its EV dealer status. Outside of the one Tesla charging station at the local Sheets, there are no other DCFC EVSE anywhere within a 60 mile radius, so there just are not a lot of EV here. I just can't see the one local RepairPal near me investing in training and equipment to service Slate warranty work.

Leave a Small Block crate engine by the side of the road around here and that thing will end up in a Chevy pickup or Ford hotrod lickety split. Leave a full Tesla drivetrain by the side of the road, the locals will think it is some NASA space junk.

 

[Dorbiman]

Leave a full Tesla drivetrain by the side of the road, the locals will think it is some NASA space junk.

I love the idea that people would just leave a bunch of cool NASA shit on the side of the road! haha

 

[KevinRS]

EVs are running around 10% of new vehicle sales in the US, and increasing each year. Shops that don't invest in the equipment, facilities and training to service them will continue on for a while, but will be left behind eventually.
Outside the US it's actually 25%, and with mandates in some countries requiring 100% in around the next 10 years, some manufacturers will soon start dropping ICE production entirely when it becomes uneconomical to keep producing those more complicated vehicles, just like Ford dropped sedans and compacts.
The list we can see on repairpal is probably going to change in the next year, "independent shops" like those listed there will be adding EV equipment, more shops may be added, some dropped etc.
Apparently carmax uses repairpal, and they have a FAQ about how shops qualify
https://repairpal.com/faq?partner=c...tm_campaign=servicepage&utm_content=carmaxfaq

 

[E90400K]

Ford is considering dropping the less-complicated electric F150 because it is unprofitable. Unprofitable because EV sales for Ford have dropped 24%. The F150 is Ford's most recognized nameplate.

 

[Dorbiman]

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the big legacy automakers fail to adapt and don't exist in the coming decades.

The F150 Lightning is too expensive, and is targeted at a crowd that is afraid of electrification.

 

[KevinRS]

Ford is considering dropping the less-complicated electric F150 because it is unprofitable. Unprofitable because EV sales for Ford have dropped 24%. The F150 is Ford's most recognized nameplate.

It "starts" at $54,780 there is only 1 in inventory in 20 miles of me, at over 75k. expand to 50 miles or even 500 miles and they start at over 61k, for an XLT with only a $500 charging cord as an added option, and that's after a $4k ford incentive I can't find details on.
If it's fully double or triple the predicted price of the Slate, that's part of the reason sales have been slow. They have been built to be profit drivers just like the rest of the trucks they build.
Some of the standard equipment included that many of us probably would leave out:
Dynamic bending headlamps
LED mirror spotlights
tailgate assist
mega power frunk
power up/down hood
heated seats
power adjustable pedals
8 way power adjustable drivers seat
360 degree camera
fordpass connect
pro trailer hitch assist
siriusXM
sync4 w/12 inch screen

All of that takes it out or the realm of simple, it's probably more complicated than my current 10 year old economy car.

 

[E90400K]

It "starts" at $54,780 there is only 1 in inventory in 20 miles of me, at over 75k. expand to 50 miles or even 500 miles and they start at over 61k, for an XLT with only a $500 charging cord as an added option, and that's after a $4k ford incentive I can't find details on.
If it's fully double or triple the predicted price of the Slate, that's part of the reason sales have been slow. They have been built to be profit drivers just like the rest of the trucks they build.
Some of the standard equipment included that many of us probably would leave out:
Dynamic bending headlamps
LED mirror spotlights
tailgate assist
mega power frunk
power up/down hood
heated seats
power adjustable pedals
8 way power adjustable drivers seat
360 degree camera
fordpass connect
pro trailer hitch assist
siriusXM
sync4 w/12 inch screen

All of that takes it out or the realm of simple, it's probably more complicated than my current 10 year old economy car.

The Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion were the cars Ford dropped from its lineup. Whether they were not profitable to build (because they are more "complicated" than an EV) or just not profitable enough due to sales volume, we'd have to check Fords public financial statements back 6 years ago. Perhaps it was more that the market just shifted away from sedans/4-door hatchbacks and turned to SUVs and Crossovers, which I'd say Ford was somewhat of the pioneer in that market area with the Escape and Explorer. Now for some odd reason Ford is dropping the Mexico-built Escape in MY 2026, which in speaking with the salesman who sold the Bronco to me has him quite perplexed why FoMoCo is dropping the Escape. Considering Ford is keeping the Bronco Sport in the lineup, which is just a rebodied Escape with a bit better off-road equipment package, it doesn't seem to make sense.

I wasn't comparing the F150 Lightning to the Slate. I commented on the F150 Lightning being considered being dropped by Ford as you inferred that building ICEV vehicles is not profitable because they are "more complicated" and was the reason why Ford dropped the Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion. I would think that if EV were less complicated and therefore more profitable to build, the number 1 selling nameplate in the Ford lineup and in the market built as an EV would easily be profitable. The WSJ seems to indicate Ford does not think so. Anyone who pays attention to automobile manufacturing knows EV batteries are the difficult cost driver to negative profitability.

Every vehicle sold by any manufacturer is built (intended) to be a "profit driver", so I'm not sure what your point is with that statement. According to the Slate CEO, the Slate Truck is meant to be profitable right off the bat.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

The correct statement would be that, as of 2025, BEVs are easier to build but more expensive to build.

The hope is that, with the passage of time, BEVs will be both easier and less expensive to build. But cost is based on scale, so it's a chicken and egg problem. You need BEV scale for costs to drop, but you need BEV sales to ramp 10x for scale.