Slate contingency/exit plan

[Sparkie]

...
If you are one of the unlucky owners, ...

I would still consider myself lucky.
While the cost will pinch me for a bit, it's not like I dropped a $100k on a Fisker Karma or other luxury EV.

Unlike all the other dead or dying EVs, the Slate is intentionally a DIY truck with a very simple design. I'm looking forward to tinkering on my Slate -- whether Slate Automotive is with me or not.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

When the electric delivery van startup Arrival went under, this guy (one of the people that started Fellten, that sells EV conversion kits and parts) bought a few of the prototypes and some parts, and he has been tinkering with them to see if he can make them work.



So at the absolute worst (Slate going under in the next 6 months), a youtuber will get some interesting content after the bankruptcy auction.

 

[Driven5]

Worst case scenario... Mid-engine Slate race truck.

 

[nevermindkid]

Worst case scenario... Mid-engine Slate race truck.

That's the spirit !

 

[nevermindkid]

Risk is there for sure. Slate is doing something the others haven't......build something simple for the masses. The other EVs are loaded with luxury and do-dads that go unused. They're aimed at people with deep pockets so they can charge a fortune to make a quick profit on investment (hopefully). BUT the luxury market is very competitive and limited in number of customers. People may aspire to live a millionaire's life but when reality hits you just gotta get from A to B. Enter Slate.
I can only speak for myself, give me simple. Give me reliable. Give me repairable. The extra gadgets just spell trouble down the road (for me).
And if that all goes sideways, I'll start a Slate preservation club. Who's wants in ?

 

[Doctors Do Little]

OP, you voice a very common worry. The most honest answer is from Yoda: "Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future".

So you really kind of have to do a possible futures analysis with almost no data. Pick multiple scenarios and model how each might unfold. In the military war colleges, they do this all the time - war gaming. The thing about war gaming is that it only goes so far. You don't know how a war is going to go until it happens. Just like the football quote, "any given Sunday"...

So if we hope for the best but plan for the worst... We're planning for Slate to collapse sometime after first delivery, and you took an early delivery. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but auto industry history shows us this is the most likely scenario. The valley of death is real, and especially real in auto - because you have to massively scale, and you have to attract massive capital, and margins are typically razor thin. Rivian has had billions in captial and has still not made a penny in profit. Tesla probably would have folded without BEV subsidies and EPA credits in the billions.

OK, so Slate fails. You have a Slate truck. Let's think it through...

• Resale value approaches zero overnight (I'm not making that up, go check values of recent failed auto startups). But who cares, because you're gonna drive it till it falls apart.
• Slate, tbh, does not have anything anyone in the auto industry wants. It's all off the shelf. So in the bankruptcy, it's assets (mainly the assembly machinery) are sold off for pennies on the dollar. Nobody out there is stupid enough to buy the Slate brand or intellectual assets - because there is nothing of value.
• Say you have to fix a body part after a collision. Well, you have junkyards. And maybe somebody on EBay bought up any Slate parts inventory, so there's that. As for 3d printing, well, how big of a 3d printer do you have access too, and what materials can it use?
• A mouse chews through the wiring harness (happened to me last month). Well, again junkyard (very labor intensive) or somebody bought up harnesses.
• A word on parts. People seem to think there are warehouses full of parts. Nope, all OEMs do just in time parts delivery for manufacturing. So there are a handful of parts.
• Software. Maybe they open source it. I dunno. But Slate is a last century architecture, with individual controllers, each with software owned by that supplier. So you don't have access to those. And buying a part from that supplier may not help, because the software inside it may be incompatible with the other controllers or any Slate software. So you're basically screwed. Pray for open source. Pray some software engineer that speaks that language has a Slate. Or you have an AI that can maintain it.
• Random motors and industry standar parts. This is the best bit. If it's all off the shelf with no Slate modifications, you're good as gold. As long as any software on that part still works with your Slates other parts and pieces (everything on the truck that is electric has software).

I could go on, but you get my drift. An orphaned Slate is awesome for adventurous tinkerers. And some of those tinkerers could set up a Slate repair shop. This has happened before with other orpahns. I mean, you can still buy bodies and engines for classic cars. There just has to be an enthusiast body of adequate size.

As for the Slate lasting forever, why would you want that? The Slate is already a dinosaur. The motors suck. The battery sucks. They're not even remotely competitive in 2026, let alone 2030. Heck, I would not be surprised to see current flammable lithium ion batteries banned worldwide come maybe 2035 - just for the fire risk. Or insurance companies refusing to insure them. Or charging an extra hazard premium. Why would you want to park a Slate in your garage in 2035 when it could catch fire and burn your house down - when by then you can purchase a cheap solid state, fireproof BEV.

Man I hated writing all that. I feel like I smashed some child's birthday present. But somebody on this forum has to keep the narratives grounded in reality.

Let's all hope Slate is a smashing success. Because if there are hundreds of thousands of Slates on the road, then maintence is not a worry. And everything I said above will be absolutely irrelevent.

Personally, I'm on the sidelines cheering for Slate to succeed and be a smashing business success. Because I love small trucks. I love BEVs. I love the Slate mission of bringing affordable, simple, basic, built in America with American parts small trucks to us all. Go Slate!

That said, I cancelled my reservation to watch from a distance. I might buy a used Slate if they make it, but I'll wait at least a year. I want to see them sell 100,000 first. Then maybe I'll pounce on one as a local runabout.

Risk is there for sure. Slate is doing something the others haven't......build something simple for the masses. The other EVs are loaded with luxury and do-dads that go unused. They're aimed at people with deep pockets so they can charge a fortune to make a quick profit on investment (hopefully). BUT the luxury market is very competitive and limited in number of customers. People may aspire to live a millionaire's life but when reality hits you just gotta get from A to B. Enter Slate.
I can only speak for myself, give me simple. Give me reliable. Give me repairable. The extra gadgets just spell trouble down the road (for me).
And if that all goes sideways, I'll start a Slate preservation club. Who's wants in ?

I'm not sure about a preservation club, but it did occur to me that the Slate would be a neat body for a resto-mod with a newer skateboard (like a newer Model Y or something?)? My dad was a farmer and a mechanic, so we upcycled everything in ways that were never intended.

 

[Driven5]

That's the spirit !

Where there's a will... And a sawzall/welder... There's a way.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

Worst case scenario... Mid-engine Slate race truck.

You do that, I'll find a wrecked Taycan to stuff in one.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

You do that, I'll find a wrecked Taycan to stuff in one.

Now we're talking. That would be completely awesome.

 

[Lanthian]

I would still consider myself lucky.
While the cost will pinch me for a bit, it's not like I dropped a $100k on a Fisker Karma or other luxury EV.

Unlike all the other dead or dying EVs, the Slate is intentionally a DIY truck with a very simple design. I'm looking forward to tinkering on my Slate -- whether Slate Automotive is with me or not.

Fantastic way to look at it!

 

[MadKemist]

About the worry Slate goes belly up the first year, I don’t see them being that short sighted. First Bezos is a backer and him losing a few hundred million is not going to hurt him. I not all that good at tax law but I’m sure it will help with his.

Also, Tesla went 10 years before generating a profit. Again, I think the founders and investors backing Slate are aware of this and, again, are investing for tax write offs.

Another thought is I’m sure many of us have owned discontinued classics and parts are still available. Those that are not can be machined or repaired. And there is almost a retrofit or adaptor.

finally there are way too many on the forum that have yet to to say a positive or constructive thing and I have a simple but blunt question; why the hell are you here? You remote phrase “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all?” I am very excited about the Slate, I mean everything and am willing to take the risk. It will be my first new vehicle and truck since 1998. Teachers can’t justify $80k cars or trucks. For you negative Nancie’s GTFO.

 

[Doctors Do Little]

About the worry Slate goes belly up the first year, I don’t see them being that short sighted. First Bezos is a backer and him losing a few hundred million is not going to hurt him. I not all that good at tax law but I’m sure it will help with his.

Also, Tesla went 10 years before generating a profit. Again, I think the founders and investors backing Slate are aware of this and, again, are investing for tax write offs.

Another thought is I’m sure many of us have owned discontinued classics and parts are still available. Those that are not can be machined or repaired. And there is almost a retrofit or adaptor.

finally there are way too many on the forum that have yet to to say a positive or constructive thing and I have a simple but blunt question; why the hell are you here? You remote phrase “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all?” I am very excited about the Slate, I mean everything and am willing to take the risk. It will be my first new vehicle and truck since 1998. Teachers can’t justify $80k cars or trucks. For you negative Nancie’s GTFO.

Check the post counts on some of us who are voicing concerns. We've been stoked since May of last year. Now we are getting closer and are being more realistic about the issues (used to be price was the biggest issue...now it is sustainability?). There are a few curmudgeons trolling about (I've blocked 2 of them), but most of the rest are a motley crew of newbies and geniuses slicing this stuff up thin...bc we are bored with the wait. Welcome and keep posting. I like your perspective.

 

[AZFox]

finally there are way too many on the forum that have yet to to say a positive or constructive thing and I have a simple but blunt question; why the hell are you here?

I keep having this same thought.