Slate raises another $650M in Series C funding. Preorders sales begin June!

[IanNubbit]

>> Everyone is dead right now, almost no shop is going to deny a program that gets more people scheduled and in their doors.

That's a really interesting statement. It contradicts everything I read about the auto service technician shortage for the last five years. Dealerships are backed up months because they can't get qualified talent. Everyone is backlogged. Jim Farley constantly complains that the industry needs more younglings taking votech paths.

Maybe the RepairPal shops are very different from the dealership service departments?

Places that lack diagnostic techs are backlogged due to lack of being able to get a car out the door. Every dealer (normally consists or higher trained diagnostic techs) around my area is painfully slow for the last 3 months or so. The 3rd party shops I've noticed has now stated to follow suit. There is ALWAYS a tech shortage, because techs get burnt out (including me actively finishing a degree to leave) due to the constantly worse labor times, increasingly harder to work on vehicles, and more and more places are taking more profit over paying techs since they are struggling.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

I lived in Germany for two years (USAF). Tradespeople of all stripes in Germany are highly respected and unionized. It was amazing, and they loved their jobs. Super highly trained, and a solid career.

Here in the USA, we started disrespecting the trades late last century. Schools killed votech programs, because everyone just had to go to college. Now we're paying the price for that arrogance.

 

[dotcom]

Places that lack diagnostic techs are backlogged due to lack of being able to get a car out the door. Every dealer (normally consists or higher trained diagnostic techs) around my area is painfully slow for the last 3 months or so. The 3rd party shops I've noticed has now stated to follow suit. There is ALWAYS a tech shortage, because techs get burnt out (including me actively finishing a degree to leave) due to the constantly worse labor times, increasingly harder to work on vehicles, and more and more places are taking more profit over paying techs since they are struggling.

All the big dealers around me are expanding their service shops to massive cathedrals of car maintenance. None of the local shops have had a new coat of paint on their buildings in 30 years. I could seem them struggling a bit, but the big boys are thriving here.

 

[sodamo]

I lived in Germany for two years (USAF). Tradespeople of all stripes in Germany are highly respected and unionized. It was amazing, and they loved their jobs. Super highly trained, and a solid career.

Here in the USA, we started disrespecting the trades late last century. Schools killed votech programs, because everyone just had to go to college. Now we're paying the price for that arrogance.

Hit the nail on the head. Even today with people drowning under college debt and poor job prospects the mantra is still college, college, college. Instead of the skilled people we need every day. Sure, I’ve used a lawyer a few times, a surgeon even less, but UPS delivers almost weekly, my vehicles need serving regularly.

 

[KevinRS]

Hit the nail on the head. Even today with people drowning under college debt and poor job prospects the mantra is still college, college, college. Instead of the skilled people we need every day. Sure, I’ve used a lawyer a few times, a surgeon even less, but UPS delivers almost weekly, my vehicles need serving regularly.

As IanNubbit said above though, they are overworked and underpaid, so they leave those jobs. There would be enough techs, but trained techs stop being techs with reason.

 

[IanNubbit]

All the big dealers around me are expanding their service shops to massive cathedrals of car maintenance. None of the local shops have had a new coat of paint on their buildings in 30 years. I could seem them struggling a bit, but the big boys are thriving here.

That’s what happens when you drop your labor times to techs and raise your hourly rate and book services.

 

[IamSpotted]

358,000,000 lbs or 162,500 metric tons. I think every Blank Slate that rolls off the line for the first 3 years would be needed to carry that. That's assuming we're using the bed, not hauling.

For some reason my mind went straight to Super Colon Blow.

You would need just shy of 296k Slates to carry all the pennies assuming each truck is driven by a 190lb person.

 

[phidauex]

You would need just shy of 296k Slates to carry all the pennies assuming each truck is driven by a 190lb person.

That's great, just two years of production will be needed to deliver the investor principal back to them. Any other penny trucks that show up after that is all profit baby.

 

[dotcom]

You would need just shy of 296k Slates to carry all the pennies assuming each truck is driven by a 190lb person.

Please go check out the pizza topping post... I think you're underestimating the weight of the drivers here lol