Update..

[BigB]

I asked Gemini what's going on:
You are spot on about the location. Slate Auto is taking over the massive former R.R. Donnelley printing plant (about 1.4 million square feet) in Warsaw for their manufacturing hub.
Regarding the railroad tracks, here is the situation:
1. The Rail Line Status
You are likely seeing activity because they are indeed preparing that line for heavy freight again. The tracks running right next to the factory belong to the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad (CF&E).
* Yes, they are upgrading: There have been recent projects to upgrade crossings and maintain the track through Warsaw (you might have seen crossing closures recently).
* Why it's happening: Slate has explicitly stated they plan to use those rail lines to ship the finished trucks out. Since the plant was previously a printing facility (paper in, catalogs out), it already had rail spurs, but they likely need refurbishment to handle auto racks (the train cars that carry vehicles), which are heavy and require specific clearances and loading infrastructure.
2. The Factory Retrofit
It's not just the tracks getting work. The factory floor itself is being reinforced.
* Weight Issues: The old floor was built for printing presses, but auto manufacturing (especially stamping equipment and battery assembly) is significantly heavier. They are currently reinforcing the concrete floors to handle the weight of the Slate assembly lines.
3. Why this matters for your truck
Since you have a deposit down, this is good news. It means they aren't building a factory from scratch (which takes years); they are refitting an existing one that already has the "bones" for heavy distribution. Using the CF&E rail line to ship directly to distribution hubs (like potentially Nashville or the West Coast) keeps their logistics costs low, which is how they are aiming for that ~$20k–$25k price point.
Next Step: I can track the latest construction updates for the Warsaw plant if you want to know when they start installing the assembly robots.

 

[Johnny5]

Good job! I'm interested the company and the factory, as much as the fine details about the truck itself. Now more than ever any given vehicle is part of a larger system.

 

[cadblu]

Slate explicitly stated they are not introducing stamping machines into their factory as body panels are molded composites. Also, any required stampings will be outsourced and routed to the assembly floor. But I do get it that the assembly lines will utilize heavy machinery, conveyor systems, floor cranes, etc. and yes, the battery modules are heavy. Just lay down some 5000 psi concrete with rebar and you're good to go! Just wait 28 days for a mostly full cure (it takes YEARS to fully cure) and remember to make coupons for testing. I will bring my crews over after lunch.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

A week or two ago I asked the AI how the Slate Auto Series C capital raise was going. AI said no news since the announcement in summer, but offered to check the SEC filings. I declined. That capital raise is every bit as important as all the construction, because without the capital, that work doesn't get done. The Slate CEO recently said in an interview that the Series C enabled production - a change from her statement six months back that the original $700 million was enough to get there. In her defense, the ground beneath her feet changed a bit in the last 11 months.

Slate was thrown a curve ball when suppliers refused to perform and deliver body and other subassemblies fully assembled. So Slate's capital needs increased. They now have to buy the robots and line space to do that work. Ergo the Series C funding.

 

[clofan]

I asked Gemini

I stopped reading after this part because AI is garbage and has no additional insight into anything beyond what has already been posted. Stop asking AI questions that you can research yourself. Use your brain.

 

[SparkYellow]

AI is a very efficient research tool created by humans. We used to say "I ran a search on [name of search engine.]" Now we say "I asked [name of AI.] AI results include links to the source which we can visit to investigate further. Utilizing AI does not mean one is lazy.

Folks who embraced encyclopedias and rejected search engines eventually learned to adapt. What I am learning to watch out for are AI generated video clips that contain both facts and misinformation.

 

[KevinRS]

AI is a very efficient research tool created by humans. We used to say "I ran a search on [name of search engine.]" Now we say "I asked [name of AI.] AI results include links to the source which we can visit to investigate further. Utilizing AI does not mean one is lazy.

Folks who embraced encyclopedias and rejected search engines eventually learned to adapt. What I am learning to watch out for are AI generated video clips that contain both facts and misinformation.

A search engine gives you links to web pages with the info. AI collects all that info from those pages and summarizes it.
2 problems. You might recognize a bad web page when you look at it, but it just gets integrated into the output of the AI. 2nd is if the AI does not find the direct info you are asking for, it may "hallucinate" it. what is probably happening is it pulls info from adjacent sources, that may not really relate to your actual question.
For example if you ask about the "gas powered version of the slate" it might tell you it doesn't exist, or it might just pull info from other trucks, and make one up.
It's one thing if you are searching for yourself, you can check the sources, but if you post the results here or elsewhere, without sources, your post becomes a source of misinformation both for users, and for the next AI search. It's not just videos that are the problem, increasingly I am seeing AI generated posts on social media, on what should be factual or educational topics, that are generated to get views and interactions.

 

[AZFox]

Garbage In, Garbage Out is as old as data processing itself.

Just as with virtually any other tool using AI properly requires some skill and technique.

The smarter you are, the more you can use it effectively. You need a bowl of rock salt nearby so you can take answers with a Big Grain Of Salt.

With practice you can make queries that will get the information you are looking for. Practice with questions to which you already know the answers. Visiting the source pages can be extremely helpful for improving your queries.

Example:

 

[clofan]

 

[reluctantposter]

"I made a thread about a question that I asked a large language model! Is the info it returned based on facts or is it just a hallucination? Who knows! "

 

[SparkYellow]

...
It's one thing if you are searching for yourself, you can check the sources, but if you post the results here or elsewhere, without sources, your post becomes a source of misinformation both for users, and for the next AI search. It's not just videos that are the problem, increasingly I am seeing AI generated posts on social media, on what should be factual or educational topics, that are generated to get views and interactions.

We as users have to evaluate any and all information that we come across. The OP made it clear that he got it from AI. That was enough of a disclaimer to me. Most of us understand that AI results don't mean 100% accurate information. Before AI, anyone can post anything without listing sources and we learn to distinguish BS from facts. There is misinformation even on legit websites. For example, on the Idemitsu Oil website, it claims to have developed the racing oil for Mazda's 7878 which won the 24 hours of Le Mans. 🤦

I thought it was incredibly ignorant to dismiss AI altogether and caution OP to use his brains.

 

[KevinRS]

If I ask gemini a question, after each point in the response it has one or more links, to the source info. It's simple to click those links and see where it came from. If only the text is pasted here, it's hard to tell where for example those details about the rail lines came from.

I am playing with different prompts, and haven't found those details, but it does seem to be pulling from articles that I haven't seen posted here, like a Newsweek one from September where they quoted Chris Barman about the plan to have the equipment in place by the end of the year, so they can build validation vehicles on it early next year, so they can confirm safety testing, do EPA testing, etc.

In trying to pin down where the rail line info came from, I seem to be getting a link to the forums here...