Will the bigger battery option reduce towing and payload capacity?

[Driven5]

For more context, here is a list of other vehicles that can tow as much or more than the slate:​

2005 Honda CRV (1.5x)​

1997 Honda Accord (1.0x)​

2008 Ford Ranger i4 (2.0x, base model, larger engine models can tow up to 6,000)​

1996 Mazda MPV minivan (2.6x)​

2003 Suzuki Viatra 2 door (1.0x)​

For more context, the SAE J2807 standardized towing capacity test was first introduced in 2008, and it did not see widespread manufacturer adoption prior to 2015ish. Any tow ratings prior to that were based entirely on vibes, if not hopes and dreams, rather than an actual engineering based standard... And are not in any way comparable to modern ratings. Hence everyone above a certain age that towed having stories of not being able to exceed 35mph at wide-open-throttle towing within the 'rated limit' up a steep grade.

A 1k towing capacity has nothing to do with towing, since so exceedingly few people actually do that with any sub-3.5k rated vehicles, and everything to do with having a manufacturer backed 100lb tongue rating for bike rack type hitch-mounted accessories.

You seem to be looking at Slate as a truck that happens to have an electric drivetrain, rather than an EV that happens to have a bed. Right, wrong, or indifferent, Slate is decidedly the latter.

 

[KevinRS]

For more context, the SAE J2807 standardized towing capacity test was first introduced in 2008, and it did not see widespread manufacturer adoption prior to 2015ish. Any tow ratings prior to that were based entirely on vibes, if not hopes and dreams, rather than an actual engineering based standard... And are not in any way comparable to modern ratings. Hence everyone above a certain age that towed having stories of not being able to exceed 35mph at wide-open-throttle towing within the 'rated limit' up a steep grade.

This is pretty much what I was coming to say. There was no standard, companies could say whatever they wanted, and as long as it wasn't so bad they got a class action suit over it, nothing happened. Sure listed as 3.5k tow, but that's on flat ground in cool weather, with a running start for any grade at all.
I'm sure Slate looked first at range considerations, and no matter what they did, you were going to drop 50% of range doing any serious towing, so they set 1k as the target, and built only for that.

 

[IamSpotted]

In an EV, towing and payload limits are usually set by the drivetrain and battery, not the suspension or brakes. Heavy loads push motors and the battery to their thermal and electrical limits, and sustained high current can overheat components or stress the battery dangerously. With the Slate being small, single-motor, and designed to hit a price point, these are almost certainly what limit its 1,000-pound tow rating.

 

[NowThatsDamp]

For more context, the SAE J2807 standardized towing capacity test was first introduced in 2008, and it did not see widespread manufacturer adoption prior to 2015ish.

2015 Honda CRV (1.5x)
2015 Honda Accord (1.0x)
2011 Ford ranger (last year saaad 2.0-6.0x)
2015 Toyota Sienna (3.5x)
2015 Suzuki Vitara (Only the 4 door exists now... 1.5-2.5x)

And the 2015 Tacoma i4?

3500lb.

 

[KevinRS]

The main limit is likely battery range. Range decreases enough that people would be massively upset at running out of battery mid tow, so Slate dropped the tow rating, and spec'd the rest of the vehicle to match. Increasing tow capacity would likely need a beefier cooling system just to start, possibly a different electric motor, and it would work, until the battery died, with too little range to be useful. They could get it to pass the SAE test for towing, probably with only spending $2000 or less in price difference in parts, but they would need to recharge on site at the Davis dam grade.