SLATE Truck Debuts as Modular Pickup & SUV

[scottyah]

If these are reliable and durable they'll absolutely blow up. Lawncare companies are still driving around 80's tacomas because nobody makes an easy entry bed anymore. I'm glad these weren't out when I bought the CT, it'd be hard to justify the frills with that big of a price difference.

Young people (10yrs out of school) cannot afford new trucks, and nobody with less than a half acre of property really wants the giant ass trucks all the big car companies are shitting out.

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[HaulingAss]

It will put a dent in the used car market at $27,500 before incentives

Unlike most people weighing in here, I don't doubt there is a market for the Slate with specs and prices as listed.

My concern is that a small startup like this has almost zero chance of bringing a truck with the listed price and specs to market in a manner that is sustainable. I give it an 85% chance of it never hitting mass production. Even if they do bring it to market, I only give them a 2% chance of being able to do so in a sustainable manner (meaning profitably).

Like all of Tesla's models through their short history, new models need to be able to hit gross profitability, something Rivian has never achieved on any of their models (last quarter doesn't count due to the way they saved up sales of regulatory credits and stacked them all in Q4).

If a model cannot hit gross profitability, it shouldn't even be put into production. It makes no sense to make a car or truck that can never be sold for the amount it costs to produce. In a rational world, it makes no sense to produce goods that are worth less than the cost of producing them.

I don't know if the executives at Slate think they can sell this profitably or they just want to give it a go because they know they will personally be paid (by investors) to give it a go. And I cannot understand the thinking of anyone who thinks this stands a good chance of ever being profitable, even on a gross basis. If it can't do that, it can't be made in large numbers.

 

[Mini2nut]

Slate thinks the truck will be a market disruptor.

Remember, Amazon got started selling books via the internet for a loss to gain market share. Also, Amazon is sitting on roughly $101B in cash.

 

[CyberGus]

I'm starting a GoFundMe to buy one for WhistlinDiesel

 

[AO-Pete]

Yup. I get shorter by 25.1 inches, or a bit more than 2 feet.

But there's no second row of seats in the Slate's pickup configuration. So the Slate pickup actually has a longer bed: 5 ft for the Slate, vs. 4.5 ft for the Maverick. The Slate also has a respectable frunk (7 cubic feet, almost as large as the Cybertruck's), which the Maverick lacks entirely.

Edit: some sources say the Slate bed is 75 inches long, which would be 5.25 ft.

It's 5ft/60". Bed width is not stated, but since they claim it can handle standard sheets of lumber, it must be >4ft.

 

[RayzorBEV]

The big question here is reliability/serviceability. Cheap means nothing if this thing is gonna be unreliable and difficult to get service. ?

 

[YDR37]

It's 5ft/60". Bed width is not stated, but since they claim it can handle standard sheets of lumber, it must be >4ft.

Yeah you're right. Here's how it compares to a Maverick. About two feet shorter overall, but longer bed by about 6 inches.

 

[YDR37]

The big question here is reliability/serviceability. Cheap means nothing if this thing is gonna be unreliable and difficult to get service. ?

Slate claims:

Through an upcoming national partnership, we will be offering authorized Slate service at more than 2500 locations throughout the US, and we will be working to expand to more locations. You’ll also be able to find service locations on our website soon, and in the Slate App when it launches.

Maybe a company like Midas or Meinecke?

 

[RayzorBEV]

Slate claims:
Maybe a company like Midas or Meinecke?

It won't be that simple of a transition for Midas or Meinecke, they are all gas monkeys, ?
But, all jokes aside, I am every interested in how this will pan out. Kudos for Slate to keep the price low. Another question would be, can they maintain that unbelievably low price or just another hype. We shall see.

 

[CyberTW]

Production STARTS Q4 2026, so even if the timeline doesn't slip, mass production won't be until mid 2027 at the earliest...

At that point, Tesla will be unsupervised autonomous and this company championed the fact that they don’t have self driving. Cool look and idea and I hope they do well… but

 

[CyberTW]

For this demographic I think Slate is looking at changing attitudes towards transportation.

While the number of cars per household is rising in the US, it is rising at a slower rate.

Slate is so affordable that two families could share a vehicle and afford it to sit at a vacation home without thinking about it. It's new. People don't want to buy a used car for a vacation home, when new is an alternative.

Have 5 of them for rentals at a condo complex for short term users.

Or have 5 Cybertrucks. Look at the capital investment difference.

Again changing attitudes towards transportation. Many of us don't think like that. We all have are garage full of fun. Myself included.

Good post. I think they will have a hard time getting to full production and turning a profit. Prototypes are easy.. as they say.. but the business model is fascinating and just might work.. the problem will be that teslas will be full robotaxi and unsupervised.. buying a car without that in 2027 will feel silly. It already does. My wife has already said she will never buy a car that doesn’t drive her everywhere..

But I agree there could be a nice niche to it.. like jeep/bronco peeps that want an ev everyday car

 

[Wavshrdr]

I am in for 1. At this price, with the incentives, it could be great for a lot of things. I don't care that much about charging rate as the pack is relatively small. We all know that it isn't peak charge rate but how it maintains that rate over the entire charge. That is one thing I'd really like to see but I wouldn't be road tripping one of these things anyway.

I think there will be a solid market or them. Not everyone wants a massive truck or SUV. It would be ideal for one of my kids. He needs a truck to deliver smaller items at work. This would be perfect and likely cheap to run.

 

[CyberTW]

Unlike most people weighing in here, I don't doubt there is a market for the Slate with specs and prices as listed.

My concern is that a small startup like this has almost zero chance of bringing a truck with the listed price and specs to market in a manner that is sustainable. I give it an 85% chance of it never hitting mass production. Even if they do bring it to market, I only give them a 2% chance of being able to do so in a sustainable manner (meaning profitably).

Like all of Tesla's models through their short history, new models need to be able to hit gross profitability, something Rivian has never achieved on any of their models (last quarter doesn't count due to the way they saved up sales of regulatory credits and stacked them all in Q4).

If a model cannot hit gross profitability, it shouldn't even be put into production. It makes no sense to make a car or truck that can never be sold for the amount it costs to produce. In a rational world, it makes no sense to produce goods that are worth less than the cost of producing them.

I don't know if the executives at Slate think they can sell this profitably or they just want to give it a go because they know they will personally be paid (by investors) to give it a go. And I cannot understand the thinking of anyone who thinks this stands a good chance of ever being profitable, even on a gross basis. If it can't do that, it can't be made in large numbers.

A tale as old as time. Prototypes are easy, production (at a mass scale so as to make money) is hard… and going against Tesla that will drive you everywhere you want and you can read while doing it by 2027… ya.. cool concept and I hope they can do it, but if your car isn’t driving you in 2027…

 

[YDR37]

It won't be that simple of a transition for Midas or Meinecke, they are all gas monkeys

True. And Midas and Meinecke have been losing business because more people are driving electric vehicles that don't require routine oil changes.

But what if, hypothetically, there was a way for them to get some business back -- by servicing electric vehicles? Think they might be interested?

 

[Docedward]

I can only imagine what would happen when one of these Matchbox Slates hits a CT. I mean, I think a door ding from the CT would total the car. But may be a good family truck.

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