SLATE Truck Debuts as Modular Pickup & SUV

[scottyah]

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.

Plastics can be pretty tough, I'm thinking of power tool casings/toolboxes, even most rubrails are some kind of plastic for reduced friction to get you off the rocks.

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[CYBERTRUCKco]

Well I put my $50 down. It would fit a niche for me for very little. If I could export one I would do it in a second. Subsidized gas is going away in south america. Something like this would suit me nicely there.

We put down my money as well! My kids will be 16 when this comes out, great first vehicle and younger crowd will love the customization options.

 

[HaulingAss]

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…

Exactly! And to think they took "TESLA" and snipped off the "TE" and taped it to the end to get "SLATE" is just too weird. It's like the whole thing is fake and they are just doing this to pretend like Tesla is nothing special. They probably think if Elon can do it, anyone can. Because they can see how much smarter they are than Elon, LOL!

Elon and his fancy tech forward cars with excessive features and creature comforts that cost a fortune are nothing. Never mind that Tesla will have comparably priced EVs that go further, accelerate faster and (almost certainly) are more reliable by the time Slate manages to get the first one out the door, which I'm guessing won't even happen.

 

[HaulingAss]

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

What services will they offer? Brake jobs and filling up the windshield washer reservoir?

Oh, wait, EVs hardly ever need brake jobs.

 

[Outdoors]

I look at is more of electrification of a vehicle segment around the world is filled with crappy engines.

Sure a home office made the investment from one of the richest on earth. Some can do things to feel good. Maybe this is the case here. They may not have a mission statement like Tesla's like sustainable transportation, but it is a good thing in my mind.

Sometimes we all need to step outside our box.

 

[cybercuh]

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

6 inches longer? My lady will love it

 

[YDR37]

What services will they offer? Brake jobs and filling up the windshield washer reservoir?

Adding modifications to your Slate from the extensive catalog of options.

Need to upgrade to the larger battery? Want one of Slate's $500 wraps? Got the basic crank windows, but now want the power window kit? How about adding a spare tire carrier? Maybe you got the pickup configuration and now prefer an SUV with a rear seat? Want your Slate lifted or lowered?

It looks like all of these options (and many more) will be available to Slate owners, either before or after purchase. Slate claims that many will be user-installable, but even if they are, lots of users will probably prefer to pay a Slate-authorized pro to handle the installation.

 

[vandytom]

Can’t spell SLATE without TESLA ?

Damn Bezos is still trolling Elon to catch up ?.

 

[PATEL]

Report: Slate production factory likely former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana

 

[no%X#XMVk65v#cq]

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.

Thank you! I can't believe anyone is taking this seriously. I've never heard of this company, and chances are we never hear from them again.

 

[ABILISK]

I think they’re forgetting by the time this is out the tax credit won’t exist, essentially making this thing $30K out the door. While we may have been a little disappointed in the CTLR, it’s a whole lot more than twice as good as this Slate thing.

 

[L3it3R]

I’ve put 22k miles on my CT - I can definitely see putting nearly that into this across the 3 drivers in our house as an alternative daily. We put down for one.

 

[Bridgeboy69]

t. I think that few people are going to stick with the Blank Slate at $20,000 (after tax credit), they will start adding options from the (vast) menu. So the final price will be more than $20,000 for most buyers; the question is how much more.

According to this video on the front page of this thread, the average price is $50K...?

 

[HaulingAss]

Adding modifications to your Slate from the extensive catalog of options.

Need to upgrade to the larger battery? Want one of Slate's $500 wraps? Got the basic crank windows, but now want the power window kit? How about adding a spare tire carrier? Maybe you got the pickup configuration and now prefer an SUV with a rear seat? Want your Slate lifted or lowered?

It looks like all of these options (and many more) will be available to Slate owners, either before or after purchase. Slate claims that many will be user-installable, but even if they are, lots of users will probably prefer to pay a Slate-authorized pro to handle the installation.

I always buy the truck that meets the service requirements of what I will be using it for (assuming the features I need are available). Then I use the truck for it's intended purposes.

It would be highly unusual for me to decide the truck I bought no longer met my needs. That I needed a longer range (I would probably buy at least 250 miles at the original purchase), or that I changed my mind on something like power windows (I would just get them to begin with) or a spare tire (no thanks). If I wanted an SUV, I would have bought an SUV. I don't like to waste my time buying a vehicle that isn't fully ready to serve me off the lot unless I have no other choice.

Even in the ICE world, I never understood those who bought the mid-range motor and then spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of time boring it bigger, etc. to get more power and/or torque while making it less reliable and less efficient than the more powerful motor option to begin with. To me, that's just crazy, buy the more powerful model to begin with and be done with it.

 

[Bridgeboy69]

Again changing attitudes towards transportation.

Pretty sure Cybercabs would like to enter this chat...

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