$28,350. That’s how much Ford’s all-new Universal Electric Platform-based pickup truck — which it is calling the Ford Fathom — will cost when it hits the market next year. This comes shortly after Slate announced pricing for its truck: $24,950. Which is the better deal? Well, it’s hard to know, especially since we’ve learned that its range will not be 300 miles as I previously thought.
Ok, right away, let’s add some destination charges. The Ford Fathom electric pickup truck comes out to $29,945, while the Slate costs $26,400. That’s $3,545 more for the Ford truck. Is it worth it?
I obviously don’t have an answer, since I haven’t seen underneath the Fathom’s camouflage and I haven’t driven it (I have driven the Slate; I found it charming). But I wouldn’t be a journalist if I didn’t at least conjecture a bit, and my guess is that the Ford will offer a decent bit more for the money. Not only will the standard Fathom almost certainly come with power windows, but it also gets an infotainment screen:
Available for pre-order in early 2027, the midsize electric truck, with standard-range battery, has a starting MSRP of $28,350* competing in the heart of the affordable EV market.
But the price is the least interesting thing about it. Projected to have more passenger volume than a Toyota RAV4, with a large, high-resolution touch screen, bidirectional power capability, digital key, as well as a frunk and bed for added cargo flexibility, Fathom seats five adults and is just as comfortable on a workday commute as it is on a weekend adventure.
Advanced technology adds value to the already well-equipped Fathom. Every truck is BlueCruise capable, and the Fathom’s BlueCruise integration with Apple Maps offers a more seamless on-ramp to off-ramp experience. Fathom is also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capable.
[Note: The “the price is the least interesting thing about it” seems like an odd quote given that the price is the thing. -DT]
It’s worth noting that, later in the press release, Ford writes “It will also maintain compatibility with standard CarPlay and Android Auto.” I’m going to read that as those two being standard on the truck. Another, more important standard feature on the Ford and not on the Slate is four doors, which is pretty much a requirement on any high-volume vehicle in 2026:
But here’s the critical question we don’t have answered yet, and that I myself kind of thought had been answered: How far will the Ford Fathom drive on a single charge? (The Slate will do 205mi).
The reason why I say I thought it had been answered is that, on Ford’s website, there’s a Q&A in which The Blue Oval says its plan is to offer 300 miles of range:
Q: Is the goal to extend range as far as possible on the UEV, or is there a certain threshold of range, say 300 miles, that Ford deems sufficient to balance cost and range anxiety?
A: Our strategy is to meet the expectation of some customers of around 300 miles of range. Instead of using larger, more expensive batteries to achieve this, we are focusing on extreme vehicle efficiency through aerodynamics, weight reduction, and energy management to achieve similar range with a smaller, lower-cost battery.
We all know Ford — and any automaker — can offer an electric vehicle with 300 miles of range; just chuck a big enough battery into it. But the story of the Ford Universal EV pickup is its starting price of under $30,000, so to answer that question by saying the goal is to hit 300 miles of range without pairing that number with another constraint made me think that the other constraint was implied — i.e. it was the $30,000 starting price.
Anyway, it appears I was mistaken. Per Ford, the $28,350 ($29,945 after fees) base Fathom is not expected to achieve an EPA-estimated range of 300 miles. If you want 300 miles of range, you have to pay extra. And we don’t yet know how much. From Ford:
We have said previously that some customers will want to see an EPA-estimated range of around 300 miles and we will have an option for that customer.
The truth is, I suspected $100-per-mile of range was too good to be true. After Autopian member Life’s Short; Drive Fast! commented last month about the truck’s features, I admitted that — at the price point ($30,000; I think Life’s Short; Drive Fast! may have edited in the $40,000 figure after the fact), 300 miles seemed super ambitious:
I guess my intuition was correct, and my reading of Ford’s Q&A response was not. In any case, this all leads me to wonder: How much range does the base Ford Fathom have to offer to be competitive? Or, put another way, how much does the 300-mile truck have to cost to be competitive?
Let’s talk about the competition.
You can buy a Nissan Leaf with 303 miles of range for about $33,000 all-in:
A Chevy Equinox EV offers 319 miles of range for about $37,000:
For under $39,000, you can buy a Tesla Model 3 with 321 miles of range:
A Chevy Bolt, at $28,995, offers a range of 262 miles:
And a 245-mile-range Hyundai Ioniq 5 costs about $37,000:
But are these the Fathom’s competitors? I just named a bunch of crossovers/hatchbacks. The Ford Fathom is a small pickup, like the Ford Maverick Hybrid, a $30,000 gas car free from range anxiety and with basically the same base price as the Fathom:
Ford has made it clear that the Fathom is not meant to be a car solely for EV enthusiasts; Ford has called the Universal EV Platform the company’s “Model T Moment.” In other words: This vehicle has to appeal to everyone.
If the average person has to choose between a 38 mpg Maverick and a 220 mile Fathom, are they choosing the Fathom? What if its 250 miles? 270?
I don’t have an answer. We haven’t even seen what the Fathom looks like, or all the features it will offer. If it’s extremely stylish and feature-rich, maybe I’d be tempted at 250 miles for $30 big-ones? Or maybe I’d drop the $35 grand (or whatever it ends up being) for the 300 mile variant, as that’s still a great price if the vehicle is cool.
But with such heavy depreciation on EVs, $30-35 big-ones goes a long way these days on the used market. Though I remain excited about this truck, it’s a lot to think about; when we finally have the base range and the price for the bigger battery, plus a look at the feature list and the styling, I’ll be doing even more thinking about the new, sub-$30,000 Ford Fathom.
Top photo: Ford
If the Slate “actually” costs $26,400, the Fathom doesn’t “actually” cost $28,350. We know the destination charge gets it to just under $30k (article acknowledges it, title doesn’t). And that’s not counting the dealerships and whether that base trim is even available…the $20k Maverick is the obvious story to point to.
Anyways. I’m obviously both a fan of Slate and NOT a fan of what Ford is making…
Hey, wait a minute. Pausing hater mode. I would argue Slate has answers for “why not buy a used EV instead?”
…how strong is the Ford, on that front? I don’t think it has a unique value proposition.
Resume hater mode: With the Slate’s price, there’s also “save money long-term” logic that isn’t there for the Ford.
Contrary to apparently-popular belief, American consumers understand the concept of spending money strategically to save money. That’s why Costco is one of the most successful retailers in the US. People pay for a membership because they believe it will save them money long-term. Then again, Temu is also successful…so, I’m certainly not saying that Ford’s BYD-inspired EV doesn’t have a market.
I suspect the base model of this truck is going to be disappointing, and most variations of this truck that sell are going to be pushing $40k.
I know you guys are super pro Ford so you can keep getting pre-release content for your journalism, but despite no articles coming from you on the topic…. Ford was caught red handed pandering to the president to create a bill banning repair of our vehicles. There will be no model T moment as long as the main man in charge at Ford is so hostile to us repairing our own vehicles.
Ford already gave us their small truck. They called it a Ranger, and we all laughed at them.
There was a couple of the that opposed right to repair openly, Lucid is the worst. I bet secretly all of them except slate hate right to repair.
Telo seems amenable to Right-to-Repair, but we won’t know for sure until launch.
Damn. I was jazzed for this, until the double talk.
“$30,000 for 300 miles!”
“Cool! $30,000 for 300 miles of range?”
“Yes! $30,000 starting price with the option of 300 miles of range.”
“Um, how much is that option?”
“We don’t know!”
“Does this include floor mats, Tru-Coat, and nitrogen in the tires?
“No!”
Love this, but buying one depends on how big (or small) the greenhouse really is. Hard to tell with all the camo.
Stellar outward visibility – one of the most desired options we can’t get on a modern vehicle.
Relating to my last comment… It just occurred to me that it’s easy to misread Fathom as Fathorn…
FATHORN.
LOL
Ford really needs to change the name before it goes into production.
And they need to fire the person or unsubscribe from the AI that suggested this name.
Am I too old, and missing a meme?
No meme. Just me making fun of a stupid model name that Ford came up with that I have a hunch may have been suggested by some stupid AI.
The keming error rate on the name is definitely WAY too high.
And it gets even more fun if the ‘m’ were to get removed from the name… turning it into Fatho.
“That’s a nice Ford Fat Hoe you’ve got there.”
LOL
reminds me of how tens of thousands of people google what the hell is a “KN car” every month.
“…when it hits the market next year.”
So this will be the only Ford vehicle that avoids a recall this year.
The 1993 Ranger is recall free in 2026… So far.
I don’t believe there can be a Model T moment with modern tech. The Model T was something you bought with your hard earned money and then configured to suit your needs. It was not tethered to Ford for software updates, VIN and part number verification and other issues that I don’t tolerate as an “owner” of something.
Will mass amounts of people buy them because its cheap? Probably. Will it be a game-changer to liberate people and allow them to do things they couldn’t easily do before? Nope. It will be acquired via 84 Month financing or more realistically just
leasedrented.Waiting until the reveal. Until then…
Not that I’m going to buy either one or any pure EV vehicle anytime soon, but I think I’d take the Ford over the Slate.
I don’t think ford is going to have a model t moment I think slate is. The more you hear from the guys behind it the more you see it. With plans to lower price the price when their costs come down. That their target demo isn’t a demo that shows up for automotive sales period. They also know they aren’t going to reach them for a year or two. When you can get a 2 door or a 4 door and turn it into something else. That they even packaged it to be a 4 door. Their reasons behind the whole thing and why they went bev. The motoman podcast with the slate guys is worth the listen.
The term pickup comes from picking up the truck bed at the train depot for your model t. That sounds way more slate then ford Futurama at this point.
It’s good ford is trying to compete. They are vastly different. Right to repair will have a huge impact on buyers of both even if they don’t realize it. Direct sales probably has an edge with a lot of buyers at those price points. Plus ford dealers have a bit of reputation. I would love to see ford fine dealers the amount they mark up and send it back to the consumer.
I know there are consumers on both sides who want more of a small inexpensive full of tech ev truck or suv. Or a bare bones little two door that’s a modern version of a 90s ford ranger or bronco ii. Or just like the idea look or brand of one vs the other. Most will be some form of emotional decision.
I don’t think it will be $3k difference but closer to $10k for most people. At least for the first year or two. Then it’s hard to say. That $21.5k maverick was basically a fleet order special. Most ended up closer to $27k or over $30k. I don’t see any reason or talk that this will be any different.
I know slate will reduce costs if they sell units. Ford is likey to reduce input costs over time but I don’t think they are likey to reduce msrp. The only time I can see ford being a real threat to someone looking at a slate seriously is when they throw cash on the hood. If you are in that $2k maybe $3k difference for more features and you want more features then ford might win the sale if the person looks and is willing to put up with a dealer. I see more ifs for fords case then slates case. Just based on their history and where the market is going. So many of the gen zs and the the grumpy old guys don’t want all those screens or tech in their face.
Where I’m excited to see is where the fleets go. $3k is a lot when you are buying a 100 units or even 8 units. You can probably buy a 9th with the savings maybe that gets you close enough to a 10 unit discount and you end up growing by 2. Then the up fitting right tough the ordering portal no dealer fat fingering an ordering system that might be 40 years old. No taking it here or there to get up fitted no inflated dealer pricing for that up fitting if they even offer it.
The people buying model ts weren’t emotional about it. It was going to help them do something. It was practical. It was technology. Almost like computers were in the 80s and 90s.
The slate is dead, long live the slate but it’s 5-10k too expensive on the low end and easily more expensive than the base Fathom for a vehicle that apart from the electric drivetrain is basically a 1980s amalgamation of a 1915 truck with none of the space and features that most consumers want. Sure there’s a vocal minority that want a LEGO style diy truck with nothing on it but they went far too retrograde and to start only with a two door cab in this market was a mistake especially without the built in fleet customer base to back things up. Sure the base price seems good, but it’s so poorly equipped compared to even the cheapest ice models such as the Hyundai Venue let alone the Fathom etc. good luck to everyone who buys one and good luck to slate but I just don’t see it having sustained appeal
Time will tell but I wouldn’t count slate out. I thought of them as a niche product when they first came out but they really aren’t the more you hear and look at them. They are the modern model t. I suspect slate will look better in a few years if they are able to do what they want and ford does ford.
Also wouldn’t underestimate how much people hate dealers. Also with how fed up of tech people both young and old are. A decent amount of people will pay extra to not deal with both. Think Scandinavian design vs Chinese design. Slates interior designer comes from Volvo I don’t think that was a coincidence.
Oems have under estimated how many people want a 2 door simple truck now. The people that come in for one might get sold a 4 They just don’t want to pay the dealer prices for a vehicle that is worse in many ways then the 20 years old version. The savings and simplicity you get from a lfp bev will help especially as gas prices seem stuck around $4. The vocal minority is out there shoving tractor engines into 30 years old mini trucks. Slates launch demo is just fed up and wants something different. Plus the long term target demo is the oems refuse to admit exist.
Technology and China have changed people when it comes to brands. Most of the stuff they have now are from brands they likey didn’t even know exited 20 years ago. That’s part of the new society that hasn’t really been explored much. Ford is still in that Michigan brand loyalty bubble. As cars go back to a tech product that is going to exist even less. You can get into the weeds with different movements that might have annoying very vocal people leading where the slate will be the key winner. Many people probably agree with some aspects of those just maybe not the annoying vocal part. Things like support local businesses, right to repair, not being a actively tracked.
Slate is likely to get a 4 door out maybe at the current 2 doors price in a year or two. The two door will be reduced in cost.
It’s the closest thing to a model t we have. Buy the one then upfit it for your needs.
My biggest concern with the Slate is that it won’t necessarily be competing with new trucks. It will also be competing with used ones. The Slate is theoretically a perfect third (or whatever) vehicle. Doesn’t have to have seats for the whole family. Doesn’t have to go long distances, or have a lot of options, or tow or haul heavy loads, etc. It just needs to get truck stuff done. Pretty much everyone who needs a vehicle like that buys a used beater truck and calls it a day. I did. And I could buy five of the truck I bought for the price of a base model Slate. It even has power windows.
That doesn’t mean I want the Slate to fail. I genuinely want to see it succeed and their approach is a breath of fresh air in today’s automotive market. I’d love for my concerns to be completely unfounded.
That’s my thinking too. But hearing from the slate guys. That’s what they are trying to do. They want to complete with the used cash cars. They went out bought a mirage as it was the cheapest thing with a warranty said it was terrible and understood why it wasn’t selling. When the mirage and accent were ~ $10k with a 10 year warranty you could see the basic transportation. They also appear to have escaped the cheapest thing on the market problem for now at least. You are basically buying a vehicle you can do what you want with that is warranted not to break for 10 years. That you could operate very cheaply if you charge where you park. The more you listen to where the slate guys are coming from the more you see they get it and thought about it.
It’s worth the listen as is the one with the accessories guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpisRfFU9uE
Slate will be fine. Both the Slate and the Fathom are compelling, affordable vehicles.
Here’s the difference: to purchase the Slate, you will configure your vehicle on the manufacturer’s website, select your options, and then pay MSRP for it. No one will give you trouble if you prefer to pay cash or arrange your own financing. The vehicle will be delivered directly to your home.
If you wish to purchase the Fathom, you will need to engage with a franchised Ford dealer, who will mark up the vehicle price to an absurd degree, put unnecessary nitrogen in the tires, add questionable paint protection, seat protection, and a shitty tint job. You will be treated with disdain and disrespect if you fail to use their preferred finance source at a marked-up rate. The charging plinth will be “broken” every time you see it.
My marketing spidey sense tells me that Slate will be the choice for wealthier people looking for a third or fourth car, while the Fathom will be the choice for younger purchasers or truck-curious Subaru types seeking to electrify.
Slate won’t be doing any upfitting at the factory. The most you can get is parts thrown in the bed. Meanwhile Ford dealers with dedicated fleet departments will have the truck delivered fully upfitted and ready to work as well as know each fleets required minimum equipment ect.
Slate has said the will be taken to upfitters shops. Not at the factory but the infrastructure is there and it will able to be ordered right from the portal. Easier the dealing with a dealer that might or might not have what they need to upfit a a vehicle
I’ve been telling anyone who would listen to separate the $30k from the 300 miles ever since they started mentioning those things. It was always going to be more for the 300 mile range.
But the value is still in the air. If it has a heat pump, that’s better for range than the Slate’s resistive heating. If it puts all the HVAC and audio controls on a touchscreen, that’s at least as bad as needing to bring my own speakers.
I’m still cautiously optimistic, but I really want them to just do the full reveal.
Yeah they said Starting at under $30k and have Up to 300 mi of range. They never said that it will have 300mi of range and cost $30k.
Unfortunately, David and Jason even fell into the trap here: https://www.theautopian.com/fords-tiny-30000-ev-pickup-totally-counts-as-a-truck-and-it-could-be-a-true-peoples-car/
I asked where they saw the goal of 300 miles on the base vehicle then, because I have always read the statements by Ford as a $30k base vehicle and an optional range of 300 miles.
Oh boy, more standard features which basically means more crap I didn’t ask for and don’t want. Every new car I’ve sat in recently has hit me with all the stuff I don’t want and won’t use. At least Slate starts with a basic platform before all the needy people choose to add all the unnecessary crap that’s now seen as necessities. Let me choose what I want instead of expecting to lure me with more standard crap.
I’m going with Slate, I dont need four doors, I’m the only person in my truck 95% of the time.
Wasn’t this supposed to be smaller than the Maverick? Room for 5 adults is pushing it with the Mav. My 13 year old daughter couldn’t fit behind me in the Mav I sat in.
Not really smaller than the Maverick and they have said it will have more interior room than a Rav-4 for quite awhile so it should be roomier than the Maverick
For what it’s worth… I paid $34,000 out the door for my new awd Ioniq 5 (which has the larger battery pack).
In 7000 miles… I am averaging 4.2 miles per kilowatt. Which comes to about 350 miles per charge.
So… $3000 less and 100 miles more than you list…
Hyundai reducing price on the ionic 5 because they could is a bigger deal then most people realize. That’s the direction of bev. I can see Hyundai or Kia getting in the pool with ford and slate with a small beg truck. I don’t know if the truck they have been talking about is that truck but they remains to be seen.
Unless the Fathom is 72 inches tall, I don’t get the name. Otherwise it’s six feet under.
The odometer measures speed in knots so at least it’s trying . . .
is it a six-foot bed reference?
what the hell is that name
Lends itself way too readily to cheap jokes, namely, I couldn’t fathom buying this thing
It’s a name easily mistaken for Fathorn for extra fun… FATHORN. lol
I can’t fathom why Ford would name it that. Really, I can’t.
Please tell me that I’m not the only one still bothered by its odd proportions! That squashed greenhouse looks so weird, and not weird in a good way.
Four doors, longer range, a big screen, and power windows. That’s a lot to get for a few grand, assuming you want those things. But it’s a Ford, so you’ve got to assume that Fathom owners will experience more than their fair share of bugs, recalls, and perhaps even some plastic bits that should’ve been made of aluminum.
At this point, knowing what we know, I’m still going with the Slate. If Telos planned to offer a decontented version of their MT1 with half the power, range, driven wheels, and price, I’d probably opt for that instead.
But that’s not likely to exist. So, Slate.
I’m with you. The camouflaged – and apparently tiny – greenhouse and high bed sides make it look like the offspring of a Maverick and a Camaro. That’s not a good thing.
Hopefully that’s just the camo and the truck has way more glass and lower bed sides.
Yah, I was thinking that too… maybe the disproportionate appearance is just a function of camo/intentional disguise. As it is, it looks like a scaled-down parody of those recent full-size GM trucks where the greenhouse is squashed and sits atop a gargantuan block of a body… I think Jason wrote about it, wondering if GM designers were alright (or whether they were suffering from some deep-seated personal insecurities) given the almost post-apocolyptic-ready aura of those behemoths.
Digital key being a selling point is insane to me. I’ve seen y’all’s phone screenshots, fully 35% of the public is gonna get left in a parking lot with a fully operational car they can’t get into because their phone died.
The funniest part will be a majority of them going to the truck to change their phone and won’t understand why it’s not opening.
Digital,key doesn’t mean it’s the only key. We’ll have to see what Ford actually offers, but I think key fobs, apps and physical keys can all coexist. Our Hyundai Ioniq can be unlocked all 4 ways, and Ford has a history of adding numeric keypads as an option too.
Actually that doesn’t make any sense to me
Yeah my Son’s Lightning came with 2 proximity remotes that have all the buttons and a emergency key inside. It will also do phone as a key, has keypad entry and you can also set a pass code to start it by entering the code in the touch screen.
Phone as a key will still work if the phone is dead or turned off. It wont automatically unlock as you walk up to the car, you tap the phone on the door handle. There’s only a few phones in the US that offers true phone as a key, which requires UWB, the rest you need to tap the phone on the car. At that point just carry the key fob.
With a mid gate***, $40k total with awd and 280+ (ideally 300) miles is amazing. Without mid gate it’s hard to justify over a used maverick with awd for probably high 20’s two years from now. That’s how I see it at least.
When you do a full review, you’ll have to give all dimensions in fathoms of course.
Also, how many stone can it tow?
I’ll get back to you in a fortnight.
Or as Grandpa Simpson says: “The metric system is the tool of the devil! My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, and that’s the way I likes it.”
That’s just the onion on his belt talking.
i can’t with this name
It will be the Ford Courier in my headcanon, forever.
I’m sure it will sell well but it will definitely grab some Maverick sales and really may hurt the Slate sales.
The main issues I see are the name(they just looking for alliteration? Ranchero would’ve been fine), and the stealerships. If it’s hot like the Maverick first was no way they’ll let them go cheap.
Personally I like the Slate idea better, simple and cheap to build, right to repair, all that, vs something with a built in AI assistant and the CEO saying people shouldn’t work on their cars.
Yeah it’s a different customer for a 2 door super simple super customizable truck vs basically an electric Maverick with all the electricals, but as most of us know the general public does not research much at all, they search “electric ev truck under $30k” and there’s 2 options, a 2 door and a 4 door, they’ll get the 4 door. Also Slate doesn’t have showrooms, people can stroll into any Ford dealer and kick the tires on a Fathom, and then get upcharged for Trucoat.
Lastly the price will definitely go up, just like the Maverick did. Ford has spent over 5 billion so far and don’t even think they have a production facility, Slate is at just over 1 billion, yes it’s for a whole platform for Ford, but Slate can’t use the same lines to make a 4 door or sporty little car? So Ford can eat the development costs for a little while but eventually the rent comes due.
It’s to be manufactured at the Louisville Plant where the Escape was built.
Ford has previously said the T3 was being built at “BlueOval City” in Tennessee. I believe the Louisville Assembly was being repurposed for another EV SUV, but it’s likely those plans are on hold.
When Ford announced the UEV platform did they not explicitly say that the first would be a truck produced at Louisville?
https://www.theautopian.com/ford-is-building-a-30000-electric-pickup-as-part-of-a-5-billion-investment-into-affordable-electric-cars/
And back in a December press release Ford announced that the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center “BlueOval City” is just being renamed to Tennessee Truck Plant so pivoting away from EV production there.
You and Suss6052 are both right. I had overlooked that; way back, it was mentioned that the T3 was supposed to be a full-sized truck. With the reports of a skunkworks team working on an EV truck and it was due out in 2027, it became a Mandela Effect moment where that became the T3. This phrasing of features for the T3 is the same as the now Fathom, but that’s likely just due to the nature of EV technology.
“Ford is retiming the launch of its groundbreaking electric truck code-named “Project T3” to the second half of 2027. Taking all the learnings from F-150 Lightning customers, the truck will offer features and experiences never seen on any Ford truck, including upgraded bi-directional charging capability and advanced aerodynamics. The truck will be assembled at BlueOval City’s Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center.” https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2024/ford-broadens-electrification-strategy-to-reach-more-customers-
The canceled three-row SUV was intended for the Oakville Assembly in Ontario, which was retooled for Super Duty. https://fordauthority.com/2026/02/three-row-ford-ev-cancellation-cost-for-2025-revealed/
I guess…how high on the EV supply were the lead decision-makers that it was going to make an F-150 Lightning, a T3 full-sized EV truck, the skunkworks team, a three-row SUV, an EV van, and the Mach-E? I swear 2024 wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like a lifetime with such a sea of change between then and now.
This is the UEV being built in Louisville, the T3 was put on an indefinite hold sometime after the failure of the F150 Lightning from the rouge electric vehicle complex
I live near Louisville and have a family member who has worked with Ford on this from the electric utility side of things. Last I heard, the Fathom will be built in Louisville at the former Escape factory, which is being tooled up as we speak.
I’m going to disagree with you though, because the Slate is not so much a truck as a platform to sell accessories. As has been pointed out here, to option it up to anything more than a 2-passenger pickup, it suddenly becomes more expensive than the competition.
I’ve always seen the Slate as geared primarily towards fleets, ready for wrap, absolutely no features, and the accessories for people that buy them after the fact. But I also think selling physical accessories instead of relying on subscription models is more palatable, at least to me.
Give me a sustained 2C charge rate from 10%-80% and a LFP battery that can be charged to 100% daily. Range will not be an issue with fast road trip charging and the ability to charge to 100% without undue degradation.
The base model battery will 100% be LFP, not sure about the larger pack or specific pack sizes but they’re prepping Marshall Michigan to build the licensed CATL battery cells for this and other EVs on the UEV platform. Charge rates tbd
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