The world is excited about Slate EV pickup truck for two primary reasons: One, it looks cool. And Two — the big one — is the price. This will be the cheapest electric car for sale in the U.S., with Slate a few weeks ago announcing the MSRP of $24,950. But the one question many have had is: What about the destination fee? Well, we have it now, and it’s not nothing.
I asked Slate about this when we heard about the MSRP, but now we have the answer. From Slate (emphasis mine):
Hi from Slate. We have some more news: the destination charge for the Slate Truck is $1450. It’s the lowest among all pickup trucks in the U.S., because we believe that trucks should be affordable.
So, all in, the Slate will cost $26,400.
Does this change anything in your mind? There are still cheaper gas cars, including ones with practical features like paint, a radio, electric windows, and — critically — four doors. There are also still cheaper used EVs. But I’m unsure there’s any new car that’s more soulful for less money. Is there?
Destination fee is the ultimate bullshite. Is like paying delivery for something you pick up at costco
You also pay “destination fees” for that gallon of milk to get to your local Costco, but it’s baked into the price and you never see it.
Right, so why act like its an optional line item?
It’s not like that fee changes based on how far it has to go to get to you or pays the trucker that drove it there.
What?? I’ll have to pay taxes and a destination fee??? Forget it! I’m going to buy a new car from a different company.
As a workvehicle, it is about the same price as a kangoo work van. Obviously, the Renault comes fully equipped with aircon, stereo, electric windows and satnav. And a proven reliability and dealer network.
As a car, plenty of cheaper EVs exist. With usual creature comfort and comparable range.
As a battery 65 kWh is pretty cheap for 26 grand. But then it does consume a lot of energy, it seems.
Off course, tarifs make sure comparing US to EU is impossible.
Keep it equal or under the price of the Maverick and they’ll move.
look i like it, but i need a truck for moving all kinds of stuff around. so unless this can somehow carry stuff better than a 7,000 dollar truck off marketplace… no its too much for me.
This is the correct take for most people. The extra $20-25k that you are not spending (tax, registration, insurance etc) goes a long way in regard to potential repairs and gas for that $7000 marketplace truck. And the $7000 truck will still be worth $7000 five years from now. It might even have paint on it.
The plant where these are going to be built is not that far from me. If I pick it up there, do I still have to pay a destination fee? That’s one of those costs that’s always felt like a legitimized scam. If you’re going to charge it regardless, just build it into the price to begin with. Don’t bait and switch me with shipping and handling.
The destination fee is mandated to be broken out separate on the Monroney.
Most (all?) manufacturers average out the total cost of shipping nationwide and charge all buyers the same fee. It’s pretty tightly regulated.
Ugh. If it’s part of the fixed cost, just include it up front instead of acting like it’s a separate charge.
Do you have to ask?
Some of us (me) just have, and always will, hate these ‘modern’ sized four door pickups. This thing could run on kerosene or propane and I’d still be first in line for a pickup of this size in the US again. I just want a Bronco II with stability control and Slate’s about as good as it can get.
I don’t think the destination fee changes anything. They said up front that it is plus destination and the price is in the same range as other vehicles.
I’ll just drop this here since it is the first article on the Slate since I did some digging and found it. https://www.slateforums.com/forum/threads/slate-preorders-tracking-list-stats-%F0%9F%93%8A.15113/
Of course this is a self selected bunch so it may not be representative of all buyers but it is interesting to see none the less. Slate also claimed that as of sometime on the day the orders opened they had “over 10K” people convert their reservations, so if that number is true this represent a very small percentage of buyers.
Not a very high take rate on the SUV versions which doesn’t surprise me considering even the cheap one adds 20% to the price.
What I am most interested in however is the take rate of the wraps. It appears that a little less than 2/3 have opted for some amount of wrap with about half of those going for a full wrap. Now I do think the wrap thing is not a great idea, since even Slate says expect a 3-5 year life span, but I am happy to see so many people opting for one. I’m hoping that many of the buyers are selecting colorful wraps and maybe, just maybe the other mfgs will take notice that there are buyers for cars in actual colors and start offering more paint colors instead of just greyscale with one or two token colors. I know unlikely but one can dream.
The upgrade lights and lamp plate numbers are interesting too. It seems some people are either ordering for only one end, or are going for different styles front and rear.
The only thing I added to mine was the center console because I seem to EDC bunches of random things.
However the frunk-replacement turbodiesel REX pod is already being designed.
Re: Colors. If colors didn’t cost a significant amount extra, the manufacturers would see a higher take rate. As it stands, $500, $1500 or more to get a color- most buyers will take the heated seats instead.
I agree that if there were more no-cost colors people might be more inclined to purchase them, IF of course dealers would actually put them on the lot in meaningful numbers, or at least not act like doing a custom order was like an act from god.
From numbers on that forum it appears that just under 1/3 of people are stepping up for a full wrap which coincidentally or not is $500-$1500, not including installation, and Slate warns it is only good for 3-5 years. Makes those added cost paint colors sound like a bargain in comparison.
Serious serious questions because I couldn’t figure it out from the slate site. If you buy a wrap, does the vehicle arrive already wrapped or do they provide the product and expect you to handle it? If you choose the SUV add-on, does the vehicle come with the package installed or is the customer expected to install it/pay somebody to install it?
The wrap is definitely up to you to get installed whether you do it DIY (Advanced 12-15hrs 2 people required for full wrap) or you find a local professional to do it. There have been hints that they are going to try and get a network of installers that will do it for you at a target price of $500.
Not exactly clear on the SUV kits. They do say the top is designed to be flat packed for shipping, which of course is good if you decide later. However I get the feeling that even when ordered with the truck it is shipped uninstalled. That is what I’d expect, that they just don’t have the assembly line set up to attach anything that isn’t on the blank slate.
Seems to me that it would be a good idea to have an unfitting shop next door or a local company to install those things, at extra cost of course, so the trucks arrive ready to go. Otherwise you’ll have to deal with scheduling, drop off and pick up on your own. Plus if you got something like the wheels, tires, upgraded bumpers, or lighting you’ll have extra parts when all is said and done. That kind of goes against the whole make it cheap thing since you are buying some parts twice if you want any upgrades.
That’s good info, thanks so much for responding!
“Is That Cheap Enough?”
No
I got a 2027 Bolt for 25K with an incentive from our local air quality district. Less than 500 miles and it is already in the shop for failed infotainment screen. They don’t even have the part. Probably got to get it made in China. I already regret the decision. Why did I turn my back on >40 years of impeccable reliability from Toyota and Acura? Thankful we kept our 2001 Highlander. I’m the idiot in the family.
2026 EV of the year.
You turned your back on 40years of impeccable reliability because Toyota and Honda show zero interest or aptitude for competing in the $25k EV space in the U.S….
We have an older Bolt and have had zero issues and are the last people in the world that would be considered Chevy fanbois. They’ll replace your screen and you’ll be fine. Our old Highlander had a defective seat when it was new, something in the lumbar support would actually poke your back somehow. They certainly were not able to fix that immediately either, it took several attempts…
Thank you for talking me down from the ledge. Autopian people are good people.
This doesn’t shock me nor does my opinion of it change. It’s still neat, I think it has some promise, but I truly believe it’s path to success involves a whole lot of marketing and hype.
For the hundredth time I will remind all that the Ford competitor could end up being a hell of a lot more expensive than this once all is said and done. And that’s before dealers get their grubby hands one them.
The price of the Ford is still definitely unknown and depending on demand some dealers certainly won’t be shy about throwing an ADP sticker on every unit on their lot. On the other hand there are dealers who will sell it to you at MSRP and will even do a custom order so you get exactly what you want. My Son purchased a Lightning when many dealers were still slapping on $5-%10k ADP stickers and didn’t want to do a custom order. Meanwhile the dealer that did get his money was happy to sell at sticker and order the exact truck he wanted.
Of course there is also the fact that they may not start building the base models for some time after intro, see R2 and Cyberturd as examples.
It is also possible even if they launch with the base model available for that $29,999 price that they will raise it in 6 months. However the Slate won’t be immune from price increases. Look what Tesla did with pricing during the car buying frenzy, they responded to the market and added as much to the base price as dealers were with ADPs on other vehicles.
For anyone in CA, it’s actually this minus $3500.
I may pull the trigger.
That’s just for first time EV buyers, right?
Yeah, apparently.
Anyways, looking forward to the next article where people realize you’ll either pay a delivery fee or need to pay for a public transit or a rideshare to the distribution center and asking whether the additional cost of a bus fare makes the Slate “no longer worth it”.
Ever since we lost the tax credit, it seems like everyone is out to nickle-and-dime the Slate price to death!
Want to get lunch after picking up your Slate? That’s a $40 fast food combo on top of everything else. Is the Slate still (NOT) cheap enough?!
I want what I want. Nobody, and I mean no other manufacturer out there at all, is offering the real feature of the Slate, which is user serviceability. There is no competition at all. It’s Slate, or GFY. If you want an electric car that does what you tell it to, and doesn’t contribute to the panopticon of surveillance and dealer lock-in, you don’t have any other competition. And Ford’s new “electric truck” that totally will cost 28,000 is still vaporware and will not cost 28,000. And with Ford’s current reliability and the massive amount of complexity they engineer into every product, in 15 years the Mavericks will be driving around with every engine light on and the Slates will be chugging along with new batteries.
And yes I will be buying one because I have to put my money where my mouth is.
So what did you order on yours?
Green Mini Bronco with gold wheels
The right green and gold will look good. Are you planning on installing the wrap yourself?
It’s interesting to see that we usually bag on the Big Three here, but somehow right now it’s hip to give Ford the benefit of the doubt and say the Slate is “only” 2-3K off from the theoretical $30K electric truck.
Like we saw over and over already what happens with that introductory pricing. They make 7 of them and charge $37,995 plus dealer for the rest.
If Slate’s 25K turns to 30K after fees, taxes, etc., then Ford’s 30K is going a lot further. Especially because unlike Slate’s figures of “under 27500” turned “mid-twenties”, “30K” is really only specifying the leading digit.
I strongly doubt they’re even targeting a flat thirty.
Every car is subject to taxes, Slate included. My state caps sales tax at $500 on vehicles, but there are states where sales tax can be 10% of the purchase price. When most people talk about what a car costs, it’s the sticker price, not the OTD price with taxes, plates, etc.
You can’t say that, they’ll make another article adding the price of plates and asking the same question again! /hj
The more I think about Slate, the more I agree with you here. The ability to do my own bodywork should it be needed is invaluable from an insurance perspective. No manufacturer tracking is one of those things we should all have a better appreciation of. As I get into retirement, I don’t need a 4 door anything and having a small bed to haul my toys (kayak and recumbent trike) means more to me than fitting my kids in there somehow. I feel like I’m the target demographic for this vehicle but I’m not in the market now. My Bolt will need to be replaced eventually though, and when that time comes I’m hoping that Slate is still a thing.
This.
I’ve always been lukewarm on the money value of this thing but this very topic excites me and it’s the real reason I am rooting for it. The increasing complexity of cars with no real point other than sell you “more car” plus the electronic surveillance crap is a real downer and Slate is fixing that.
This right here is a selling point that you cannot shout loudly enough. Make it easy to work on without having to whip out two laptops and an engineering degree, and it becomes one of the most attractive vehicles to enter the market in the last ten years.
You wrote: “There are still cheaper gas cars, including ones with practical features like paint, a radio, electric windows, and — critically — four doors.”
Four doors are not a critical requirement. Have you forgotten all your previous articles about “the perfect vehicles”? It seems you have, so let me remind you by quoting your own words. (emphasis mine)
“Of the 2.8 million-ish XJs built up to 2001, there’s one combination that has always been considered the most desirable: two-door, five-speed, 4×4, green-on-tan. Somehow I have just been offered an XJ specced exactly like this, and I’d been an absolute fool to turn it down. But I’m conflicted; here’s why.
I could quite easily convince you, and myself, that this Jeep Cherokee XJ in the picture is the greatest one ever built. It’s a two-door, which most people think looks nicer than the four-door (it’s technically a shooting brake), it’s green like all Jeeps since WWII should be, it has a tan interior which matches best with the green paint, it has the wonderful AX-15 five-speed manual, it’s got four-wheel drive, and under the hood is the beloved 4.0-liter straight six…”
Source: https://www.theautopian.com/someone-is-offering-me-the-perfect-jeep-cherokee-xj-two-door-manual-but-i-dont-know-if-i-can-buy-it/
I personally find the fact that the Slate is a two-door to be a big plus. Easier to drive and to park. Regular cab trucks heat up a lot faster in the winters and cool down faster in the summers with less interior volume. My wife & I are retired, so 95% of the time we would only need room for one or two people. We also have a Cruze and a Trax if we need something with a back seat.
Just remember that not everybody wants or needs a crew cab truck.
“Just remember that not everybody wants or needs a crew cab truck.” you are correct but there is a reason that the crew cab pickup is the most popular body style and that is because most people do want that back seat. Sucks if you don’t want that but they need to build for the majority of buyers if they want significant volume from a single body style.
Hold on, I just noticed: “Practical features like paint…” Practical HOW?
I’m never getting over the fact people trash on the Slate for not having the “feature” of paint.
“Guys, the vehicle won’t fit my lifestyle and needs, the car-eating monster that’s allergic to paint is known to terrorize my small town.”
I think a lot of people are forgetting how huge the Slate’s frunk is. I owned two single-cab pickup trucks, and they were a huge pain for stuff like grocery shopping. I didn’t mind having only two seats; I minded not having anywhere to store items other than the passenger footwell.
The massive frunk on the Slate totally solves that issue for that use case.
I also think it’s weird how this website keeps comparing the Slate to other, cheaper petrol cars. No one who’s owned an EV wants to go back to the dark ages.
When I order a Slate, it will still have a separate truck bed, (not the SUV kit) but it will have some type of lockable cab-height topper on it. Hopefully either Slate or an aftermarket company like Leer or Lakeland will step up and offer a custom bed cap, although fiberglass ones will be heavy and pricey.
I actually wish someone will come up with a lightweight aluminum topper with fixed side windows and a lockable, lift-open, windowed rear hatch like a traditional topper used to be.
I had both an aluminum and fiberglass cap for my Dakotas and the aluminum one, while ugly, was exponentially nicer. Sooo much lighter. I am not sure how fiberglass became the default!
A lockable aluminum topper on the Slate is the way to go. Hopefully someone comes up with one that doesn’t break the bank.
My hands are made of diamonds and nobody can talk me out of it.
At this point I’m supporting the company on principle alone. Yes, you can get “more car for less money for insert your own reasons“. I don’t need, or want to, hear about them. Someone here complaining about lack of blind spot monitoring is the exact reason on an incremental basis everything costs $50,000.
As long as they hold up the open ecosystem, DIY encouraged, simplicity first end of the deal, I’m in. The point is not to get more car for less money, it’s to be free of Big OEM buttfuckery, subscriptions, half-baked tech overload, surveillance, anti-R2R lobbying, and regulatory capture.
I will pay more money to avoid Ford.
And another reason (or principle) to support: Being U.S. built and assembled for the most part (besides the manual window regulator!). The batteries are coming from the fac’tree built up the highway not far from me in Georgia. The Maverick is built in Mexico. The Bolt is only 17-20% U.S. sourced parts if the Internet is to be believed.
Since I work in an R&D and defense-adjacent field, it has been painfully clear to me for decades now that the U.S. has let its manufacturing prowess and industrial capacity slack in the name of chasing profits and (soapbox) telling kids they can do better than “being factory workers”. We should be easily capable of producing high quality things in quantity. I can off-the-cuff produce an hour long podcast on this alone because it frustrates me to no end.
I’m fully behind REO as well, and hell, maybe if they deliver I’ll literally buy both.
I am not in the market for a Slate, so my opinion doesn’t mean much. Auto manufacturers almost always quote their base price without including the non-negotiable, 100% required, destination fee, so this is just ordinary behavior. It allows them to compete on the same footing as other advertisers. $26,400 vs $24,950 would not be a determining factor for me if I wanted one.
It does irritate me that they (and all the others) don’t include delivery in their advertised prices. It would be different if you could go pick it up at the factory for a discount – maybe not 100% off because there is some prep that has to happen before the car is deliverable, wherever you pick it up.
Ah, someone shared an AI troll thing on the Slate Forum that’s interesting. “The out the door price is higher after fees and taxes!”
So…the low starting price is still relevant. There is notably less price to tax.Destination fees are usually taxed. I was also incorrect about destination fees being legally required – they are an industry convention, disclosure is required.
Every car has extra fees and, of course, dealerships. If we mean it’s affordable enough for someone on a tight budget, that’s a real question. If it’s “IS IT GOOD ENOUGH VALUE?” again….yes. The Slate is selling a low cost of ownership, longevity, and freedom.
It’s selling compatibility with independent repair shops, modularity, the kind of design that makes removing the battery on the Meta Quest 2 take 128 steps, tools, and adhesive, where the Steam Frame is a single external connector. Most cars won’t be comparable to a Quest 2 (I hope), but that’s the difference it can make.
Also, I looked into it, and I’m sure others here know better than me. Automotive service costs are determined by multiplying the shop’s labor rate by a table of the expected time to complete a service (dealerships use more generous times).
So, making service accessible for owners almost certainly means lower costs regardless.
ND. There’s a big difference between not paying for something, and paying to not have something.
They’ve gone from the former to the latter.
Which sadly is all we can hope for these days. At least we get the option of not having the something.
If they do what no other OEM (that I know of) does and let you forgo the destination charge by picking the vehicle up from the factory, I’m all for this. If not, they should’ve just rolled this into the price and heavily marketed the fact that it’s $26,400 at your door.
I believe forgoing the destination charge is federally illegal.
As I understand it, and I could be wrong, they are required to charge the same destination charge amount no matter what state it’s delivered in, but the amount of the charge could be whtever they choose, from $0 to whatever they can convince people is reasonable.
I was incorrect, destination fees are not required or required to be equalized.
I saw your comment lower down. I guess we were both wrong.
Unfortunately the factory is in Indiana, and thanks to the wonderful dealership lobby it is illegal in Indiana to pick up your vehicle from the factory. Land of the free right? Basically it’s the illegal to sell directly to the public law there, gotta go through a dealership, same issue Tesla/Rivian/Lucid fight.
Personally, if they allowed me to go to the factory, use the vehicle for a couple weeks before shipping it to my house, I would be all for it. There’s a lot of cool things to see and do and explore near Warsaw.
Oh, wait, Warsaw Indiana, not Warsaw, Poland.
Nevermind.
I think I’ll just stick with a 90’s Tacoma.
They’re about the same price for a good one
I would like to say no. But the direct sales method maybe? You know with dealers there are always dumb fees you have get rid of. The sometimes double destination charges they try to get by. In many peoples mind destination was maybe more on the dealer. So when the manufacturer gave a certain number they would forgive it being over with included destination. With direct sales there is no one to blame but the manufacturer. “Free shipping” in general has really messed with peoples minds where they refused to “pay for shipping”. That’s leaking into destination charges now.
Dealers also discount below msrp. With direct sales it is what it is. That’s great in many ways but also can you really call it sub $25k anymore? It was always going to be more with taxes registration and gov fees. But that’s not really anything to do with the automaker and varries wildly throughout the country. I still think it’s a decent price. But if the ford thing arrives at a dealer with a discount, I could see prospective buyers giving it alot of thought.
For me personally, the answer is no: that is not cheap enough for how much you have to give up. If I customize it with the SUV kit to get bougie stuff like a covered place to carry my guitar, it’s no longer anywhere close to $26,400 and it’s still a stripper. At that point I’d rather pay a bit more for a Maverick hybrid.
My daily is a 2016 Forester, one small notch above the base trim, and it’s a luxury SUV compared to the slate.
If I owned an auto parts store and I needed a new delivery truck — $26,400 and no more gasoline is a big ol’ HELL YEAH. But as a vehicle for myself, I’ll pass.
While I’m seeing people bemoan the base price, if the question is “Does [the destination fee] change anything in your mind?” then I’m not really convinced it does? As Zipn Zipn pointed out, the destination seems to be in line with what other OEMs charge, so if we’re going to have a (perfectly reasonable) conversation about all-in pricing then we should really be implicating every manufacturer.
Fair point. IMO $24,995 is already pretty rich for something so utterly basic, but I was keeping an open mind. Tacking on another almost 6% fee moved me from “open-minded but skeptical” to “hard pass.” At least for a personal vehicle.