As gearheads, I think we all appreciate the concept of looking under the hood. One of our readers does, too, except he likes looking under the hood of websites. Websites for, say, small EV pickup trucks that everyone desperately wants to know the price of . Yes, I’m talking about Slate, and yes, if you look under the hood of the company’s website, it appears that the price of the entry-level truck has been leaked.
I’m not entirely sure if “leaked” is the right word here; it’s in the source code to the web page on Slate Auto’s site titled How To Preorder, and the pricing information in the source code was spotted by a pleasingly nosy Autopian named Dave.
It’s clear that, based on the 236 comments on our article ‘How Cheap Does The Slate Truck Have To Be To Be Competitive?“ the world has opinions on what the “budget” EV truck should cost given its lack of options and two-door configuration, and up until now Slate has kept that a secret, with an event announcing price coming up next week. The secret appears broken thanks to the strange decision of a web developer who included this comment in the page’s code (emphasis mine):
“26102SLATE_EXPLODED-HERO_v013_1400x800.mp4\”,\”contentType\”:\”video/mp4\”}}}]}},\”headline\”:\”THE MOST AFFORDABLE NEW \\\\nPICKUP TRUCK IN AMERICA.*\”,\”body\”:\”The Slate Truck has all the essentials for the CONFIDENTIAL price of $24,950 (reminder: we’re all still under NDA and prohibited from sharing this).**\”,\”cta\”:{\”metadata\”:
This is all in the metadata, so it would not normally be seen by a casual web browser, which makes me wonder if this is considered a “leak” or not. I think it’s more just a very questionable decision by the coder to include it, or, possibly, a deliberate plant by Slate themselves to drum up excitement? I mean, who is that “reminder” for, exactly?
If so, it did work, as I am excited. Both from the lurid thrill of potentially finding something that should have been hidden, and the price itself, which is pretty damn good. Is it enough to be a viable competitor with Ford’s upcoming $30,000 EV pickup? Maybe?
Further evidence that $24,950 seems to be the actual price is that there was yet another apparent web-related mishap when a now-deleted page on Slate’s site listed the price. This page, now deleted, was sent in to us via a different tipster:
I think if Slate wasn’t planning on $24,950, they pretty much are stuck with it now. Good!
[Editor’s Note: Back before the Slate truck debuted, an anonymous source told me the truck was sitting on the side of the street in Venice, CA. The result? We were the first car website to show up-close photos of the truck prior to the reveal. This guerrilla marketing was just the beginning of Slate’s rather unique marketing strategy, and I do wonder if this “mistake” is part of their plan. It seems a bit obvious, and it aligns with their marketing team’s whole vibe. Still, why show a decoy price that seems pretty decent? –DT]
Remind Me What The Slate Truck Is, Again?
I suppose there’s those of you out there with lives so rich and full and fulfilling that you don’t fixate on the low-end electric truck market. If that’s the case, you may not be aware of what Slate is, exactly. Let’s take care of that now.
Slate is a company that operates by burning money from Jeff Bezos and converting that into an organization focused on creating a small, bare-bones, highly customizable electric pickup truck. It’s deliberately simple and basic, which is something I personally like a great deal. Some buyers, though, may find the idea of an unpainted (they offer wraps for color) single cab pickup truck with manual, crank-operated windows just a little too austere. I mean, look at this dash:
Of course, you can add in a stereo and center screen and all that, but you don’t have to. If you want a minimalistic tool of a truck, here you go.
Specs-wise, the Slate says the truck will have a rear-mounted 201 horsepower electric motor, a 52.7 kWh battery pack that combines with the vehicle’s light 3,600-pound curb weight and small overall dimensions to yield a range target of about 150 miles.
As for charging, there’s DC “Level 3” charging with speeds up to 120 kW (using the Tesla “NACS” plug), promising 20% to 80% state-of-charge in under half an hour. At-home charging is limited to 3.6kW with a regular “Level 1” plug (11 hours to charge 20-100%) or 11kW with Level 2 (under five hours from 20-100%). There is also an optional 84.3 kWh battery pack that Slate says will offer a targeted 240 miles of range, though, unlike other accessories, this is something an upfitter would have to install if a customer wanted a range upgrade.
As for dimensions and capacities, the 3,602-pound vehicle is rated to tow 1,000 pounds and to carry a payload of up to 1,433 pounds. It’ll do 0-60 mph in around 8 seconds, get up to a maximum speed of 90 mph, and carry up to 37 cubic feet of cargo in its bed (34 behind the front seats of the SUV). There’s also a frunk at the nose that holds 7 cubic feet.
It seems like a pretty useful vehicle, and there are plans to be able to outfit the basic truck design to become a two-door SUV with a roof cap and bulkhead delete. Will people be interested in a single-cab truck still? Will it find success as a fleet vehicle? Is 150 miles of range enough for most people? Will the official number be more? I guess we’ll find out.
Is It Cheap Enough?
Last week The Autopian published the world’s first spy photos of Ford’s $30,000 EV pickup, and this got everyone wondering: What about Slate, the Jeff Bezos-funded EV startup that hopes to revolutionize the EV world with a back-to-basics truck with crank windows and an optional radio? The Ford is expected to be well-equipped with things like power windows, an infotainment system, and — crucially — four doors. If the Ford is $30 grand, then how deep into the “mid $20s” price that Slate promised does the two-door startup truck need to be?
Does it even matter? Is the Slate actually competing with the Ford given that one is a two-door and one is a four-door? Or are they both vying for a different customer base? How much volume is Slate gunning for? It seems it’s set up to crank out 150,000 vehicles a year, but is that even possible with any two-door vehicle these days, much less one that is just $5 grand cheaper than a four-door that may have more range?
The truth is, we won’t know until we learn more about both the production Slate and Ford’s Universal EV truck. All I know is that we’ve got two automakers playing ball in the economical EV space, and, no matter how you slice that, that’s worth celebrating.
We’ve reached out to Slate PR but haven’t received a comment yet.
I feel like the ease of ordering one on Amazon and getting it with Free Prime delivery will be a big factor here.
Good point but I’m not so sure about the DIY warranty program.
What amazes me the most is people are all: “It’s $25k and has zero amenities so 150 miles of range is perfectly acceptable since I just commute and go shopping and can rent a car when I have to actually take a trip once a year and I now have zero concerns about charging it”, yet when faced with a regular EV at a price more or less in line with the average transaction price vehicle everyone is all: “No way is 300 miles of range enough, I have to be able to drive it cross country twice a month without ever stopping to take a piss or eat and gas is basically free as an American but charging is subject to the whims of Big Electric without a plug at home and who are you to tell me that maybe I have another car in the family driveway already that I can use for longer trips if I’m too afraid to have the car tell me where a plug is to be found enroute (as any decent EV now does and if not that, the phone will)”
Manufacturers, read into that what you will, but basically you need to be somewhere between $25k and the current ATP of a new vehicle to succeed in the EV space with 150 miles as the now minimum but apparently perfectly acceptable range for reasonable people. Or bring back a 2door version of the Versa or Mirage or Yaris but with a pickup bed behind the front part.
In other news, I read elsewhere today that GM is noticing a significant drop in interest in large pickups and SUVs months ahead of what they figured the lag time would be relative to gas cost spikes. LIke, duh? I wonder if their EV plans will change yet again and they will take another write off but on the costs of gasoline vehicles this time…
I am probably just too old, but $25K seems like a lot for a single use daily driver type car. but what do I know.
I’m probably as old as you but I don’t see how (beyond a minimal bed) this is more useful than the aforementioned Versa or Yaris (or Soul) was/is that not enough people bought to be viable. Either you need a truck a lot in which case the size seems suspect or you just need a cheap car in which case $25k is not THAT cheap, not considering used cars and trucks and even EVs exist and very few people seem interested in sub 25k regular cars. For twice a year use renting a truck or van seems better. How much crap can you REALLY fit in it for a real haul to the dump? You’d probably end up renting something larger just to get it all done quicker even with a mini-minitruck…
Start adding the “extras” (a color?) and watch the price balloon up beyond any reasonable sense.
One way to think about it is $25K today to us millennials and X’ers is what $16000 was back in 2008 when we were possibly last thinking of the good ol’ days of cheap cars.
What did $16K buy back then? What’s changed between then and now in terms of increasing manufacturer’s costs – safety requirements, mandated equipment, base model option expecations.
In this context, is $25K a reasonable cost for an EV which we KNOW still has extra overhead costs compared to a gas powertrain. Plus the increased costs globally of manufacturing, especially in the US.
I think getting anything like this for $25K is a miracle already.
The 2008 Ford Ranger Regular Cab XL (base trim) had an original starting MSRP of $14,220 (according to AI, I’m too lazy to verify the source but it sounds correct). I’ll bet it wasn’t hard to get another couple thousand off that price either. AND that bare bones Ranger is probably better equipped with the exception of maybe AC but even with that I believe it’d be under the $16k mark retail.
Base model expectations? The Slate doesn’t have those seeing as how everything is manual. The price still seems too high.
But do we not all pine constantly for the return of the base model old Ranger?
Well, low-mileage used ones still under warranty at 30% of the original price, yes we do.
it was probably due to loss leaders or overstock, but I recall GM 2 door work trucks with the 4.3 advertised for under 20K, specifically a couple for 417,995 or whatever around that time. but I think the housing market fell out in 2008 as well. I am fully GenX BTW, I am also pretty cheap and look for the deals constantly, so I am probably the wrong demographic here. I did think the Elio 2 seater advertised at around 5K back then and supposedly going to net 50-60 mpg seemed both cheap enough and compelling enough to try to live with a daily 2 seater.
Fail
So far, the only plus for Ford is 4 doors. And for 6 grand more, it better have more than double the range of the Slate and be AWD.
Slate is looking like better choice even now.
How much extra do I have to pay for them to not sell my data to Amazon?
Didn’t the metadata disclose accessories too? Here’s some of what I found (the list is 8,475 items long so I don’t blame anyone for not remembering it):
– ignition key (how you gonna start it?) $1,500
– brake pedal $2,000 (this one I plan to definitely add)
– clear windshield (base is frosted) $999
– seats $499/ea
– door hinges $600/ set
… plus the usual stuff we already know about, such as dashboard, body color wrap, steering wheel, headlights and such.
I dunno, I was thinking of getting the clear windshield upgrade but the frosted actually sounds so much better for handling sun glare! And I’d just 3D print the door hinges from HTPLA anyway (High temp so it can be outside but I just have to avoid Arizona, generally good advice).
I think you hacked the BMW website in error.
On the website one of the options is “Doors No Thanks”……
Frosted windshield has me lolling like an idiot.
Can Slate be haggled with? I’ll give you $22k for one if you throw in the wrap for free.
I believe they’re doing the Tesla direct to consumer, so nope.
$25k is good on its own, but everything’s an addon, including colors that are not bare gray plastic. Back seats and a long roof cost extra. Tack on mandatory taxes and fees and you’re probably above $30k for a reasonably useful vehicle that still only has two doors.
I still expect it to fail. I don’t want it to fail. I really dig the concept and almost everything about it. But man, I think it’s a bit naive to think this concept will succeed with the public at large. I do hope I’m wrong on that.
This is my thought. It’s a tata nano. It could be really awesome for an around town delivery or small business vehicle, but our collective aspirationalism means it’s destined to fail, or at the very least be a punch line like a yugo or mirage
I think they’ll need a sugar daddy to keep them propped up.
They have one
One wonders how long he’ll do that. Blue Origin has a path towards making real money, recently-exploded-rocket not withstanding. But a back to basics EV startup doesn’t seem like the kind of dick-measuring BS most billionaires get involved with.
Seems like Musk is on his way out of the car biz and Bezos is just getting up to speed.
It’s all going to come down to if it becomes a THING or not. If you look at it practically, there is a case to be made for it, but it requires it to be the second vehicle and the used market has a lot of vehicles available in that price range that are generally more appealing.
However, if it becomes a THING, where people think it’s cute or cool or fun to customize or .. whatever, then it could be a hit. Consumer whims are very hard to predict and this has the potential to become a “Thing”. Like the New Beetle outsold the Golf in the US regularly.
Part of the problem is that it fills the role of a spare vehicle, and thus competes with used vehicles as well. This is limited in range and seating capacity (at base price), so it has a limited appeal as a daily or family friendly vehicle. Lots of people have a spare car or truck, I keep a truck around myself. But mine was $5k and there’s no way I would ever pay $25k for an occasional use vehicle, and I suspect a lot of people will feel the same.
I don’t want them to fail, as a concept I think it’s really cool. And I definitely wouldn’t mind a used one one day.
$25K + taxes + fees feels a bit much for a gutted car that will most likely have shitty resale value. If it isn’t full of gremlins and QC issues, I can’t wait to get my hands on a used one.
If that’s the price, I will go forward easily with my reservation next week. I don’t know if having any of the interior colors adds cost, but besides that my build added nothing but a wrap. Thanks User Dave!
If it stayed that price, without dealer markups, crazy fees, etc I’d still be interested.
150 miles is plenty for me to commute 5 days a week if I charge overnight, like I do my phone. I want basics, I want simple. This would replace my Crosstrek and do everything I currently use that for.
(And I have 3 other cars for fun vroom vroom stuff.)
There are no dealers so no dealer mark up or bogus fees to be added aside from the obvious tax and registration stuff
That is a huge plus in itself, especially for buyers in areas such as Florida where all the dealers add thousands of dollars of BS to every sale.
I would consider one of these if the bed were a bit more capacious and the range just a bit longer. The long-range battery would be a good option to add.
Does it come with A/C? That is a must.
A good number of buyers will get a custom paint job, get a wrap locally or paint it themselves. Instead of flames, it would have lightning bolts…
It has A/C. They said they debated it internally, but that that seemed like one of the few must have features.
Well it will definately get market up a few days before prime day and then get a “discount”
That is too expensive.I know…. I’m old,I’m cheap,I’m clueless.It’s still too expensive.
The used market on these things is going to be insane cheap, I bet
Probably yes, after a few years.
The early adopters will move on to the next interesting object.
Teslas seem to depreciate fast.
It depends on your needs and wants. Back 20 years ago, I used a small truck as a commuter. I would LOVE to have had a Slate instead of an S-10 in that role.
Today, I don’t do as much yardwork and a truck isn’t a need and I hated driving the S-10 so I don’t want a truck. To me, I would rather spend $25k on a used EV with a lot more features and range.
However, as C-mack says, if this becomes under $10k on the used market in a couple years, sign me up. I just need a cheap commuter car and this would fill the bill.
I’m speculating here, but something tells me the Slate’s NVH will not make for a good commuting experience.
It might be ok if you pay $995 for the Insulation and Sound Deadening package!
All depends on your commute. My first job was 45 minutes of driving against traffic at speeds up to 65-70 mph. The NVH issues would have been annoying as hell. My current job is a 15 minute drive on roads through a sampling of subdivisions, a 45 mph road and, if I am unlucky, a train crossing. I wouldn’t notice NVH problems.
If you can find a used one in 2 years for under 10k it will be completely option free,trashed, and have a gazillion miles.
Most EVs lose 50-60% of their value in the first 3 years. Assuming we aren’t at war in the Middle East in 3 years (might be an ok assumption given who won’t be President then), this leads to a basic Slate being under $12.5k.
Go back before we decided to bomb Iran and 4-5 year old 1st gen Bolts and 2nd Gen Leafs were around $10k regularly with less than 50k miles. Those were more expensive cars than the Slate is and much better equipped. So I think it’s reasonable to expect 2027 Slates around $10k in 2031.
As for “completely option free”. Aren’t ALL Slates that way? Maybe I’m judging it wrong, but I don’t think an aftermarket stereo, a DIY kit to spin window cranks and an older wrap dramatically improve a vehicle’s resale value.
I’m really hoping they are successful with the bare bones idea they are pushing. I have my doubts, though, given how that’s gone for other cars in the past. But, maybe people will embrace it. I hope.
That said, I would likely never buy one especially new. It’s just not good enough at anything in particular that I want to make it worth buying.
I think the barebones MIGHT hit a nerve. I saw a VW id.buzz yesterday. The owner had absolutely coated it with flowers and the like and it fricking worked. I took a picture and both my wife and daughter loved it too.
A Blank Slate might hit that place where Crocs sells a ton of things to cram in the holes of their crap shoes to make them uglier and these charms cost more than the shoes.
I’d consider this truck, but I’m guessing that this is how the pricing will shake out for me:
–I do a lot of longer trips, so have to have the upgraded battery pack (+$2500-$3000);
–I have two kids, so have to have the additional seats (+$1500-$2000);
–I don’t want those kids flying out when they ride in the vehicle with me, so need the camper top as well (+$750-$1000).
So my total add-ons, before I even start to look at different colors or adding speakers, is $29,750, roughly the price of the ford truck with all of the same features. And that comes with the hassle of having to pull out the seats every time I want to use it as a truck.
I REALLY like the idea of a vehicle with NO infotainment (or only the infotainment that you want/install), but there is no way that this is a good value proposition for me.
But, think of how many recalls the Ford will inevitably have. Might be less time removing seats.
lol indeed
I’m sure the startup company that’s building an all-new vehicle entirely from scratch will definitely nail it the first time.
With some trepidation, I will say that the new Ford vehicles (2025, 2026) are doing better on quality. But yeah. Will need to wait and see.
Cars are actually valued in Smiles per mile, and I think this truck will be a great value in that measurement.
You are thinking about this wrong. If you have kids and need to take longer trips and the like… get a Sienna. Then for a secondary vehicle, get a Slate, throw a boombox in it and use it for hauling yourself to work and hauling crap back from Home Depot.
The bonus is the lack of seats. This can be YOUR vehicle, not the kid’s vehicle. “Oh, I’m sorry, you can’t pick the radio station in here and the Bluetooth speaker is linked to my phone not yours so you get to listen to my music.” or “No you can’t get into the extra stash of cheerios buddy, but you can get into some beef jerky”. Or best of all. “Oh, you can’t roll down the windows from your car seat? Darn.” (cackles wildly).
Also, reminder that businesses that are buying fleet care way more about TCO and “cost for livery” than you do. Livery is PART of the cost calculation and smol flat brick with wrap-friendly surface is MUCH nicer and faster (and likely cheaper) than “fancy aero with lots of curves and holes”.
Also fleet trucks are “run it until it dies” not “until my three year lease is up”
America has wildly different needs and problems.
This is not a truck for people who picked 2.5 kids, a white picket fence, and a 1hr+ one-way commute.
This is a great truck for a two-adult household in a geographically compact area. Seattle has more dogs than kids. The 2020 census put humans under 18 at 15% of total population.
I need y’all to understand that the “Main Street Americana” experience is not actually the default experience in much of the country.
Only tangentially related but—15% under-18s is low. Canada is ≈20%.
Compare Central Africa (Uganda, Angola, Burundi, DRC, Niger, etc.) where the population is >50% children. I can’t imagine more than half of everyone being that young.
For Seattle specifically. I’m sure the US is being bolstered by the low 30s in places like Laredo, TX (~33%)
Apparently, the introduction of the iPhone (and the worldwide popularity of other cell phones afterwards) has contributed to a drop in reproduction in the US and around the world.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iphone-birth-rate-fertility-decline-study/
That’s only because they gave us easy access to videos of kids being jerks.
Kind of lol’ing at this (guessing you’re also in Seattle) was thinking earlier the Slate seems very Seattle to me.
Probably not enough to solely hit their sales goals but I’m sure we’ll see plenty of these here-somehow feels like the inverse of the Cybertruck.
The majority of commercial fleet vehicles are leased. Something like 80% of mid to large corporations chose not to own their vehicles.
One, the tax advantages are significant. You can write off the entire cost of the lease as an operating expense, lowering your corporation’s taxable income.
Second, businesses prefer fixed operating costs. Choosing to lease, or sell the vehicle before the end of the warranty period guarantees there will be no unexpected repair costs, and minimum lost income due to down time.
Third- Many businesses prefer the image of their drivers in clean, current vehicles.
In the above scenarios, depreciation matters. Lower depreciation = higher residual value, lowering the cost of a lease. When calculating TCO on an owned vehicle, resale value at end of ownership needs to be factored in. Many fleets who own their trucks actually chose crew cabs over regular cabs because they are more valuable on the second hand market.
Everything about this is a better explanation than mine, and also I hate how insanely wasteful it is. Maybe slate’s real play is to siphon a bunch of money off of Jeff Bezos and sell the upgrade kits to single-cab weirdos buying off-lease Amazon warehouse runabouts
I think you’re on to something there. It’s really the only way I can see Slate finding customers for regular cab trucks.
Vehicles don’t last forever, but they last much longer than they used to. A modern pickup truck can handle 15-20 years of regular use over a number of owners. I think Ford did the right thing moving their trucks over to aluminum bodies. I see many 2015 era F150s up here in Rust Land that look to be in great condition.
Personally, I’ve only ever bought used vehicles, but I’m aware somebody had to buy the truck new and then pass it along for me to have a chance at it.
It will be interesting to see how the move to EVs affects vehicle longevity. Current EVs are getting better quickly (and becoming obsolete quickly) hence the rampant depreciation. Battery technology will begin to plateau however, and we could see the average car approaching 20, maybe even 30 years old in our lifetimes.
Let’s assume this will sell for $25k.
-Did they knock $2k off the price when the federal EV rebate was repealed to keep it more palatable?
-These would sell like crazy for $17,500 if the federal rebate were still in place.
The speculation is the truck was originally going to have a battery that complied with the material sourcing requirements to qualify for the tax credit but when that went away, they could source a cheaper pack since the material sourcing rules are no longer a factor.
That makes sense. Thanks!
It’ll be interesting to see how popular these are in different states when state/local credits are applied.
NY says the full $2k rebate requires greater than 200miles of range, so the base Slate would only get $1k. If the battery upgrade is a few grand, it would be a no-brainer to snag it for essentially $1000 off.
I think Colorado has the biggest potential savings with tax credits up to $3,250 if I’m reading their website correctly: https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/transportation/grants-incentives/electric-vehicle-tax-credits
That stupid google bot thinks you need to earn around $100,000 per year to take full advantage of that credit, so take that source with a grain of salt. That sounds like a two income household could probably get that pretty easily.
I can’t even express how much I don’t want to have to control my car by arguing with a chatbot, and I really don’t mind bringing my own screen since I was going to bring it anyway. I grew up cranking my own windows, my arm didn’t fall off. And I really love the open air kit! Y’all keep talking about the lack of features as something to be overcome, but to me it’s what would put Slate near the top of my list if I were shopping for a new car right now.
I’ll admit the battery is smaller than I’d like, but people are like “$25,000 and it doesn’t have a giant screen and automatic everything and built-in grok that’ll keep the doors locked unless you call it hal and beg it to open the pod bay” and what I hear is “this thing costs TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS and it doesn’t EVEN squirt warm piss in your eyes every time you turn on the air conditioning.”
LOL, I’m with you. The lack of features is the feature that I want.
Correct and I’m with you but why pay for nothingness. If they delete features and costs can I delete zeroes from my check?
I guess these days maybe we have to pay more for less? Weird.
Putting aside that to sell 100k you really need more customers than “a bunch of odd enthusiasts that like crank windows” the problem isn’t that it doesn’t have that stuff, it’s that it doesn’t cover enough use cases to be worth $25k, and when you start getting the stuff that could cover more use cases it pushes the price even higher.
I like this as a potential first EV and replacement for my daily since it’s interesting and fun, unlike a Bolt or Leaf or whatever. But I regularly take my kids or dog in my daily. And a few times a year I go on longer tips in it. And I do enjoy listening to music on high quality speakers while driving day to day.
After the add-ons to cover those use cases, this is more like $30k plus. And compared to my paid off Mazda3, it’s not worth it at all. That’s too much money just for something “fun”.
At 15-18k base I might say it was worth it to have a fun runabout, even though it still wouldn’t cover all my bases out of the box and would be more money than any other reasonable replacement to my daily. Then I’d gladly throw them a few hundred a year adding stuff on over time.
Hey, I’m not going to buy one either, you don’t have to talk me out of it. I’m just saying sure, $25,000 might sound like a lot if you’ve got a particular checklist that this truck doesn’t cover, but it seems like a good price for a new car if it does everything you need and doesn’t come with a bunch of obnoxious crap that you don’t want and that just makes your whole ownership experience worse. These days $15k will get you a shiny new 2-seat golf cart!
Yeah, reading through some more comments I’m thinking maybe this price will actually work out. After all, I wouldn’t spend $25k on a new Trax or $50k on a new Highlander, either. The new car market just hasn’t convinced me the prices are worth it.
But the original pitch convinced me to send them $50, since I would have seriously considered this my first ever new car at $18k. Once it was clear it was going to be over $20k I got a refund, but that just means they sell to all the other people that aren’t like me and do buy brand new.
Maybe I’ll have a chance to snag a used one in a few years.
I wonder what the used market will look like. If Slate manages to survive (I have doubts), and these turn out to be durable and more or less driveable, they could hold their value pretty well. There’s just not much to break. After all, a car’s tech won’t become painfully outdated overnight if it doesn’t have any tech to begin with! [guy_pointing_at_head.jpg]
$25k for a 150 mile range 2 seat 2 door BEV with crank windows and a bare interior feels like too much.
I think Slate is planning on fleet sales, delivery, SMB and the like as well as ppl who want a basic affordable trucklet.
Ford isn’t in the same market and IMO will never come close to the Skate in price.
People need to remember that the behemoth that Amazon/AWS has become started in a garage with an idea and lost money for decades. Bezos might have a grand plan for the Slate. He’s certainly smarter than musky and plays the long game. The next iterations of this and future vehicle from Slate might reveal the intended direction.
Slate is a gateway to AWS and Amazon services which is a big thing if you think about it.
I mean… Fleet pricing on a Maverick XL is like $26.5k. With an established dealer network, fleet contracts/contacts, service network, parts availability, insurance pricing, etc.
When did the maverick enter the discussion?
It’s basically the direct competitor? Even if you’re referring to the upcoming UEV Pickup thing, assuming they hit the $29,999 price they’ve referenced (which is near enough identical to base Maverick pricing), I would assume the Fleet pricing will be a couple grand less than that while having all the same benefits I mentioned above.
Sure
Bezos doesn’t have any plans for Slate, he just invested in them and doesn’t have a seat on the board or any other influence in what they do. He doesn’t even have much say at Amazon either.
Didn’t know that. Thanks.
I love simple, so I’m still interested. When comparing price to the Ford, what is the value of NOT dealing with a dealer? I recall looking at a Mustang with a $4K dealer markup. I only buy if I’m within a few hundred of dealer invoice, and I told that Ford dealer we were in different realms. When I walked, the salesman and manager both ran down the street after us. My other rule is to do a deal in 20-30 minutes, or stop wasting my time.
As a comparison, I did once buy a Ranger from a different dealer for $400 over invoice in 20 minutes. Different vehicle demand situation, for sure.
This is JUST a little too expensive to be a no brainer purchase.
Please give it a seat with a lumbar support. I like this truck but I need that.
Lumbar support, armrests, air conditioning – that’s the sum total of my mini truck needs. The price is a little high, the range a little low, the bed a little too short, but it’s really close to meeting my needs. If they could get the 240-mile battery to $25k or get the low-range version closer to the original promise of $20k I’d slap a lumber rack on and deal with the tiny bed…
Agreed. It’s “close” but $5k is nothing to sneeze at in this price range and I bet it goes up fast once you add battery, rear seats, roof module, etc.
I really like it, but I won’t consider it at $25k. At $18k I’d find one to test drive at least.
No lumbar. But there will be a QR code molded into the side plastic of the seat that takes you to the Amazon page for back pillows for $17.99, delivered in two days or less. Bezos will make money on this truck one QR code at a time. Back pillow for $17.99, infotainment screen for $149.99, and do it yourself paint wrap for $399.99 etc.
I’m kind of shocked that it weights as much as it does, given its diminutive size and two doors.
All US-delivered vehicles are required by law to have a backup camera and corresponding screen. How is Slate getting around that?
I’m not in the market for an EV, Slate or otherwise, but I’m tempted by dealers offering sub-$30k Maverick XL Hybrids.
I’ve seen a display in the rearview mirror or maybe using the dash display.
The gauge cluster is a screen, the camera display pops up on there.
No, this was definitely an accident. Webdevs leak stuff all the time when they forget that webpack isn’t magic and view source exists
You can do naughty things with Chrome Developer Tools. Menu -> More Tools -> Developer Tools. Everybody has it.
Yeah and people forget to scope their Google API keys so suddenly that “safe” Maps key lets someone run up a $50,000 Gemini bill.
Software is cursed.
I would agree except for how weird the leak is. Like, if this was some hidden tool that hadn’t gone live yet and just had a commented out section of code exposing the price, maybe. But the weird comment and parenthetical reminder that “we’re all under NDA”? Why would someone put that in there at all?