Slate Auto - An EV you spec yourself

[Jims5543]

https://www.slate.auto/en

My older son told me about this. I was looking around the website and thought this was a cool concept. A no bells and whistles EV pickup truck.

I am seriously considering one. I have a stage 2 charger in my garage from my i3 days. I can spec this truck with 300 mile range and probably only need to charge 1-2 times a week.  I drive about 30-60 miles a day. One rare occasions that is 100 miles in a day.

Deliveries will not be until late 2026. So I have some time to decide. I am going to get on the waiting list just in case.

Also, the lack of radio in the car gave a cool idea, a slap my forehead moment if there ever was one.


I saw they sell a holder for a JBL Bluetooth speaker, I have the exact speaker at home they sell the holder for, cool idea!

I just purchased a JBL Go4 for the Mini. 

[MiniDave]

I think the concept is great, but I fear by the time it gets built, all of the subsidies will have gone away, prices for everything will have gone up even more and the actual cost will be closer to what you can buy a fully sorted truck from a legacy mfr like Ford or Chebby by the time you option it out with any of the cool extras they're offering......

But I would have this over a Tesla truck any day, even tho the Tesla truck is a far more sophisticated chassis design.

It's still rare to see a T truck around here, even tho there are hundreds of them sitting in a parking lot not 2 miles from my house. I do see one occasionally......but for that matter I'm only starting to see Mavericks on a regular basis and those have been out for 4 years now.

[ve9aa]

I was quite excited until I read that it wasn't available in Canada.

We never get any of the cool cars and when we do, they're 35% pricier than inn the USA....sigh

[94touring]

There's a few cyber trucks I see on a regular basis around where I live downtown. They are massive.  Something like this truck, and price tag, looks more appealing to me.

[94touring]

I just purchased a JBL Go4 for the Mini.

I always used my phone, Spotify, and ear buds in the mini.  They doubled as ear plugs since it's a loud car lol

[Jims5543]

Cybertrucks are everywhere here, when I am out and about working I probably see 6-10 of them a day.

The appeal of the Cybertruck, from what I gathered, due to its weight, the Cybetruck makes a perfect 179 deduction for small business owners. It weighs over 6K lbs for starters. That is part of why I see so many on the roads.

https://www.realtaxdoctork.com/p/how-to-write-off-your-tesla-cybertruck


I do not like them, they are fugly and huge, I like Tacoma size trucks for work. This Slate appeals to me because it is not huge.

When we had our i3, I did the math, the gas mileage comparison is somewhere in the 80MPG range for EV's. That is impressive. I no longer use my FJ for much beyond work, I could see this slate being a perfect work truck for me. I still want a Toyota Land Cruiser, I am not paying 60-80K for one.

I will wait until the used market drops down to 35K, then look for one.

OR, I may ditch that and grab a Slate. I am 50/50 on which I prefer.

[Jims5543]

Initial ordering opens up later this month. I got an email alerting me to get ready. I am ordering one for a field truck for my company.

Still trying to decide between a Pickup or SUV version. I have 3 weeks to decided. LOL!  Actually you can change that right before production starts on your vehicle. I am just making sure I have a place in line right now. They are expecting prices to be in the Mid 20's for a simple model, I will know pricing when I finally spec it out later this month.

[Jims5543]

I just finished getting my place in line with a $300 deposit on a Base Model Pickup.  Base price before making any changes is $25K ($24,900 to be exact)

The only change I am making is the longer range battery pack and a tonneau cover for the bed. I debated getting the SUV version and decided to keep it simple with a pickup.  Trying to keep this as close to 25K as I can.

Then I think I should just grab a newer used Tacoma for 25K and be done with it. 

[94touring]

205 mile range looks like.  Up from 150. 

[Jims5543]

Yeah, I saw they bumped up the range, there was an option to upgrade to larger batteries for a little more range. I would like to see high 200's for the range that would be ideal.

I am interested in the size of the frunk too as it might be a good place for some less frequently used equipment storage.

From what I am gathering, all options have to be installed. For example, the bed cover, it comes in a box, you install it. The vehicle wrap, you have to install it. Any option you choose, you will be installing every option has a installation difficulty rating.  Interesting.

Here is my design so far, cost so far is about $26,500 I still need a few options priced out as well as tax tag title fees. . I am trying to keep it as simple as possible. I also learned they just ditched power windows as an option, not a big deal my current work truck has manual windows. Just thought it was odd they dropped that as an option.  I figure this will be around 28.5-29K out the door.

https://t.co/fvrOIRKMws

[ve9aa]

Of all the electric vehicles I've ever looked at *this* was the one that most intrigued me actually.

Shame that it's not available in Canada (maybe later?) and if it does come to Canada it'll be somewhere between 30-50% higher priced. (that's the way for MOST things here)

I'd love for it to be a true AWD for our deep winter snow, but that's not gonna happen (probably ever)

Still, as a commuter for 8 months of the year and sporadic days in the winter when it's not too snowy or going to the hardware store, it would be a cool concept.

Like others I toyed in my mind to make it look like an SUV but in the end I felt keeping it looking kinda like a mid 1980's Chevy S-10 would be best.

[MiniDave]

One of my friends is also in line, do they have any estimation of when your truck might be built, Jim?

[BruceK]

My understanding is you don't need to make any decisions on options or set up in order to get delivery of your Slate. Buy the bare bones truck if you want. Everything. And I mean, everything can be added later. If you buy a pickup and want to convert it into the SUV, you can do it on your own or take it to one of their authorized agents to do the upgrade. Same with the wrap. You can buy it naked and then three years later decide you wanna wrap it.  They also promised open source software so you can 3D print your own knickknacks and dodads such as taillight covers or front "grille".

[Jims5543]

Got my delivery window, April - June 2027.

[94touring]

I saw an ad for these pop up the other day. Wondering how many we start to see in the next couple of years. It's pretty hard to beat the price.  I think a lot of people prefer smaller trucks too. 

[Jims5543]

I also decided to ditch ordering a wrap for it that I have to install myself, we are getting it in gray. I am considering having it painted by my friend instead of wrapping it. I am not a fan of wraps they do not hold up and are a nightmare to remove.

[Jims5543]

I saw an ad for these pop up the other day. Wondering how many we start to see in the next couple of years. It's pretty hard to beat the price.  I think a lot of people prefer smaller trucks too. 

I am seeing adds too, I am digging the size of it, its size reminds me of a 90's era Toyota Pickup. The bed is 5' long which is a little short but will work fine for what we intend to use if for.

[cstudep]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L6_9_HHLOSY&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D

[Jims5543]

I saw that in my feed the other day. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L6_9_HHLOSY&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D

This was a really good one too.  I learned from this one there is only 1 battery option, which gets you about 205 miles range.  This is not ideal, but decent.

I am still not 100% on this, I might decide to just buy a used Tacoma instead.