New basic EV truck

[ultrarunner]

I can see a market but can it be delivered and make money and will the subsidies still exist to hit the target price?

Reliable comfortable ICE cars are also in this price range.

A very early adopter Doc I work with had very early home solar and also did his medical building plus had one of the first Leafs with Nissan trail and he no longer had a gasoline bill and his electric bill for home and office zeroed out…

He still had a winter natural gas home heating…

 

[ultrarunner]

SLATE as in blank slate might just catch on with endless mods and options post factory build…

All my younger friends are smart phone for entertainment and navigation…

Standard Heater, AC, backup camera and basic cruise with crank windows sound fine to me.

I find it exhausting when I drive the super duty in urban areas and just about forget about parking…

A compact utility vehicle that I can charge from my solar would cover a lot of my needs and add a rack and it would be very useful…

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I could see having one of those, but not as is.

It could be used as a manure hauler on the property, so I'd have to make a dump bed for it, and 4WD would be a near necessity.

But the main problem would be that I would NOT trust it to be parked in the barn. Yes, I know that not all EVs burn all the time, but it's a lot less painful for me to have a small gas engine cold started and then short tripped than it would be to lose all the lives in the barn.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think Tesla would sell a lot of small pickups as opposed to the Cyber Truck offered.

 

[ultrarunner]

My friend planned to retire last year at age 70 and was out truck shopping and decided to work another year as a high school teacher to pay for the f150 Tremor that checked all the boxes…

His wife also 70 works full time for a local hospital…

I know the new f150 costs a lot more than 25k

Trucks use to be priced on the bargain end of the scale…

 

[Oaktree]

Trucks use to be priced on the bargain end of the scale…

That was before automakers discovered that a significant number of buyers would pay more for lots of bells & whistles. Doesn't cost all that much more to add that stuff, so the increase is almost pure profit.

I find it exhausting when I drive the super duty in urban areas and just about forget about parking…

If I lived in the city or suburbia I would definitely consider a smaller vehicle for those very reasons. There is definitely a market for a small truck, as shown by the success of the Maverick.

 

[RSKY]

This is what I have been looking for in an EV. Kind of like a glorified, street-legal golf cart. I've got to have the 6-7 seat SUV for hauling all the grands. Got to have the pickup to tow a trailer with tractor and haul other stuff. But hate the gas bills because most of my driving is actually on round trips less than 60 miles with a lot of stop and go and idling. That little truck could make it from my home to the largest shopping area, 30 miles, then to oldest daughter's home, 30 miles, then to secondary shopping area and schools, 20 miles, to youngest daughter's house, 15 miles, then home, 5 miles! Plug it in and have it ready for the next trip. Half of my total driving could be in this thing. All the little trips of ten miles or less to the local Wally World, to church, and other places around town would be much cheaper in the Slate Pickup. It would have been useless to us before retirement but now it would be a game changer. As for safety, it would be stored and charged outside the garage under an awning. I am usually skeptical about EVs and understand that they wouldn't be practical for everyone but the price/utility of this one fits my needs perfectly.

RSKY

 

[EddieWalker]

I was telling my wife about this last night, and she got it right away. Now she wants one!!! Neither of us wanted to spend $55,000 or more on a Tesla. But something practical like this little truck would be perfect for errands in town, getting feed, or a quick trip to Lowes for small stuff.

We both have full sized vehicles that we need, but it would be nice to not have to put miles on them if we don't have to.

 

[jyoutz]

So true. And, for those of us who like to drive "cramped, underpowered little econoboxes", we have to try to figure out when the "cycle" is going to end, so we know when to buy our next new one.

I missed out on the last real Honda Civic (after they started making them gargantuan), so had to wait until 2007 to buy a subcompact two-door hatchback (Toyota Yaris). Now that I'm thinking of replacing that car, they have discontinued the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris, so there are basically no more "cramped, underpowered little econoboxes" right now (especially ones with manual transmissions). Hopefully the cycle will continue and someone will start making an actual small, fun hatchback again, but I'm not holding my breath.

When the current one goes to the crusher, I'll probably be stuck with small SUV with an automatic transmission, just like everybody else....

Small econobox cars: VW golf, Chevy spark, Ford escape.

 

[Quaffer]

I placed a deposit on one. A whopping $50 for a slot reservation, fully refundable. Not sure I want one, but preserves the option.

If they keep anywhere close to what they are claiming for pricing it will cost less than a UTV I recently purchased. Of course, everything to do with price or delivery times is disclaimed numerous times.

 

[ultrarunner]

My boss back when I was in High School had a VW Golf pickup with Diesel and ran the wheels off it for his business delivery vehicle… fantastic mileage at a time when diesel fuel was cheaper…

Don’t see many survivors around today… my guess is rust?

I have friends in Washington that love their 4 wd K trucks from Honda, Suzuki and Mitsubishi…

These are tiny trucks many states prohibit…

If Slate can deliver reliability with good road manners and body panels immune to rust the need is there.

Tesla should have one of these in their lineup…

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I've been slowly converting my gas-powered tools to electric, and I've noticed there's a different dynamic. With a gas-powered tool the engine is the most expensive part. With an electric tool, the battery is the most expensive part. So they're built differently -- the electric tools are basically built more cheaply.

I was wondering if car makers would ultimately come to the same conclusion. After all, an electric car is basically just a carrying case for a big battery. And once the battery is worn out it's barely worth putting a new battery in an old car. This may be the start of a trend toward simpler electric cars.

 

[ultrarunner]

The age old pick up question… can it carry a sheet of plywood?

I use my Samurai every week towing my landscape trailer and the trailer can carry plywood or a yard of rock…

The Slate tow specs are 1000 pounds… the same as the Samurai and I tow much more than that around the property… 4wd and transfer case makes the magic happen.

I’d like to see if a lumber rack is in the offerings.

Maybe a power tap to harness the battery pack to power things during a power outage?

 

[Oaktree]

I've been slowly converting my gas-powered tools to electric, and I've noticed there's a different dynamic. With a gas-powered tool the engine is the most expensive part. With an electric tool, the battery is the most expensive part. So they're built differently -- the electric tools are basically built more cheaply.

I was wondering if car makers would ultimately come to the same conclusion. After all, an electric car is basically just a carrying case for a big battery. And once the battery is worn out it's barely worth putting a new battery in an old car. This may be the start of a trend toward simpler electric cars.

I've come to really like cordless hand tools...drills, saws, etc. Other battery power tools like weedwackers, chain/pole saws, etc. seem to be kind of wimpy compared to their gas counterparts. Only plus on those is they always work, as opposed to having to fart around with getting one of those really small 2 stroke engines to start and/or run right.
As you noted, replacement/spare batteries can be quite pricey.

As far as simpler EVs, not sure that's going to happen anytime soon. I get the impression that the type of person who'd want an EV is also one who wants as much latest-and-greatest tech-y stuff as they can get.

 

[Oaktree]

I’d like to see if a lumber rack is in the offerings.

Shouldn't be hard to fab up a bed rack. Easy if this truck has stake pockets, if not, still doable.

 

[ultrarunner]

Shouldn't be hard to fab up a bed rack. Easy if this truck has stake pockets, if not, still doable.

Having suitable anchor points on a composite is what I am wondering…

Stake pockets have been around a hundred years basically unchanged but not enough info yet on the Slate offering.

 

[not2old]

As far as simpler EVs, not sure that's going to happen anytime soon. I get the impression that the type of person who'd want an EV is also one who wants as much latest-and-greatest tech-y stuff as they can get.

Not here. I find the cameras and TPS useful but hate all the other stuff. I find a touch screen much more distracting than the old mechanical controls. I still occasionally have to pull over and stop to adjust the HVAC on my Grand Cherokee to figure out how to fix something I've messed up by accident.

 

[5030]

Late to the party but I'd never consider one for a couple reasons, mainly bed length and 2 wheel drive only plus it has that made in China look about it. Reminds me of Mahindra in a way. They claim built in America (Rochester Hills, Michigan) but in reality, all the parts come over in containers and are 'assembled' in Rochester Hills, by non union workers so I don't buy the made here thing at all. I realize that many decades ago Mahindra built 'Jeeps' under license from Willys Overland but then they changed the design slightly in good offshore fashion and built their own wannabe Jeep, that I would never buy, just like that wannabe pickup truck but that is my view and maybe not yours.

The other issue I have always had with electric vehicles in general is, the majority of owners don't have a clue where the electricity comes from. They see to think it just comes out of the plug and magically appears there.

The national grid is already strained as it is without the adoption of the electric car cult and power plants have to consume fossil fuels (nat gas and coal produce it no matter what) and that power only comes to the plug if the utilities make it. That is the one thing that most EV owners have no clue about. Sure, we have solar and some wind but in reality, solar is only viable when the sun shines and solar panels are made with environmentally questionable materials plus they have a definite use life and a complex disposal issue when they are no longer efficient and wind power also has it's issues as far as location and infrastructure costs, plus replacement blades clutter up landfills because in reality, they aren't readily recyclable.

So, we are back to baseload fossil fueled electricity generation and nuclear and nuclear has it own unique disposal issues as well.

If the wind don't bow and the sun don't shine (and sunny days are not the norm in many parts of the country), then solar panels and / or windmills are basically ornaments. Baseload will for the foreseeable future will be coal and nat gas with nuclear providing some of it only. The other issue is what are you willing to pay for alternate power generation via your utility bill?

No Bezo's wannabe truck in this driveway, ever. I also agree that a wannabe truck or not, any truck with less than an 8 foot bed is nothing but a poser.

 

[ponytug]

The age old pick up question… can it carry a sheet of plywood?

I use my Samurai every week towing my landscape trailer and the trailer can carry plywood or a yard of rock…

The Slate tow specs are 1000 pounds… the same as the Samurai and I tow much more than that around the property… 4wd and transfer case makes the magic happen.

I’d like to see if a lumber rack is in the offerings.

Maybe a power tap to harness the battery pack to power things during a power outage?

There is a roll cage option and a pretty extensive roof rack option.

I'm reserving judgement until the actual launch, but I like simple, and the option of being able to unscrew a body panel or other component is appealing. As the design seems rather dependent on DIY screw assembly and disassembly, I do wonder about screw retention in the face of torsion and vibration.

I'm with @not2old in greatly preferring controls that can be adjusted by touch, no scrolling through submenus. To me it is basic Human Factor Design 101. I see it as the driver's job is to drive and anything that detracts or distracts from that is a problem.

I think that @ultrarunner's analogy to the Suzuki Samurai is on the money. The Samurai is/was a great vehicle for what it does, and like all vehicles, not necessarily a vehicle for everybody all the time, but a vehicle that could just get stuff done.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

Late to the party but I'd never consider one for a couple reasons, mainly bed length and 2 wheel drive only plus it has that made in China look about it. Reminds me of Mahindra in a way. They claim built in America (Rochester Hills, Michigan) but in reality, all the parts come over in containers and are 'assembled' in Rochester Hills, by non union workers so I don't buy the made here thing at all. I realize that many decades ago Mahindra built 'Jeeps' under license from Willys Overland but then they changed the design slightly in good offshore fashion and built their own wannabe Jeep, that I would never buy, just like that wannabe pickup truck but that is my view and maybe not yours.

The other issue I have always had with electric vehicles in general is, the majority of owners don't have a clue where the electricity comes from. They see to think it just comes out of the plug and magically appears there.

The national grid is already strained as it is without the adoption of the electric car cult and power plants have to consume fossil fuels (nat gas and coal produce it no matter what) and that power only comes to the plug if the utilities make it. That is the one thing that most EV owners have no clue about. Sure, we have solar and some wind but in reality, solar is only viable when the sun shines and solar panels are made with environmentally questionable materials plus they have a definite use life and a complex disposal issue when they are no longer efficient and wind power also has it's issues as far as location and infrastructure costs, plus replacement blades clutter up landfills because in reality, they aren't readily recyclable.

So, we are back to baseload fossil fueled electricity generation and nuclear and nuclear has it own unique disposal issues as well.

If the wind don't bow and the sun don't shine (and sunny days are not the norm in many parts of the country), then solar panels and / or windmills are basically ornaments. Baseload will for the foreseeable future will be coal and nat gas with nuclear providing some of it only. The other issue is what are you willing to pay for alternate power generation via your utility bill?

No Bezo's wannabe truck in this driveway, ever. I also agree that a wannabe truck or not, any truck with less than an 8 foot bed is nothing but a poser.

Maybe it’s different in the Bay Area but my neighbors with EV all have solar and some have added more panels plus power walls.

It would seem a good match… home grown power and EV.

Each year I get a check for excess power produced by my 2008 160W panels and the rate is dropping so why not use all that I produce?

The other aspect is SUV and passenger dominate the EV market but not much in a small trucks to consider.