A $20k bare bones EV pickup designed for short commutes and basic homeowner utility definitely had a market. And the lack of feature bloat was especially interesting. There was a good bit of buzz, though it may have been vaporware all along (the timing seemed suspect, considering they were aiming for a late 2026 launch and had just acquired a lease on the factory in late 2024).

With the ending of the EV tax credit in September, the Slate will have to sell for its full sticker price: $27,500. I like the concept, but at that price point it has to have some features (of my choosing).

>>28509688 (OP)
We were supposed to have a Russian built, Italian badged $27,000 pickup truck with an available manual transmission, body on frame construction, selectable transfer case with low range, and a port-injected gasoline motor. Then muh war happened.
Nobody actually cared about that thing aside from people who were force-fed the extremely aggressive marketing campaign that they tried to pull (which fell through once everyone realized it's just a unibody EV). Wait and see what the small pickup is that Toyota is currently cooking up for the American market, I bet that one will be a big seller.

>>28509688 (OP)
>Bezos slop
Look at the used market for EVs. You can find some pretty good EVs for that price range. And you'll even be able to connect your phone for bluetooth music!!

>>28509697
> Nobody actually cared about that thing aside from people who were force-fed the extremely aggressive marketing campaign that they tried to pull (which fell through once everyone realized it's just a unibody EV)
Uh… wut?

Everyone knew it was a unibody EV from day 1. The “marketing campaign” didn’t exist, outside of random clickbait FB articles.

Toyota announced they would look into competing with the Ford Maverick like three weeks ago, after YEARS of stating bluntly that they had no plans to do so. It will be a unibody FWD hybrid.

>>28509688 (OP)
Pure greed from a EV startup. Coming out with the concept and advertising a price they could never hit, especially after EV tax credits were going to be canceled anyway. If slate wants to survive they have to force this to be either below or 1k over 20k.if not it is 27k which makes it immediately disqualified as used trucks with more features and better ability will be cheaper

>>28509702
>bezos bad!
Don’t care. Go back to /pol/ if you don’t want to talk about Slate Auto.
>look at other EV’s
They’re made by evil people as well.
>buy used
Typical retard poorfag. Especially a used EV; they’re consumables. Would you eat someone else’s shit?

>>28509711
>they knew this would happen!
That’s part of the reason I think it may have been vaporware. But would Bezos invest $111 million into vaporware? Who knows

>>28509703
>The “marketing campaign” didn’t exist, outside of random clickbait FB articles
What do you think a marketing campaign is? Everyone was talking about it all of a sudden, that doesn't happen organically

i feel like their key demo is contractors, and delivery drivers, not really consumers. two doors is completely impractical. if they were aiming at mass market they would be building a 4 door cuckover. the founders have connections with Rivian and know well enough that EV pickups are not selling well

>>28509711
New Ford Mavericks start at that price and they have more features (people like features; don’t get mad at me because most people want 13” infotainment screens)

>>28509735
Nope. Their main selling point wasn’t that it would be bare bones, but rather that it’s customizable from the factory with zero feature bloat. Nothing in their website promotes it as a work vehicle.

>>28509722
He most likely invested much earlier in time and it was only recently that the company was ready for presentation. Happens normally with startups

>>28509688 (OP)
No, it was never an interesting idea. Nobody wants ruggedized EV shit, if they'd spent less time fucking around with batteries and sold a 15k utility gas/diesel, it would've sold.

>>28509688 (OP)

The problem is that there are too many stupid standards that have to be met. Want cheap vehicles? Repeal the CAFE standards, all of them. Repeal pedestrian safety standards. Honestly the second one just makes too much sense; if you don't want to get run over then don't stand in the fucking road.

>>28509722
GM invested what, 4 billion into Nikola Motors which had nothing but two youtube videos, an empty rented warehouse, and a volvo diesel truck with a body kit that they rolled downhill and claimed was a functioning BEV semi?
People invested hundreds of millions into Theranos with no proof of concept?
Billionaires are ruthless, not necessarily intelligent. You don't have to be when you make so much money that the government will just personally reimburse you for bad investments.

>>28509777
Ironically the BBB basically killed those regulations so may see cheap trucks. The problem with slate is that they wanted to force EV to get the incentive to then sell it for under 20k, but EVs are inherently expensive so even a 150hp battery brings it past 25k mark. Without the incentives this is just an electric brick

>>28509688 (OP)
How about just remaking the ford/mazda courier but with a modern NA 2.0, airbags, ac, and radio?
But nooo of course we fucking can't

>>28509774
>let me tell you why one of the richest men in the history of the world is wrong about market demand
I’m all ears

>>28509827
See: The two examples I just gave.
Rich people can be wrong, they just need to be right more often than they're wrong.
If you want something for Bezos specifically, see the failure of Pets.com
It's very Indian thinking to assume rich people are rich because their WL is 100% and not just an impressive 60-70%

>>28509827
Again as I said on >>28509770
This was most likely an investment done prior to the situation with BBB that we are in now, this is normal with startups where they get investment well before they are ready due to their concept being at the time a potential good idea. Rich people all the time make bad bets based on flawed information or market expectations that due to unforseen circumstances occur. Remember that most businesses that even the most successful businessmen have fucking fail horribly and it is just the few successful ones, along with the very few successful investments, that make them money

>>28509792
This is correct.

I’m not sure what the oentalty was, but it was something like $17 per vehicle for every 0.1mpg over the companies target. So 100,000 vehicles sold would rack up $17 million in fines.

Those penalties are now eliminated. The regulations remain in place, but that’s kind of retarded without penalties.

Now we get to see first hand if people want giant vehicles and don’t give a fuck about fuel economy, or if people just bought what was available from the manufacturers. I think it was the former, which is why midsize SUV’s and larger crossovers dominate the market instead of compact sedans.

>>28509745
it was definitely hyped as bare bones, with roll up windows, no speakers, no infotainment
>Nothing in their website promotes it as a work vehicle.
it's DOA as a consumer vehicle. all the small(er) trucks are 4 door only except Toyota. Toyota makes a 2 door Tacoma and it only makes up less than 5% of sales. 2 doors only makes sense for work trucks

>>28509697
God damn what an ugly shitbox

>>28509815
>How about just remaking the ford/mazda courier but with a modern NA 2.0, airbags, ac, and radio?
lot's of people also say they want a v8 manual wagon, but no one actually buys them.

>>28509895
Even work trucks are going to 4 door is able. Being able to carry 3 other people or sensitive stuff in the cab while still having your regular work bed is pretty good.

>>28509702
>>28509718
Anyone citing it as a Bezos truck is fucking retarded. Bezos was one of like 12 investors in this "company" and he wasn't even the top donor I mean investor. The typical soys keep saying they want this truck but refuse because Bezos. Really proving one end of the bell curve I guess.

>>28509815
Unironically if they made a Ford courier (mini pickup truck) it'd have to have some preposterous MPG rating because its classified as a truck but because the footprint and weight is so low as per CAFE and CARB standards. Its the EXACT reason pickup trucks get bigger every year. The BBB supposedly strips a lot of these retarded rules because by 2035 your standard F150 would be 30 feet long, 12 feet wide, and weigh 19 tons with a 4 liter Twin turbo V6 about 1psi away from detonating a black hole.

>>28509905
The last manual V8 wagons off the top of my head were those Mercedes' for like $100k, Then there was the Cadillac for I think $85k, and the dodge magnum over a decade ago for $60k. Volvo I don't think had V8s, and I simply cannot recall any others.
>no one actually buys them
They're a tough sell as enthusiasts want them and sometimes are willing to pay the incredible premium for one, but your average person will look at a wagon and an SUV (also with a V8) and 98% of the time take the SUV for being higher up, more powerful, AWD, more cargo area, and probably at least one other reason. Car makers exist to cater to NPCs that actually buy models, not enthusiasts. Its why manuals died. Its why cheap sports cars died. Its why everything is soap bar SUV or pickup truck now.

>>28509697
>Russian built
Eww

>>28509745
>customizable from the factory
that cost loads of money, even if you don't order anything, you are already paying for it by making production line more complex
and used market gets flooded with absolutely retarded option combinations

>>28509735
I believe so as well.
They used to sell compact car utes with optional top all over Europe (and the rest of the world, I presume)
Things like Peugeot Partner and VW Caddy
But they were never particularly popular as pickups. Which is why later generations are just small vans built on compact platform rather than compact utes because like 90% of them were sold as the van option anyway.

>>28509688 (OP)
It was never 20k, that was a technicality. Meanwhile, you can buy a new ICE sedan that is actually factually under 20k, and comes in manual.

>>28509688 (OP)
Who was asking for this to be an ev? Lots of people want a small basic cheap pickup like the old rangers but who the fuck wants it to be powered by batteries?

>>28512103
Nobody, but the company wouldn't be profitable due to EPA fines if they weren't electric.

>>28512115
So if nobody was asking for it why make it? Who is going to buy this ev crap?

>>28509688 (OP)
Why didn't they make a barebones ice truck for 20k?

>>28509688 (OP)
Just another example of TACO's tax and tariff policies discouraging American manufacturing.

>>28512103
>>28512123
>>28512142
no one is going to buy a cheap piece of shit ev truck but even more no one would have bought a cheap piece of shit gas truck. maybe they can get away with selling that shit in thailand and indonesia but not north america

>>28512184
They sold pretty well until regulations killed them.

pool guy drives a second hand cybertruck
hates working out of an ev

>>28512184
>but even more no one would have bought a cheap piece of shit gas truck

There are a lot of corporations that need trucks and all they care about is them being reliable, doing the job and being as cheap as possible.

There are also a lot of people who want a truck for work but aren't stupid enough to daily drive it.

They'd both be interested in a cheap bare bones work truck.

>>28512357
oh of course all those corporations that want a fleet of single cab trucks with a 5'x4' bed. that's definitely a sustainable market to target. because those corporations definitely don't already have lease deals on fords and chevys. and they definitely don't need a utilitarian truck with a full size bed and substantial towing capabilities.
i mean fuck dude, think for a second. when have you ever in your life ever seen a fleet truck that wasn't at least a half ton? literally no one is using rangers or colorados. every once in a blue moon you might see a maverick being used by napa auto parts or some local florist. you really think a startup company can spend a couple billion dollars developing a new barebones truck to sell to those people? less than 100k trucks a year?

>>28509688 (OP)
>A $20k bare bones EV pickup designed for short commutes and basic homeowner utility definitely had a market.
Yeah get a kei truck for 1/3 the price.

>>28512418
>oh of course all those corporations that want a fleet of single cab trucks with a 5'x4' bed. that's definitely a sustainable market to target.

Yeah, the last batch of the old small body Ford Rangers were all sold to Terminex. There are lots of landscapers, repairman, plumbers, electricians and other jobs that don't need the towing or big payloads a full size truck can handle that just need a small reliable work truck with good gas mileage.

>i mean fuck dude, think for a second. when have you ever in your life ever seen a fleet truck that wasn't at least a half ton?

I used to see them all the time in the 00s and 10s when the old Ford Ranger was a barebones work truck. I'm seeing the Ford Maverick in that role right now.

>>28512460
"electricians don't need a full size truck" get your sorry larping ass out of here kid. you've never worked a day in your life. and you definitely don't remember ford ranger work trucks from 25 years ago because you're not even 25 years old

>>28509697
>Toyota
It'll be something akin to the Maverick, still too fucking big and gay. Goyota is a normie friendly brand now.

>>28512617
>Goyota is a normie friendly brand now.
Always has been. They just also make sports cars.

>>28512464

Yeah, I'm not an electrician I'll grant you that; but I'm an ancient fag. I was a freshman in highschool 25 years ago. So yeah, I remember those Rangers being everywhere.

>>28509931
What's stopping you from buying a tourneo connect and chopping the box off?

>>28509718
Kys Amazon shill

>>28512620
>2 door station wagon with a D pillar
whoa

>>28512223
No, 0% financing for a decade killed them. Why buy a cheesedick Ranger or S10 when you can have an F150 or Silverado with a V8 for a few more dollars per month?

>>28512418
>when have you ever in your life ever seen a fleet truck that wasn't at least a half ton? literally no one is using rangers or colorados. every once in a blue moon you might see a maverick being used by napa auto parts or some local florist.
ATT in DFW bought like 100 Mavericks for this area alone. All have utility worker lights added, and a wrap on the door only. Always in white.

Ever dog shit picker-upper small business uses a maverick.

Some of you guys have to get out more often if you think mavericks are rare for fleet vehicles. Half tons cost $10-15k more than mavericks, it'd be moronic to buy those over a maverick in most cases.

>>28512686
>What's stopping you from buying a tourneo connect and chopping the box off?
In the US we call that a "Transit Connect". You can't just cut the back of a van off and expect any structural stability. I think those are unibody so when you remove half of it, you'd eliminate any payload, weather shielding, and usefulness of a van.

>>28509697
>$27,000
and you'd still be fucking robbed lol. even after everyone went "it's wartime bitches, we'll double the prices because we know you have no choice" (and promptly got ack-ed by chink imports), you can get a fully loaded patriot for ~$23k, fleet spec for 17k. back when bremach wanted to sell them, you could nick one for $14k.
it is hilariously unreliable (as in, it'll generally function but also keep finding new and exciting ways to fail), and it is not a premium product that americans expect, but it is a proper body on frame truck designed to haul, tow and offroad, not to carry flower shop supplies within city borders. why can't americans just do that, i can not understand.

>>28512908
Tucson Police are using Maverick hybrids

>>28512950
No shit? Meter maid sorta work? I don't see them being patrol or arrest vehicles

everyone knows you arent doing any work you gay kayaking midlife crisis millenialfag.

>>28512103
Let the VW guys get a hold of it. Just figure out how to fit a type 3 or type 4 engine with the swingarm where the trans-axle is after you pull the battery and you're GTG. Some of those air cooled 2 liter builds are close to 200 hp anyway.

Amazon sent me a broken item.l and refused to refund me. Fuck Bezo and fuck Slate.