Posted on 04/26/2025 9:31:59 AM PDT by Cronos
Meet the Slate Truck, a sub-$20,000 (after federal incentives) electric vehicle that enters production next year. It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. It is the bare minimum of what a modern car can be, and yet it’s taken three years of development to get to this point.
But this is more than bargain-basement motoring. Slate is presenting its truck as minimalist design with DIY purpose, an attempt to not just go cheap but to create a new category of vehicle with a huge focus on personalization. That design also enables a low-cost approach to manufacturing that has caught the eye of major investors, reportedly including Jeff Bezos. It’s been engineered and will be manufactured in America, but is this extreme simplification too much for American consumers?
(Excerpt) Read more at theverge.com ...
Yes, the base truck comes with both heat and A/C standard.
I would like to buy a factory new pickup whose standard package includes vinyl seats, vinyl floormats, speedometer, mileage gauge, fuel gauge, alternator gauge, temperature gauge and NO CONNECTION TO A MOTHERSHIP.
“(after federal incentives)”
Tax money.
Yes, but it also has a super-sensitive smoke detector that makes a hellacious racket for one minute and then if you're still moving it forces the truck to stop.
It only gets 150 miles on a charge?
From what I hear, range anxiety is the big issue that keeps people from buying an electric vehicle. Getting only 150 miles is going to eliminate many potential buyers.
The worst kind of vaporware. Jeff realty doesn’t understand Unions, FedGov meddling and almost complete lack of the infrastructure needed for these.
Meh
I wonder about that too. I'll bet that "photo" is an AI creation.
I wonder about that too. I'll bet that "photo" is an AI creation.
I think that is kind of the point. At scale, it should be possible to build electrics to sell at lower price points than ICE vehicles, all other things equal. They are simpler devices that are easier to assemble and skip entirely systems (cooling, fuel supply, for example) that have a lot of components that can fail and require labor to install.) Watch the videos on Tesla’s manufacturing techniques - it is remarkable. I think the firms that start with a clean sheet of paper, not so much from the product design, but from the manufacturing process standpoint, are going to be able to produce vehicles that will reduce the cost of cars, compared to today’s spectrum of products. This truck is not so interesting. But it illustrates that point.
The baseline battery is not for long trips, it's obviously intended for local use and short trips to town. No good for visiting aunt Martha in Hoboken.
But there will be upgrades available to the battery to give 240 miles range.
I would buy one. For example, I have classic cars for fun (and because i need a good reason to throw tools around and scream at 2 am when things dont work, its my relaxation) I have a daily driver car I put 1000 miles a week on, and I have a 23 yr old pickup truck that I duck tape together every year because it makes no sense to me to spend what they want for pickup trucks these days. My truck does maybe 2000 miles a year, tops. This would be perfect.
“”””IMHO it’s too bare minimum unless it has A/C-heat and also a radio.””””
It looks like they cut out a lot of cheap normal things that they didn’t need to cut out, to feed an impression of austerity. I bet if we saw the decisions the public might disagree on what should be discarded and what shouldn’t
Slap a coat of white paint on it and add a 1968 version of heat and A/C.
And a bare bones farm truck like this should be about half this price.
They could make a $15K diesel pick-up, non-aspirated, even with an AM/FM radio, that would last a minimum 500K miles.
You know, kinda like chevy and Toyota trucks in the 1970s and 1980s.
Of course, government would not allow it.....
Probably need to have the tailgate down, and might still overhang somewhat.
Just a reminder:
+ it is generally recommended to not charge the EV battery above 80%.
+ it is risky to drive with the battery under 20%
+ range quotes is ideal
Therefore, in the real world the actual normal usable range is 60% of the quoted range at most, with a new battery.
I’d be interested, if it was ICE powered.
A lot of pickups today only have a 4’ X 6’ foot bed due to the back seat. You have to have the tailgate down in order to fit a sheet of plywood, then you have to strap it down.
No tech?
no sale.. kids wan that stuff.
Actually, if it is four wheel drive, I’d be interested. I have four cars, one of which is a pickup. I’ve only put 6,000 miles on it in the 10 years I’ve owned it because it gets such crappy mileage and I only use it to maintain my 32 acres and for trips to the local hardware store, 9 miles away.
If I had this truck I could sell my big truck (silverado z71) and my old Scion xB that I use to get to band gigs, all within 20 miles, and use my other two cars for the long hauls. Interesting.
I’d end up only driving it once or twice a week. I could probably use those two solar cells in my barn that I’ve never used to charge it.
But I doubt this thing will ever be built.
It may have a place. My 1972 F-250 has everything I need. I have always wanted a custom bumper sticker that said, “Real trunks don’t have power windows”.
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