Imagine a bare-bones electric pickup: it’s the size of an old Hilux, it seats two, and the bed fits a full sheet of plywood. Too good to be true? Wait until you hear that the Slate Pickup is being designed for DIY repairability and modification, and will sell for only $20,000 USD, after American federal tax incentives.
Using the cellphone for infotainment makes for a less expensive product and a very clean dash. (Image: Slate Motors)
There are a few things missing: no infotainment system, for one. Why bother, when almost everyone has a phone and Bluetooth speakers are so cheap? No touch screen in the middle of the dash also means the return of physical controls for the heat and air conditioning.
There is no choice in colors, either. To paraphrase Henry Ford, the Slate comes in any color you want, as long as it’s grey. It’s not something we’d given much though to previously, but apparently painting is a huge added expense for automakers. Instead, the truck’s bodywork is going to be injection molded plastic panels, like an old Saturn coupe. We remember how resilient those body panels were, and think that sounds like a great idea. Injection molding is also a less capital-intensive process to set up than traditional automotive sheet metal stamping, reducing costs further.
That being said, customization is still a big part of the Slate. The company intends to sell DIY vinyl wrap kits, as well as a bolt-on SUV conversion kit which customers could install themselves. The plan is to have a “Slate University” app that would walk owners through maintaining their own automobile, a delightfully novel choice for a modern carmaker.
With a color wrap and an SUV add-on, it looks like a different beast. (Image: Slate Motors)
Of course, it’s all just talk unless Slate can make good on their promises. With rumors that Jeff Bezos is interested in investing, maybe they can pull it off and produce what could be a Volkswagen for 21st century America.
Interested readers can check out the Slate Motors website, and preorder for only $50 USD. For now, Slate is only interested in doing business within the United States, but we can hope they inspire copycats elsewhere. There’s no reason similar vehicles couldn’t be made anywhere from Alberta to Zeeland, if the will was there.
What do you think? Is this the perfect hackermobile, or have Slate fallen short? Let us know in the comments.
We’ve covered electric trucks before, but they were just a bit bigger, and some of them didn’t use batteries.
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I really hope this doesn’t suck because I want an electric bronco type vehicle real bad
Bezos product, so no.
Though I generally agree – is it even possible to have a product with enough funding to get to market these days without having some rich backer?
Especially with a product as complex as a car, I suspect having one organically pop up in this economy without being tied to one of these people is largely impractical.
So we just compromise on our values and let billionaires destroy the planet so that they can deliver more stuff for them to sell to us?
Maybe we do not need more cars. If you buy one, it’s not like your old car just gets recycled-- someone else starts driving it, so there’s just more cars on the road.
I don’t think the solution to our environmental problems truly lays on electric vehicles, but rather, high speed rail, walkable and more compact cities, and extensive public transit.
4’x5’ bed does not ‘fit’ a full sheet of plywood.
plywood is 4’x8’.
source: i am a full sheet of plywood.
i dig the truck and would like to have one, but get the bed size correct plz.
Its almost exactly what I want, so I put a reservation in. Will see if it comes out and with what specs at shipping.
Would like 4x4 instead of RWD. And a large towing capacity would be nice.
Few things,
- What is the towing and hauling capacity?
- What is the safety crash rating?
- Is a bench seat available?
- Is the floor rubber matting?
- What are the bed dimensions?
If these are all good news then I want one.
Website says 1400lbs hauling, 1000lbs towing.
Specs site says a 5ft bed.
That’s disappointing. I was hoping for at least 2.5k. Not very hard at all to hit a 1,000lbs.
- Max payload is 1400lbs. Max tow is 1000lbs.
- “Designed to meet 5 star crash safety rating” (which means they haven’t done the tests yet)
- Not yet.
- The interior pics look like they have rubber mats. Hard to tell.
- Bed is 4’x5’
This is basically my dream truck, small ev with a decent sized bed, repairable, moddable, and simple. This would be perfect for my daily 10mile commute and weekend projects. I don’t preorder video games, so I won’t be preordering a truck. But if they keep the price under 30k, and the power train is serviceable I’ll buy it day one.
I doubt a 2 door truck/SUV with no speakers is going to appeal to most people. Before EV incentives, it’s about the same price as a Ford Maverick which has those things and back seats. Once this thing is optioned and modified to fit in your life, it will be more than the cost of a Maverick that doesn’t need those. I think this will be most appealing for businesses that move a lot of small loads around a city.
So everyone knows, it doesn’t take 8 hours to charge on regular 120v outlet. It’s more like 72 because of the amps required. It takes roughly about 8 hours on 220v and 3 hours on whatever the hell Tesla chargers use that require additional power run to your house. So it has a standard recharge rate with a range of 150 miles.
The kei truck is it. They perfected that line of cars! And we need to return to it.
The only hack I want to know if I can do is installing a standard radio with CarPlay. I get I can use a phone and a speaker but it’s not quite the same as CarPlay which I’m very used to. Otherwise I’m so sold on this concept.
Theoretically possible but it looks like it will be complex and time-consuming. You’ll have to fabricate a hole/mount to stick it in, as well as speaker mounts, the run all the wiring to the speakers.
You can already get an upgrade to have speakers so that saves a little wiring.
They’re offering a holder for a Bluetooth speaker. I didn’t see anything on their website about pre installed speakers.
The first option under audio and tech is Front Left + Right Integrated Speakers (Pair)
Oh wow I’m on my phone and I didn’t even see that the pictures were options for a configurator. Having interior speakers under what is basically a glove box panel is odd. Surely there’s a better way to do that.
I think this isn’t actually installed at the factory though. I think they’re marketing these “options” as diy kits to sell you. Otherwise they would have to handle a crazy amount of customization options in their production which would eliminate the savings of a simple truck in one color.
If they’re smart, they’ll pre-run the wiring for a stereo and sell a stereo kit. That would make the car more appealing
Running wiring costs time and money, which is, I presume, why they’re not doing it.
If they don’t end up sucking ass ima get one after my '06 matrix shits the bed
It’s really great, the type of thing I’ve always wanted, I just wish it wasn’t a fucking truck.
You can mod it into an mini suv if you need more seats.
I don’t want an SUV either. I want a sedan.
I don’t think people realize that in order to be cost-effective, it needs to be efficient, because the batteries are by far and away the most expensive component, and if the numbers they’ve provided are true, this is very much not, which is driving up the price, and it’s very simple to see how and why, the thing is shaped like a tall brick.
Check this out:
Slate truck = 57.2kWh battery = 150 mi. range.
Tesla Model 3 SR = 57.5kWh = ~240 mi. range.
the model 3 can’t carry a sheet of plywood.
neither can this truck. plywood is 4’x8’. this bed is 4’x5’. that plywood is hanging out the back.
yeah, then you lay the bed door down.
pfft, you really never have pickup’d have you?
yeah, cuz. i’ve been driving a full bed truck for 20 years. and with the “bed door” or as people with trucks call it, “the tailgate” open, 8’ plywood sheets will stick out of the truck by at least 12”.
when transporting multiple slick sheets of 8’ material like prefinished ply, plexiglass, styrene or any of the other things that are a bit slip-slidey, you are risking the material sliding out of the truck bed and onto the road behind you as you drive.
whoa no shit?
it’s almost like people need to secure their loads…
whooooaaaa
I don’t need to carry a sheet of plywood. I am not a contractor.
yeah but some of us are. this is exciting. stop pissing in people’s cheerios
I’m expressing my dissatisfaction with the product just like you’re expressing your dissatisfaction with my preference. You’re not the only one entitled to that.
Honestly, this thing isn’t that big. It’s 8" shorter than a Corolla. With the slant back roof, it’s basically a tall hatchback. Definitely not efficient for an EV for the reasons you mention.
IMO the SUV mod is such an afterthought. No rear door. No rear roll down windows.
It’s not an after thought. It’s a mod. You can’t mod it to have rear doors and windows, that would require a complete redesign of the entire vehicle.
Sounds like Telo might be more up your alley.
Lmao it’s made of plastic
You don’t know how nice it is to have plastic body panels until you drive a car with plastic body panels and give next to zero fucks about door dings etc.
The problem with plastic body panels, though, is that they don’t rust. Why is that a problem? Because in places where rust is a problem, the frame can rot to just about nothing while the body panels continue to look good. I’ve see several cars that are totally unsafe but still look good.
Can we stop working for free to do free advertising for bozo? This is already everywhere else.
If it’s made overseas won’t the chicken tax be a problem?
It’s not made overseas
I just have confused it with something else. You are correct; it’s supposed to be built in Indiana.
