The biggest questions around the Slate Auto truck have centered less on the engineering and more on the customer. Are there actually buyers for a vehicle that might encourage you to install your own airbags? If the cost goes up, is there still a customer?
While there are no definitive answers to either question, Slate Auto just revealed that it received over 100,000 reservations in the first two weeks. This doesn’t mean it has 100,000 customers, merely that more than 100,000 people found the radically reimagined truck interesting enough to put $50 forward to hold a spot.
Full disclosure: I was one of those people. I don’t currently have a convenient place to even charge this truck, which is an issue given that this is not a super fast-charging vehicle with giant range. It’s a relatively average charging vehicle with a sub-average range.
Why did I reserve one? I think the idea of a super cheap electric truck is great and, at the earliest, this truck will be available at the end of next year, which gives me time to merely enjoy the idea of it. I regret not ordering a Ford Maverick Hybrid when they, too, were theoretically sub $20k (Really, $22k after delivery). I’m not sure I’d have even held onto the truck, but it would have been fun for a year.
What’s important to me is the pricing of all the little additions. If this ends up being a $35k truck, with no tax credit, after all my options then… I’m probably out. If some tax credit is in place and I can finance at a reasonable rate then I’d consider it. For the moment, I’m only out $50.
I also don’t entirely agree with David’s premise that this should be gas-powered, as my buddies here in the ‘burbs suddenly all have Chevy Bolts as little around-town vehicles. I want an around-town EV and so the 150-ish mile range doesn’t phase me.
Is 100,000 a good number? Depends on who you ask. The $5 million the company netted isn’t going to probably make a huge difference one way or the other given the huge costs associated with setting up a car company from scratch. Is it enough to convince investors like Jeff Bezos to keep putting money into the operation? That seems more important.
As TechCrunch points out, Fisker also had a lot of reservations:
Many other EV startups have touted reservations in the past only to fail to live up to the expectations of such big, round numbers. Fisker filed for bankruptcy having sold just a few thousand Ocean SUVs despite once claiming more than 60,000 reservations. Lordstown Motors, meanwhile, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for misleading investors about the number of “preorders” for its own electric pickup truck. (Lordstown Motors similarly filed for bankruptcy and ultimately settled with the SEC.)
I’m just a little less pessimistic about this operation because the cost of setting up an anti-gigafactory seems so much lower than what other EV startup automakers attempted. My longstanding issue with Fisker and others was mostly about the high pricing they were starting with, which was necessary to show a balance sheet that had any kind of path to profitability. This left Fisker and others nowhere to move in a price war.
Slate Auto, if it can pull it off, has a little more leeway as it’s starting from a lower starting cost. In theory, it’s also more insulated from tariffs as it’s setting up a supplier base mostly in the USMCA zone.
Additionally, the underlying engineering is so simple that it should help the automaker source alternatives that are harder to come by for more complex systems. This doesn’t seem like a vehicle full of semi-conductors.
Does this mean I think I’m going to get a truck? I don’t know. There are still huge risks related to this vehicle, even with Bezos funding. In addition to global economic uncertainty, it’s possible that Ford or another automaker could swoop in and offer more car for the same money (what’s the new Bolt going to be?).
Also, I might not have $20k to spend on a random car in a year. For now the $50, like the $50 from most of the other 100,000 people who signed up, is just an ante. A small amount of hope.
Top photo: David Tracy
This is giving me Elio Motor vibes.
It depends on how serious Bezos is. Elio was a poor man hoping to become rich or at least scam enough off to become mid level. The stock market was bad when he was pushing his deal so he was dependent on govt money primarily.
Bezos can make this happen, but the capital in this company so far is peanuts compared to what is required.
I assume if the stock market is good they’ll do a public offering. Having Bezos/Amazon affiliated might make it fly on Wall St.
I believe the $50 is also refundable, so you might not be out anything if you decide to bail.
I put down my $50 worth of hope expecting no more than a $50 Amazon credit when Slate goes sideways. Having a garage full with a 2020 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and a 2017 BMW i3 Rex, I am happy to be one of the 100,000 who supports the idea of an affordable, basic utility EV.
I guess it means something but maybe not much. How many people want it for $20k and not $27k. I doubt that number includes fleets so there is some hope. But again how many fleet buyers want it at $27k. The sk cell deal is $140 per kw/h that’s just too much they need to get that cost down to make it organically at $20k.
At $20k it’s a near must buy for me. It’ll be a nice enough car and interesting enough to justify the price. I expect a few options may push the price up some, but that’s fine.
At $27k, well, I’ve got some nice used alternatives to consider. So the accouterments better not balloon the cost of the car too much.
I do hope this car succeeds though and I considered a deposit on day one. Then I had to ask myself what I am I really getting by putting down money for a pre order.
I think that’s the just of it for most people and companies. I’ve seen some interesting views from the Chinese basically laughing at how stripped down it is. They are on the right track but maybe wrong train. In China it would probably be an $8k to $10k vehicle.
I can’t get over they are paying $140 per kwh for cells 2 years from now. They really did design it in 2022 around the battery and the politics. LFP will probably be $30 to $40 per kwh then possibly even cheaper when they go into production.
Then you have the old guys that have been yelling for something like this for years that want an engine or hybrid. It does seem like a rex could be good idea and without it they won’t touch it.
I look at the maverick at ~$22k for a hybrid they couldn’t make enough at $27k they are on sitting on dealer lots. Just a bit more money and you get a ranger and I think people are doing that. How many people will go to a telo or radar truck if it arrives or whatever appears in 2 years because it’s a better value.
i put a deposit down on the Slate, and I also have a deposit for the Rivian R2. We are a family with two diesel SUVs and a weekend convertible. I reserved teh rivian since i know i’d never be able to afford the R1S or R1T, but the R2 would suit my wifes needs completely. the slate would cover my needs, especially in SUV guise. I truly hope this Slate succeeds, and that the Rivian does too.
You should also get a deposit in on the Aptera while you’re at it!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptera_(cockroach)
I’ve got a reservation (and also put a deposit on the Telo MT1 a couple years ago) but unless the Slate ends up costing a fair bit less than the $27,500. projected starting price, I kind of doubt I’ll be buying one. I can’t qualify for the federal tax credit, which probably won’t even exist by the time Slates go on sale anyway, and for $30K (with tax, title, and reg) there are simply other, more sensible choices (for me).
I also reserved a Slate, for all of the reasons you mentioned here, @Matt. As someone who was all poised to pick up an ID Buzz, but ultimately repelled by the price x range matrix, the Slate is a MUCH better option (at least in current theory). I mostly work from home, but have an ~11-mile-each-way freeway commute on the days that I choose to go to the office, and otherwise the errand-running mission of a homeowner in a suburban neighborhood. It seems like a reasonable jumping-off point for electric vehicle ownership, assuming the current pricing projections remain at least mostly in place.
Oh, and a small proofreading matter: when talking about being concerned or perturbed, the term is “faze,” not “phase.” 😀
I seriously thought about putting down a deposit, but ultimately knew there was no way I’d buy a first year vehicle from a first year factory. If they make it a year or 2 without major problems or the price spiking I’ll get in line.
I was in love with it the moment I saw it. I’m not putting a deposit on one, but when they start selling, I’m going to go to a showroom and give it a serious look. It’s got enough range for my long ass commute, it’s tiny, it’s useful, and it’s available with the one thing I need it to have and none of the things I don’t, and at a price I can afford.
Given Canoo ate all of the deposit money that was supposed to be refundable, and the CT turned into something very much not what was promised, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a population of people like me that’s taking more of a wait and see approach here.
I really thought about putting down a reservation on the Canoo, and then again on the new Scout. Kinda glad I didn’t as now the Slate really appeals to me.
But reality can be a brutal mistress, so I’m on pause with all of my new car daydreams until these become more than vaporware.
I’m with you, the difference here is the cheapness. Also, Canoo and many others have been clear they need extra financing to even talk about going into production, which is why I have not reserved an Aptera because while I want it, I don’t trust it enough for that. Plus they want $1k. If I lose my $50, I won’t be hurt by it. So I have more faith here because they don’t say they need the money to get to production, and also have very little to lose.
For 50 bucks I figured why not. I don’t know if I’ll have justification in around 2 years for it but unlike the $100 I lost on the Sondors reservation, I have more confidence in Slate to pull it off, or at least refund people.
I think while there are many limitations to this thing, there are a lot of opportunities too. I think will be great for fleet vehicles. For weekend chore vehicle it’s a little pricey and limited capacity but if you can put some knobby tires and a small lift I could see where this could be cost competetive with some utility Side by Sides but with advantage of being road legal.
You can also buy 160 shares of Chi-Chi’s Restaurants for $250, if in the mood for futher speculation
Probably not much dumber than some of the other OTC stocks I bought during the pandemic.
I can’t tell how serious you are in actually buying these when you also reserved the Scout.
I’m pretty sure it was DT that reserved the Scout.
That was DT. https://www.theautopian.com/why-i-preordered-the-new-scout-traveler-and-why-it-will-never-replace-my-bmw-i3/
I put down my $50 too, I’d love a little electric city truck. I’ve had some fun with the configurator, but I’ll probably go bare bones as possible to start if I decide to actually get one. It’s cool how so much can be added later if you feel like it.
It’s frustrating to see the primary issue with this being the range. I know they need to hit the $20k mark (or die?) But, they do offer one with a bigger battery, that is basically a RWD Bolt. I kinda wish they would have focused more on the bigger battery to reduce the backlash from the range. Or, at least put more press on the larger battery, with some sort of dollar amount attached to it’s cost. Since everything is preliminary, may as well toss that out there too. It would be #chefkiss if they were able to squeeze the bigger battery into the $20k pricepoint, then this would be the banger of the decade.
Honestly, I do not like any aspect of this. Compare it to the Equinox EV lower trims and you have a much better vehicle for the money, given it starts below 30K with incentives and cheaper than the gas version in some configs and deals (https://electrek.co/2025/05/02/chevy-equinox-ev-even-cheaper-to-lease-than-gas-suv/).
I mean, if you need the pickup, but it’s got such, such, terrible range.
It has about the same amount of range as an Rivian Amazon van, and they seem to do OK for fleet work.
I think the idea is that the Slate truck will be starting sub-20k with incentives. That is where it is going to live and die (with me, at least). If I can be out the door with the truck + back seats + SUV cover for ~20k, I’m in. If that is pushing 25k, I’m out. The Equinox EV is not even in the same ballpark price-wise.
Also, the range being “so, so, terrible” is completely relative. I work from home and my normal errands/volunteering/kid ferrying would let me use it for a full week without even plugging it in.
No way that’s happening. The only thing that might be close to 20k is the absolute base truck, which no one will buy because no one actually wants something that stripped down. I expect this to be the Spirit Airlines model – sell the basic, undesirable thing for dirt cheap, but charge enough for extras that it ends up costing around what a normal ticket on a better airline would have.
As someone that custom ordered a brand new truck with crank windows and carpet delete, I can tell you that you’re incorrect.
That one still runs fine, so I’m not currently in Slate’s market, but I love the base spec for its simplicity.
Okay, that’s exactly one potential sale, someday. 😉
Yes for an extra $10k you better get significantly more capability! It doesn’t get much press, but there is a bigger battery pack option but they haven’t mentioned much about it.
Tesla had only 2.5% of their reservationists bought the truck. Is 2,500 a more realistic number for sales and is that sustainable?
The truck is 100k as i remember, this will be much cheaper even if the price reached 30k.
If you want to compare reservation take rates, you may do better to look for two vehicles who’s Venn Diagrams overlap more than the word “truck”. Comparing the CT to the Slate truck in any way is like comparing apples to the theory of relativity.
If you have any stats from other makes, share them. I want those numbers.
The best I can see is the Slate selling maybe 30,000 units a year. Is that enough to keep the company aflote?
That should be plenty I would think. Rivian is selling more now but had fewer than 15k sales in their first year and are still selling less than 75k vehicles a year. Slate’s manufacturing and growth strategy seems scalable and if this first truck/SUV can get close to 30k annual sales I would expect further models and development will be full speed ahead.
Hope so. Unlike the big teams, they got nothing to fall back on.
True and I really think the Bezos money is probably getting overhyped with some implication he’s going to keep dumping money into development – Amazon pulls the plug on ideas all the time.
I really like the idea of letting your kid configure it. By the time you want to resell it, those specs will probably be perfect for any prospective buyer of a used Slate.
Lacking a heat pump is a big deal. Resistance heat is 100% efficient but needs so much power! Add in everything else and that 150 mile range will be 80 miles in the winter. When it’s new. In 10 years that may be down 20% to 64 miles. That’s not cutting it. An 80 mile winter range after 10 years would be fine. If there’s enough winter to worry about in 2037, that is.
True but for the truck the cabin is fairly small so less air that the heater has to manage. Also would be cool if they added a (bio)diesel cabin heater option, a lot of northern EV drivers swear by them, and van lifers too.
Heated seats and steering wheel are wonderful for staying warm in an EV. In the winter I turned both onto low. With the HVAC set at 68 I was fine wearing a long-sleeved T shirt over a short sleeve T. Much lower and the glass started fogging. Didn’t see the point of fogging up the windows and needing the defrosters on to clear them. Heating glass takes a lot of energy.
Neat car but I’ll have to wait and see.
One thing I’ve found in my truck is cracking the rear window helps needing to run the defrost on dewy mornings and doesn’t chill things down much. I don’t see a rear window as an option in the maker but hopefully they’ll figure that out.
Damnit, I wasn’t anticipating getting Nada Surf stuck in my head today.
I’m the teacher’s pet.
And here I thought it was a Wicked reference.
I didn’t reserve one as I have the OG 2 door EV truck but as a suburban homeowner of a low range 2 door compact ev truck, I can say this will do everything you need it to outside of towing. Need mulch, no problem, haul a couch you bet, move a friend, oh sorry it’s not charged dang (it’s totally charged). Bring crud to the dump, easy peasy, not take up 30ft of driveway is a bonus.
With barely any maintenance, just keep it charged like any other power tool and it’s ready to go when you need it.
S10 or Ranger?
Ranger Electric, was in member rides last week
Sounds boring. What are you doing with it that’s fun?
Most trucks are known for their “tours of duty” but yes, they do have their day in the sun as well.
That’s what I meant.
Cool
Take it to car meets and explain all about it as people try to squirm away.
That is the way. Beer clink.
I don’t think deposits mean much, especially at that low price of entry. I have put down deposits on both the Scout and the Rivian R2 and then cancelled them later after thinking about how stupid it is to let a startup hold onto your money for a “place in line” for a truck that may or may not ever make it to production in 2-100 years. I’ve decided the “i’ll believe it when I see it” is the better approach to these new EVs.
I dislike how much Jeffery B. knows exactly what I like. I’m out here avoiding Amazon like pre-teen avoids a shower. And homie buys Whole Foods, and they like demand you put in your Prime account like a social security number, your guaranteed to have. So, I’m out. Now, this guy is like “Here’s the exact truck you want!”. So I’ve gone full blown Augustine of Hippo, I’m in a crisis of morality .
I have to imagine that the conversion rate on reservations has to be higher for a $27.5k-32.5k truck than a $55k Fisker SUV.
Tesla had over 1 million refundable Cybertruck reservations as of November 2023, and they’ve just announced a production pause due to weak demand and excess inventory piling up
Hopefully this one will release a lot closer to price and specs than the Cybertruck did. I’d really like to see it do fairly well.
In addition to the 50% increase in price for the entry level CT I also feel like there was something else that might have affected demand between Nov 2023 and let’s say Nov 2024… something many reservation holders probably did not-see coming.
I do belive that is a definitive answer, and as I said previously the install your own airbags thing is a red herring to instill FUD, it can, and likely will be; a painless process that will probably be easier than removing doors from a Wrangler.
They don’t call them Wranglers for nothing.