[Phillip Beall]

All,

I spotted the video to the right in my X feed and listened to it while driving the other day.  I had never heard of the truck before then, but listening to the clip I learned it was kind of done on the lowdown.  Jeff Bezos underwrote it and I have to say, the thing is pretty cool.  I am reminded of Legos, Ken/Barbie and an AR15; you can kind of make it whatever you want.😂🤣 This link – Will Anyone Buy This Cheap EV Truck With Hand-Crank Windows and No Radio? – is to a “gift” copy of the article.  If anyone other than Dan has any trouble loading it, please let me know.  And that’s an inside joke between me and Dan. LOL

From the article:

Slate Auto, a startup backed by Jeff Bezos, is launching a two-seat, all-electric pickup truck starting at $24,950 later this year.

The company’s cost-cutting measures are novel: trading exterior paint for customizable $500 vinyl wraps, offering a dashboard mount for a smartphone instead of a navigation system, and selling a DIY-style add-on kit that transforms the pickup into a five-seat sport-utility vehicle.

Launched in 2022, Slate has raised $1.3 billion from Bezos and firms like TWG Global.

Faricy said Slate has been built to survive independently of factors such as EV tax credits and to absorb hiccups in the supply chain. “When people ask, are you dependent upon current or future government incentives? The answer is no,” he said.

The company debated eliminating many common new-car features to hit its price target and focus on what “actually matters to drivers,” said Eric Keipper, Slate’s head of engineering. As a result, the truck lacks ambient lighting and adaptive cruise control, which adjusts its speed based on traffic flow. But it comes equipped with standard cruise control and modern safety features such as automatic emergency braking.

Slate went as far as to consider axing air conditioning from the truck to keep costs in check. But customers insisted on that feature, Keipper said. Cooler, or perhaps warmer, heads prevailed: The truck does have air conditioning.

Slate’s rear-wheel-drive truck will have an estimated range of 205 miles, the company announced Wednesday. The truck will have access to Tesla’s robust Supercharger network and will be able to fast-charge from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes, the company said.

I don’t know about that range and no adaptive cruise.  I round-tripped a Southlake appointment on Wednesday and it was 240 miles. I can do that 2.5 times in my 4×4 gasser F150 before I would have to fuel up, but I would have had to charge it somewhere just to make it home.  And I kind of live by the rule that unless I am on a vacation type road trip, I don’t ever let the gas gauge get to where I can’t make it home without stopping if some calamitous event occurs.  If you live by that rule with this thing you can’t go more than 100 miles without charging for at least 30 minutes…a big limitation to me.  If you live in the city where everything is within 20 miles, no sweat.  When you live where I do and it is a 40-50 minute drive just to get to a town, no bueno. 😒

Still though, the truck is super-cute and super-cool to me. 😎 And the price is right.  I have a friend that recently paid nearly three times that price for a one year old dealer certified SUV, so a first car for a kid?  A weekend runaround vehicle?  Maybe.  You be the judge.

73

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

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