Slate, the Tesla Killer? Huh?

Is this your next pickup?

Have you heard of the Slate truck? It is a bare bones, minimalist tiny electric pick up truck. It is priced at $27,000 and if the federal tax credit hangs around, it will set you back $19,500. What do you get for that price? Not much. It has roll up windows, no info system, no touch screen, no radio and no paint. So I guess it is a blank Slate. However, you can pay extra and get those things and a bunch more. It does have a smartphone holder so you can still talk to Siri or use Waze. It is being backed by Jeff Bezos who seems to be the Elon Musk me too guy. “So you have Space X well I have Blue Origin! You have Tesla well I put a few million into Rivian and now I have Slate!”

Incredibly some writers are asking if Slate will be a Tesla killer. Huh? Was Yugo a Porsche killer? Was the Chevy Volt a threat to the Tesla Model S? The people that I know who buy Teslas are attracted to its technology. Slate is the anti-Tesla with no technology. They will appeal to completely different markets. Tesla offers the cybertruck which starts at $70,000 and goes up north of $100,000. Do you really think a teeny EV pickup with a 150 mile range and no gizmos will endanger Tesla? Not likely. However there will be a market for a cheap EV pickup. Given the high tariffs on Chinese EVs, it is impossible to get a cheap EV (there they start around $15,000). Toyota even makes a $15,000 EV for the Chinese market. Let’s just say that those who are wishing that the Slate will be a threat to Tesla are just Elon Musk haters who are hoping for Tesla’s demise which may happen but not because of Slate.

I have always wondered why all the US EV startups have started with high priced vehicles. Rivian which continues to have a look of surprise on it starts at $70,000 and go up towards $100,000. Every time I see one I say “Does that look like $70,000 to you?” Not to me. Lucids also start around $70,000 and go past $100,000. Of course the Big Three have their own EVs, Ford has the EV Mustang and the F-150 Lighting. General Motors has the Lyric, Blazer EV, Equinox EV and the Silverado EV. All are cheaper than the startups but no one thinks that they endanger Tesla. Do they? Well if they don’t then why would Slate?

So the F-150 Lightning and Silverado EVs aren’t considered a Tesla killers but a $20,000 pint-sized EV is? This makes no sense to me. Musk has promised but failed to deliver a $25,000 EV, there will be certainly market for the Slate. I would not mind having one at the farm. My first pickup was a bare bones F-150. It too had roll up windows. It had air conditioning and four wheel drive – an essential at the farm. If the Slate is available with four wheel drive, I could use it to haul stuff around the farm and take dead deer to the processor during deer season. I would not need my F-250 diesel for farm work and could use it for heavy loads and with my fifth wheel. I think America needs cheap EVs. But these will be no threat to Elon Musk and Tesla. 

Are American’s going to demand a vehicle with no auto light dimmer, no touch screen, no power windows and no backup camera. That remains to be seen. Yes all those are available as accessories and will they be so often demanded that Slate will start offering an upgrade with those niceties standard? Whereas I would never have a cybertruck, I might buy a Slate. On the other hand, I have no need or desire for an EV auto, regardless of price. 

It is noteworthy that the Slate will be built in Indiana which has 2 republican senators and 7 of nine representatives are also republican. It is probably a mere coincidence that since Trump is talking about getting rid of the $7,000 federal tax credit on US made EVs that Slate will be made in republican country. Want to bet that the Indiana republicans are already lobbying to keep that tax credit?