Slate Is It Vapourware?

SV reX said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Don't read too far into things. 
 

Deceptive

1. giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading.

 

An image that presents an impression that is different from the true one is deceptive.  It doesn't matter whether it was intentional or not. 
 

Tricking or lying is intentional. 
 

I didn't suggest the company was trying to trick anyone or intentionally deceive. I said the image gave an impression that might be different from reality. 
 

So yes.  Lighten up Francis.

In reply to SV reX :

Everything you pointed out as deceptive was validated by others to be accurate in the image.

JThw8 said:

Until I see a functioning vehicle I can lay hands on its vaporware.  Nice concept, I hope they pull it off, but right now its ideas and computer renders nothing more.

Follow the YT trail to videos from the live launch event where people put hands on prototype vehicles. Yes, more than just one roped off on a stage...

Maybe they make it to production, maybe they don't, but they do have more than just ideas and computer renders if you cared enough to look.

Interesting, but I don't see it being terribly prosperous.

First of all, while people may be interested, I can't see people willing to pay a huge amount of money for it.  Pretty universally, small = cheap in terms of price.  Meaning the margins on this are going to be thin to negative.  Which is a massive risk to a new company making anything, let alone something so complex as a vehicle.  

Second- is there really a solid market to sell 200,000-300,000 per year?  Which is what is needed to fully fund a factory the size to make vehicles.  Roughly.  If that market existed, why isn't someone making a vehicle that fits there?  This isn't the cell phone market where basically 2 companies define what you can get, there are more than enough OEM's to easily tap into a market that big.  And I would include BYD into that OEM list.

One should remember the reason why small trucks existed previously- they were there to offset the large trucks- mostly for fleet fuel economy.  And they were cheap because you could sell a small truck at a slight loss when it meant you got to sell a big truck at a huge profit.  Meaning the market was artificially depressed in terms of prices by the OEMs.  

Also, historically, there have been a large number of cheap, basic, vehicles of various types available to the public, and I don't recall any of then being THE sales leader.  Especially over the last 40 years.

I wish them luck, but would not risk my money in them.

Nope. Having a big nose on the thing makes no sense to me. There isn't a radiator and an ICE up there. I'd like to see 18" taken off the nose. Add another foot to the bed, and 6" to the cab so that there's a bit of storage room, or the ability to tilt the seat back enough to take a nap.

Well, on the marketing side, they are certainly on some kind of tear.

My jaw was on the floor as it escalated. 
 

And I can only think that this is why my Facebook feed now includes ads for embalming fluid. 

There's no way this thing is coming to market for $20K, that part IS vaporware......

In reply to MiniDave :

27k before federal kickbacks. 

Im patiently waiting. See what it really is if it actually shows up. 

Screenshot from the Out of Spec video from yesterday. This is around 10:23. Looks to be 2x4 slots at front and back of the bed.

(I honestly have no clue where this is on the pipe dream-vaporware-real vehicle continum.)

LOL. Would somebody please start a vaporware thread? I have a dozen entries that I'm still waiting for 20+ years to show up. I even have one I designed from 1985, the Vertical Take Off and Landing Flying Bass Boat. 

I thought of this thread while I was in traffic today.

I was behind an early 90s Mazda B series pickup.

It's amazing how small they are, even next to a modern compact car.

I owned a few Toyota and Nissan mini trucks and found them very useful

Just got home from Los Angeles, which included the Thursday night launch event for the truck. Got to poke around - it's not vaporware. They had 7 or 8 prototypes that were driven out for the post-presentation dinner and drinks party sort of thing. One neat trick - a small crew took the gray "blank Slate" truck that was shown to us while the CEO and others were speaking, and in under an hour, wrapped it blue and installed the SUV kit.

Slate's already doing crash testing and targeting 5-star ratings. The big nose on the front opens up to be a frunk that can hold two rollaboard suitcases.

My concerns are around pricing, really. They'll be built in Indiana and the batteries are also somehow "made" in America though I don't know where they are sourcing materials. I am curious how much all these accessories will add to the base price, because if you get more than a little above that magic $20k number you suddenly open up to Maverick and Santa Cruz. Although, Maverick's bed is shorter.

I dunno, I'm cautiously optimistic. It's a really great team of people working there, lots of talent.

In reply to Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) :

I read they are eyeing buying a former printing plant in Warsaw, IN.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/25/slate-auto-eyes-former-indiana-printing-plant-for-its-ev-truck-production/

On incentives- aren't they capped at something like 150k household income. 
to me- this is selling to folks who have the disposable income to risk something like that. Otherwise you're just buying a used f150 or similar. 

It's always funny to see people say something sucks, that they never had any intention of buying something like that. 

I have no intention of buying one, because it doesn't fit any need we have. But I also think it's a super cool idea I'd like to see succeed. 

Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) said:

Just got home from Los Angeles, which included the Thursday night launch event for the truck. Got to poke around - it's not vaporware. They had 7 or 8 prototypes that were driven out for the post-presentation dinner and drinks party sort of thing. One neat trick - a small crew took the gray "blank Slate" truck that was shown to us while the CEO and others were speaking, and in under an hour, wrapped it blue and installed the SUV kit.

Slate's already doing crash testing and targeting 5-star ratings. The big nose on the front opens up to be a frunk that can hold two rollaboard suitcases.

My concerns are around pricing, really. They'll be built in Indiana and the batteries are also somehow "made" in America though I don't know where they are sourcing materials. I am curious how much all these accessories will add to the base price, because if you get more than a little above that magic $20k number you suddenly open up to Maverick and Santa Cruz. Although, Maverick's bed is shorter.

I dunno, I'm cautiously optimistic. It's a really great team of people working there, lots of talent.

Good to hear you actually saw multiple functional vehicles. If they're running a grift at least they're committing to the bit. 

Honestly I don't think *they* think it's vapor, but the reality of getting from prototypes to manufacturing is really, really hard. If they manage to make the leap without Elioing it all up I think they'll actually have a chance. These feel like they might be awesome fleet trucks for trade companies.

z31maniac said:

It's always funny to see people say something sucks, that they never had any intention of buying something like that. 

I have no intention of buying one, because it doesn't fit any need we have. But I also think it's a super cool idea I'd like to see succeed. 

+1

I dig it. Not sure I'll be a buyer without being a hybrid but I like the whole ethos behind it.

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

Nope. Having a big nose on the thing makes no sense to me. There isn't a radiator and an ICE up there. I'd like to see 18" taken off the nose. Add another foot to the bed, and 6" to the cab so that there's a bit of storage room, or the ability to tilt the seat back enough to take a nap.

That would make it ugly, and also probably make it a lot harder to pass crash tests.

Another start up company is making a shorter nosed small EV truck, it's called the Telo MT1. There was a thread about it here a month ago. 

It's clear at least a few folks think there is a market for this kind of thing. 

CyberEric said:

Another start up company is making a shorter nosed small EV truck, it's called the Telo MT1. There was a thread about it here a month ago. 

It's clear at least a few folks think there is a market for this kind of thing. 

Yeah, it's ugly and I don't want to think about where my legs would be in a crash...

In reply to captainawesome :

Journalist mentions he's 6'10...I was worried because he's considerably taller than the roof and it looked like he was hunched over and still had his head in the headliner. It'll probably be a decent for for folks that aren't NBA prospects

It takes some imagining. But I love functional design and am willing to sacrifice some aesthetics for it.

This is a little extreme, but imagine shrinking this a little and get rid of the crew cab:

I just think that it's a little ridiculous that the hood is almost as long as the bed. Since this thing is being marketed for utility, why get too hung up on looks anyway?

But I'm just howling at the moon. Nobody's changing for me.

Here are some ideas of size and seating position for the Telo cabover:

Personally, I like the idea of a traditional nose with a frunk for enclosed storage better than a cabover. It gives more flexibility than having an extra foot of bed length does. And if I need more bed length, I can always let things hang out the back.

Driven5 said:

I really like it conceptually, but unfortunately have no actual role for it in my life. Perhaps if I want to afford something with a warranty for a kid to drive when we get to that point...

The more I think about this, the more I like it.

I have uses that demand the full-size crew-cab pickup, but have been considering economical commuter-toy options for a while. My initial thoughts were that an ND Miata would beat this in pretty much every subjective way... But have been lamenting having to choose between that and being able to make the fun a family affair.

The 4-seat (con)version with the removable 'fastback' cap is really growing on me. With the 240mi battery pack and dropped on decent wheels/tires in classic 'sport truck' fashion, this could actually hit all the right buttons in a different way.

I am now seeing a real potential roll for this in my life, and will be following the development progress with increasing interest.