It’s going to be very interesting. Has Slate identified an under-served market? Will they see mainstream success?

Or is this another iPhone Mini / Framework / sports wagon where a small, passionate minority ends up disappointed and angry that their priorities are not shared by the mainstream?

I sincerely hope for the former. We need lower-cost vehicles, I like diverse product offerings, and this is a purist’s take on a small truck. But then I like small phones, (the idea of) repairable laptops, and sports wagons.

> a vehicle with no communication, sensor, or surveillance systems

Do we know that? The website seems silent on the topic, unless I've missed something.

You must be very naive to think that this app that you would need for this vehicle won’t do all that.

It's most likely will have comms. And it will make 0 difference for most people. Having your most expensive asset NOT have basic tracking is insanity. That said I'm all in for all of this to be easily disabled even tho I struggle to find a valid reason (in actual dictatorships you are fucked multiple ways anyway and in democratic ones you are about to do crime).

Not flat between the wheel wells (42.9"), but on top of them. There's a photo (don't know if it's real though).

https://www.slateforums.com/forum/threads/slate-truck-dimens...

Easily found: https://www.slate.auto/en/specs

It seems like not quite.

The width is 50 some inches but the wheel wells are there so you may need some 2x4 or something to keep plywood from flexing over them. And the length of the bed isn’t near 8 feet so you’d need the bed open and the boards strapped in.

This jalopnik article had some helpful measurements: https://www.jalopnik.com/1845231/slate-pickup-bed-fit-every-...

I actually think it is not cheap enough. Start adding basic, standard features and the price doesn’t look as competitive against legacy manufacturers. Do those manufacturers offer an equivalently cheap EV today? Maybe, but probably not. Though they could, and if they did, Slate is probably toast.

It seems unlikely they'll be like the Yugo. That car was produced in a low quality factory. This is a modern product from Jeff Bezos that has fewer parts, not just cheap, poorly made parts. Yugo was Yugoslavia's only car manufacturer. Slate competes with all the other US brands so it can't just be total garbage going in. That wouldn't make sense.

I also wonder if it will develop a negative stigma as a cheap beater truck used in company fleets and such.

Preorder shipping late 2026