Would real mechanics buy the $25,000 Slate Truck?

[00:00:00]The car is on and running, but the screen's completely black. And they had to use where the fingerprint smudges were on the screen. So, they had to put it in reverse because she couldn't drive it cuz the touchcreen is forward and reverse. I really don't like in the last maybe 5 years turn it off and on again has become a car troubleshooting tip, not just computers.

[00:00:18]>> This is a $25,000 brand new electric.

[00:00:23]>> What's the catch? What do they cut?

[00:00:24]>> Everything by the sounds of it, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing.

[00:00:28]I think there's a bit of a push away from too many touchcreens and technology. So, I think it's tuned in a little to that.

[00:00:36]>> I wouldn't even say there's a catch.

[00:00:38]They're pretty deliberate about what they did. They're not comparing this to like a Silverado EV or, you know, or a Lightning or something like that.

[00:00:46]>> People keep complaining about trucks getting too big and too fancy. I think this is the middle finger to that. I think they're trying to cash in on that.

[00:00:52]>> I think that's why they took all of it out so that they can charge us a lower price. A brand new car that's 25 grand is appealing to a lot of people.

[00:01:00]>> Yeah. What, dude? What else can you get for 25 grand?

[00:01:02]>> Well, that >> a brand new car.

[00:01:04]>> Now I get to segue into my biggest complaint with it, which is that the Ford Maverick exists. You can get a fullyfeatured hybrid four-door two row truck for 28, which starts to make this look not quite so cheap.

[00:01:17]>> Yeah, it's a rough one that it's only a two-seater. I know you can modify it so that it's more, but >> well, the other thing is, is that really that cheap? If you're going for a stripped down base model vehicle, if you look at what a Chevy C10 cost back in the day, like 1970, you adjust that for inflation. It's like 22 grand.

[00:01:32]Manufacturing technology has come so far. Those trucks were screwed together by people. Surely, we can make a cheaper truck.

[00:01:39]>> Got to leave room for profit. They made a lot of those. Uh, >> the other thing, too, is it's 25,000 right now until it actually gets released. Like, has any of these EV manufacturers actually followed through on their price promise?

[00:01:53]>> Very true.

[00:01:53]>> I can't think of any. Yeah, >> but that's true. It's not super compare it to other small pickups because this is full electric.

[00:02:01]>> It's true. Well, like the Cybert truck was like supposed to be like, >> wasn't it supposed to be 75 grand or something like that?

[00:02:07]>> Yeah. Yeah. Now it's 10 and something and there's graveyards full of them.

[00:02:12]Zero miles on it.

[00:02:13]>> Yeah.

[00:02:14]>> You can buy four slate trucks for that.

[00:02:15]>> Yeah.

[00:02:17]My question is is is if their target market is people who don't want they don't want wind down windows, you know, maybe manual sunroof, whatever it is, and Bluetooth speaker instead of a radio. The people who have these features and like these features, they're driving 40-year-old cars. I don't know if those people want to buy a new car. And if they do, is this your one car solution?

[00:02:38]>> Does that work as a onec car solution?

[00:02:40]One of the things that's cool about it is you pay 25,000, you get the base model and then you're not locked into the base model because you can go and buy all the upgrades later and then add them.

[00:02:49]>> True.

[00:02:50]>> So it's not like you're locked into this thing 25 now and then, you know, a year from now you can afford to put the second row in and the top and turn it into a SUV >> and it turns it into an SUV. What if you want a truck?

[00:03:02]>> Yeah.

[00:03:03]>> I don't know. 25,000 base model and it doesn't have a bunch of like poverty buttons. It's got >> you just have no buttons.

[00:03:11]>> Yeah.

[00:03:12]>> So, uh the main things that they deleted obviously are like the screen that you would see in normal EVs now, uh and the power windows, which are to date the two most common things that break on modern cars. Is deleting those two things the best way to make it probably the most reliable vehicle on the road or do you think they could have done something different or >> uh this is first production run guaranteed it will not be the most reliable vehicle on the road.

[00:03:39]>> You have no idea how many recalls first production vehicles have. I think >> what did the MA Maverick had like 40?

[00:03:46]>> Oh, I believe it. And I know people were like ragging on the Cybertruck for the same thing. It's like it's it's a firstear car. I mean, Teslas still get recalls.

[00:03:54]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:03:55]>> So, but outside of the reliability, I think ditching the screen was [ __ ] awesome.

[00:04:01]>> Ditching the screen is awesome.

[00:04:02]>> And just you I've always thought like we have a phone that can do everything. It can do and it'll do it better than than these systems that don't get updates as frequently as they should.

[00:04:12]>> Yeah. What I really like is they've got the heater controls. We figured this out in the '9s, maybe even the 80s. It's never got better. How fast do you want it? How hot do you want it? Where do you want it?

[00:04:22]>> Yeah, I agree.

[00:04:23]>> Have you guys like seen any cars have issues specifically with screens and windows like in your experience?

[00:04:29]>> Oh man, >> very much. We were at a uh it was actually an electric vehicle kind of expo thing done at this college more to show the teachers and stuff how to how to teach on these cars and a lady asked the Tesla tech who was there, oh my uh my Tesla start. So they go out to the parking lot and the screen is just completely black. The car is on and running, but the screen's completely black. And they had to use where the fingerprint smudges were on the screen.

[00:04:54]The screen was functioning. It was just off. So, they had to put it in reverse cuz you couldn't drive it cuz the touchcreen is for reverse. I've had two negative experiences with that, too. So, we rented a Maki and the screen went off multiple times, like dark and everything still worked. Everything was fine. The screen in front of me still worked so I could see how fast I was going and all that, but the infotainment was basically unusable. And then my Silverado uh EV truck um the same thing has happened where the the primary infotainment screen is just gone black and not work.

[00:05:26]And you have to like pull over, turn the car off, do like an incantation, and then turn it back on and hopefully it comes on.

[00:05:34]>> That's a good point. I really don't like in the last maybe 5 years turn it off and on again has become a car troubleshooting tip. Not just not just computers.

[00:05:43]>> Having it in especially LA weather inside your car gets 30° just sitting out in the sun. And then window regulators are pretty self-explanatory.

[00:05:51]Everybody has had a window regulator.

[00:05:53]>> Power windows, too. Have you seen those fail commonly?

[00:05:56]>> That's the window regulator.

[00:05:58]>> Actually, my Silverado has a problem right now where I do the thing where it goes all the way up. You know, you tap it once, it goes all the way up and you hear it get to the top and then it's like creaking cuz it's still going and then eventually it stops. And like one of these days I'm just fully expecting that window to shatter. If you get in someone's like old car, if if you get into a mechanic's car, don't [ __ ] don't touch the windows. Don't roll the windows down because you don't know if they go back up again.

[00:06:22]>> The axle is actually an axle from the 1930s and they're putting it in an electric truck in the year 2026. Do you think that it's smart to be reusing parts like this or do you think it's just like a cheap way to get an axle?

[00:06:35]>> I think a good design is a good design.

[00:06:37]The DDon is an awesome. It's like a mixture between independent and solid axle kind of >> kind of get the advantages both. Yeah.

[00:06:45]>> Jaguars did revolt was DD on.

[00:06:49]>> There's nothing wrong with the functionality of it. I mean there's trucks today almost all have solid axle.

[00:06:55]>> Yeah.

[00:06:55]>> Still, >> that's from horse and cart stuff >> and that's from even longer ago.

[00:07:00]>> I didn't realize the thing was it's up on the screen now. 4,000 lb.

[00:07:03]>> Yeah, that's pretty heavy.

[00:07:04]>> I haven't seen it parked next to anything else. Is it small?

[00:07:07]>> If you park it next to another vehicle, it is small. Okay.

[00:07:09]>> It's like Maverick size. A little smaller.

[00:07:11]>> I wonder if they're pulling off one of those like perspective tricks. Like the Ionic 5 looks like a small car. And you see it next to a Camry. The thing's huge. I saw some comparisons. Uh the bed is the same height as the hood. And on a lot of new trucks, the hood is this much higher cuz they want to look like a fist going down the road. A fist in search of a face.

[00:07:29]Do you think that it being half the weight of a Cybertruck is something that will actually matter to the owners? And if so, what does it save them and where?

[00:07:39]>> Uh load capacity would be one. I don't know what the load rating is of that truck. Uh but if your max gross vehicle weights 5,000 lb, then it's not such a great proposition.

[00:07:50]>> It is a pickup truck, though. Like pickup trucks were never meant to like carry a lot. Like you throw a couple bags of cement in the back, you know, like >> whatever it would be.

[00:08:01]>> Tows 2,000 lb, which is like a small utility trailer, trailer, and like nothing else. Is this thing like actually a truck or is it just a commuter with a bed?

[00:08:11]>> It's a pickup truck.

[00:08:12]>> I'm surprised it can't tow more, but I'm impressed with the actual load rating.

[00:08:16]>> Well, how much carries?

[00:08:17]>> It towes the same as a Maverick. So, I mean, it's doing its job.

[00:08:20]>> It is an in town truck for sure.

[00:08:22]>> It's a perfect city truck.

[00:08:24]>> Yeah. Whoever's buying that isn't going to tow a double car trailer.

[00:08:27]>> No.

[00:08:27]>> I'm sure someone will try.

[00:08:28]>> Whoever's buying it most likely won't tow a trailer.

[00:08:32]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:33]>> But if you wanted to use one of the rent a U-Haul trail, >> dude, if you're like a you have a gardening business and you want like to avoid gas prices for doing your your gardening route throughout the week, this is [ __ ] perfect.

[00:08:46]>> Yeah. Do we know if it has 110 outlets?

[00:08:48]Cuz if it does, then you can run your tools off it, too. Jamie, can you find out if we uh >> Jamie Look that up.

[00:08:56]>> Does not have built-in.

[00:08:58]>> That's a huge missed opportunity. I feel like >> is there an option to add built-in?

[00:09:04]>> It comes with a standard 12vt power port in the cabin.

[00:09:08]>> That's really disappointing.

[00:09:10]>> It would be really cool to be able to charge your tools and stuff off of it.

[00:09:13]>> So, there's no paint at all. Like, it is it's bare plastic.

[00:09:17]>> The whole truck is plastic.

[00:09:18]>> It's plastic. There's no >> Oh, the exterior panels are all plastic.

[00:09:21]>> Satin in this. You look at an old Saturn, not one of them's got a dent on them. They're all straight because they're all plastic. I think it's a good idea. How expensive are they? Good question. To replace.

[00:09:31]>> Uh, do you think that that's a liability?

[00:09:34]>> If you get a quarter panel for 50 bucks to replace because it's made of plastic, then no, it's not a liability.

[00:09:42]>> But if a quarter panel to replace it is $750, then yes, it is a liability. Also depends on the type of plastic cuz some of those plastics are really good. But like we were talking about using this as a gardening truck. If you're beating this thing up, you know, you're going to find out how much those panels cost.

[00:10:00]>> I mean, if it's like dirt bike plastics, if it's similar to those kind of plastics, awesome. Super hardwearing.

[00:10:04]Slide tools over them all day and then replace them reasonably cheaply if you really do break one. But no, I see no reason they shouldn't look good in however many years. Is bare plastic actually different or is it just going to be like essentially the same as a normal car?

[00:10:18]>> It depends on the plastic. Like you said, it's uh some >> highly UV resistant plastic.

[00:10:23]>> Yeah. And some of them come right back to life. You put SC1 or shoe polish or whatever on, they come back to life. But some not so much.

[00:10:29]>> I'd go over it with a heat gun.

[00:10:30]>> Yeah. Yeah. Flame polish. Yeah.

[00:10:32]>> It is made of polyropylene composite, which is often blended with chopped fiberglass for added structural rigidity.

[00:10:38]>> Oh, interesting. If it actually does have fiberglass in it, then it's probably a pretty >> I'm surprised. I would expected it not to cuz a lot of the >> Well, it's like the glass fiber reinforced stuff.

[00:10:48]>> It's tough stuff, but it's still going to scratch super easy. Like plastics, so I don't think >> Dude, they're super easy to come on and off and it's all open source like designs cuz if I recall correctly, I saw 3D models for everything.

[00:10:59]>> The amount of body kits that people come with.

[00:11:01]>> Oh yeah.

[00:11:02]>> Yeah. Yeah, >> dude. I'm telling you, >> this is one of those cars that the manufacturers want you to take apart.

[00:11:07]Uh, when was the last time a manufacturer like actually did that?

[00:11:11]>> I would say Subaru did with the Baja.

[00:11:14]Jeep definitely does.

[00:11:16]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Nissan did way back in the day with their like convertible thing.

[00:11:21]>> And you know what? Jeep does do that, but modern Jeeps, they're not super friendly. I mean, we just tore one down.

[00:11:28]It wasn't like >> Well, in Jeep's defense, we're making that a race truck.

[00:11:32]>> Well, I saw the hinges on the windshield. I thought it would just kind of there'd be a latch somewhere and you just fold the windshield down. And it's really not like that. Yeah.

[00:11:39]>> Do you think that it being designed to be modified is a good idea or is it like >> remains to be seen. I think it's an awesome idea.

[00:11:46]>> It's an awesome idea. It depends on the execution.

[00:11:49]>> I think there are car there are modern cars that are built to be modified but not so >> Supra. I think it's Supra and the BRZ.

[00:11:57]>> Yeah, the BRZ.

[00:11:57]>> There's a ton of space under the exhaust holes larger cuz they knew people were going to put larger exhaust on them.

[00:12:02]See, you can do it and they have been doing it, but I think this is making it a personality kind of thing.

[00:12:07]>> I think what they're hoping for, and it would be really cool if this happened, is like for like a community of modders to like rise up around it, share designs, and share inspiration and and kind of build cool stuff. I mean, I could see small businesses being ran out of their garage where all they do is manufacture, aka 3D print, cool stuff for slates and, you know, for people to buy. You print the right filament and then you just sand out all the seams and everything.

[00:12:34]>> Yeah, but are any of those panels small enough to print on a on a household 3D printer?

[00:12:38]>> Yeah, but larger form 3D printers aren't as expensive as they used to be.

[00:12:42]>> That's true. But not only that, I'm just talking like the interior stuff like cuz even the dash like the design for mounting stuff like >> Yeah.

[00:12:48]>> So that selling a half finished truck until you finish yourself.

[00:12:53]>> Yeah.

[00:12:54]>> Modify.

[00:12:54]>> Modify. Yeah.

[00:12:56]>> Um, do you think it's a bad idea to have like customers, people who aren't necessarily that well-versed in working on cars working on a car like this?

[00:13:06]>> I'd say 100%. I'm all for people taking stuff apart in every >> anything. If you buy something, it's yours. Take it apart.

[00:13:13]>> Right to repair all day long. I totally >> whether whether they're doing it or not.

[00:13:17]No. No more of this like [ __ ] where you're paying a subscription for heated seats.

[00:13:22]>> My grandma's Volkswagen, not even a brand new car. the she the headlight's gone out and it says in the book that I got to go to the dealership. You open the hood and there's instructions on the back of the headlight cluster how to change it. We're being told that we're so stupid we can't, you know, change a headlight. I think yeah, we should take apart everything and figure it out.

[00:13:38]>> It does 205 mi on one battery. Is that like a deal breaker?

[00:13:42]>> 63 kW battery.

[00:13:44]>> 63 kw. I think that's fine.

[00:13:46]>> Does that work as a onecar solution for a person though is my question with it.

[00:13:51]>> Depends. Okay, so that's about how many miles we get on a good EV conversion.

[00:13:56]200 miles is really low for a production OEM car, but I feel like they're they're pushing this into a specific niche, and that niche is a round town >> city truck.

[00:14:06]>> City truck. Yeah, I think 200 miles is plenty to four times trying to fix something at your house. You maybe drove 75 miles that day.

[00:14:16]>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, city driving, that's all day on the road in the city.

[00:14:19]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:14:19]>> Does it have fast charging? It has fast charging.

[00:14:22]>> Has fast charger. Oh, then it's fine. 63 kWh pack fast charges in like 20 minutes, 30 minutes depending on the charger, of course.

[00:14:30]>> So, as a second car, it makes perfect sense. But is someone who's looking for a second car that budget conscious and also buying trying to buy a new car?

[00:14:37]>> Second car or a very purpose carful.

[00:14:42]>> Yeah. I don't think it could take the place of a family vehicle. No. Even if you converted it to SUV. I mean, if one of my kids wanted one of these, I would get it for them as their car.

[00:14:51]>> If the pack dies on like the ninth year of it driving on a $25,000 truck, is that like the end of the car?

[00:14:57]>> Back in the day, we used to look at Hyundai's. So, I worked at an auto parts store when I was in high school, and my the guy that I worked there with used to consider Hyundai's disposable cars. You buy them until something major breaks and you throw it away and go buy a new one. because they were like $6,000 at the time. So if you got like two if you got a year of use out of it, it was still a decent deal.

[00:15:24]>> Well, you talking about a new car or a used car?

[00:15:26]>> New car.

[00:15:26]>> Oh, wow.

[00:15:27]>> Yeah. I mean, obviously this is, you know, >> how many years ago?

[00:15:32]>> A while ago.

[00:15:34]But point being that if you got like 2 years of use out of a $25,000 truck before you had to replace something major or consider buying a new one, like I don't I'm not sure how terrible that is compared to the price of other cars.

[00:15:52]Now, >> I wonder how this is going to be the real test of their whole we want you to fix it kind of advertising is can you what's the actual drivetrain like?

[00:16:01]What's the battery pack like? like kind of like the phone thing where it's like say 5 years 8 years down the line you're not happy with the range you're getting you're down to 120 miles you're like I want to replace the battery and if you can buy a battery for three grand and replace it it becomes worth it >> yeah and I really that's a good point I want to see how the battery pack screwed together is it designed for you to be able to get in there and actually replace a weak cell >> yeah is it just a modular car for looks reasons or is it truly a modular or Yeah. And even further, is it is it the first EV that can actually be modified?

[00:16:39]And I'm not talking like the people that do make their Teslas look awesome. I'm talking about actually improving performance, putting a higher voltage battery, putting a beefier inverter on it. Like >> if batteries come along in the next, you know, 5 years, and in 5 years time, your battery, like you said, is getting a little old.

[00:16:56]>> Do they have an 85 kWh battery that you can buy >> in the same form factor? Yeah, >> the battery is not easy to take out.

[00:17:03]It's built into the floor. Like, it's not supported. They don't want you to be the one doing it.

[00:17:09]>> With your own money, would any of you buy it?

[00:17:12]>> Not the first model run.

[00:17:14]>> No, it doesn't fit my needs. Uh, I have room for one vehicle and I go on long trips, so it's it's no for me.

[00:17:22]>> I pre-ordered two of them.

[00:17:25]>> We'll see if I actually get two of them, but >> if it comes out at that price, are you going to take delivery?

[00:17:30]>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, >> there you go.

[00:17:31]>> I think it'll be cool.

[00:17:32]>> Yes, >> I would consider it, but I would be one of those people that's waits a year >> to see what's going on.

[00:17:40]>> If I do end up with one, it'll I'll probably end up with like 4,000 m a year on it if that. I just think it would be cool to have >> actually. That'd be a good shot.

[00:17:48]>> Great shot truck.

[00:17:49]>> Yeah. Parks in a small spot.

[00:17:51]>> Well, cuz you can wrap it in the full company wrap. It's already designed for it. Great parts getter. Great around town getter.

[00:17:57]>> Plastic panels. You can crash it into rollup doors or whatever.

[00:18:01]It's basically just like an old car with a battery. Isn't that why we all like these classic cars?

[00:18:07]>> Uh, no.

[00:18:10]>> I think people like classic cars for the styling that you don't get today. This does have styling s. You can think of it like a old square body truck kind of thing. It's a nice little square body thing.

[00:18:19]>> It reminds me of like the old S10s.

[00:18:22]>> Yeah, I like this S10. But yeah.

[00:18:25]>> Do you think that this is what a car is like supposed to be? No strain. I think that this should always be an option that's out there. Right now, this is filling a void of being a simple vehicle that has no bells and whistles that you can buy for cheap.

[00:18:41]>> They deliver on the $25,000 price tag.

[00:18:44]>> Yeah. I hope it does well and other car companies not emulate it, but do follow on that. I want to see >> at least offer the options.

[00:18:51]>> Yeah. You could buy a Honda Civic, no AC with rollup windows.

[00:18:54]>> Yeah, >> you can't do that anymore. I want to see higher quality materials and less features because you look at a modern car after a few years they start falling apart. The interior starts to >> build it right just build it with less stuff. Like I'm sure we can do this.

[00:19:08]>> Why does simple and fixable matter? Like is it the exact thing that makes a classic car worth saving?

[00:19:14]>> A lot of classic cars are not simple or fixable by yourself.

[00:19:19]>> You need a professional shop most of the time to work on classic cars.

[00:19:22]>> Look at that thing. Imagine that with some lowprofile tires slammed to the ground. If Slate wants to send us one of those, we'll turn it into a [ __ ] awesome looking car, awesome looking truck. If we were wrong about anything that we said in this video, let us know in the comments so that we can ignore it.

[00:19:38]And uh be sure to like and subscribe if you like this type of stuff. We'll do more of it. And thanks for watching.