This Stealth Operation isn’t very Stealth

A🧡432-word💚2.5-minute💙read

𝗬𝘂𝗴𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱?

Virtually every cleantech publication has now covered this stealth operation. It started with brief blurbs about a Jeff Bezos-backed effort. Last week The Verge published a full-blown article.

What am I referring to?

The Slate Truck, a sub-$20,000 EV pickup. That’s assuming the $7,500 federal incentive survives.

Given we are working to keep inexpensive Chinese EVs from dominating our market, the U.S. needs to step up to achieve EV price parity.

What’s that you say?

Oh, I forgot.

The $30,000 Tesla is due any day. And now that Elon has cut the federal budget by a whopping $160 billion – just a whisker short of his $2 trillion promise – he’ll no doubt also land a person on Mars by the summer.

But seriously, I applaud the effort to develop an EV that the average person can afford. Offering an entry-level version by stripping out features is a tried-and-true strategy. However, affordability is one thing, an absence of functionality is another.

Here’s a list of the “streamlined” features:

▶ A 150-mile range. If the Slate is used for pickup truck purposes that isn’t a problem, but how many Americans use pickup trucks to pick stuff up?

▶ It only seats two.

▶ Taking a page from the Henry Ford’s school of marketing, you can have any color as long as its gray.

▶ Got music? Better bring a Bluetooth speaker. There’s no radio, speakers, or even a touchscreen.

▶ The Slate is doubly environmentally friendly. The body panels aren’t made of steel but plastic – “injection molded polypropylene composite” to be exact. That strategy was used by GM’s Saturn subsidiary. Don’t remember the Saturn? You’re not alone.

According to the Verge article, the Slate Truck will be touted as a DIY vehicle.

▶ Don’t like gray, wrap it.

▶ Want to transport more than two passengers? Buy an upgrade kit.

▶ Need maintenance? No problem. Slate University will teach you everything you need to know. In fairness, it’s reported that Slate is arranging for an unnamed service company to handle service. Think Midas, Monroe, or Meineke.

▶ Want more range? Just install an extended range battery pack.

Here’s the good news: preorders for the Slate – due in late 2026 – only costs $50.

The idea that a company can achieve a desired price point by simply jettisoning features is folly. Slate should have learned something from arguably the worst car in our history – the Yugo.

Granted, the Yugo had myriad quality issues, but there’s a functional threshold that can’t be breached. It appears that the Slate will breach it.

#evs #electricvehicles #emissionfree #jeffbezos #slate