Blank Slate, 21st Century Truck
Back when I had a little acreage I had a 4-bay shop, and a lot of tools. One day I was chafing at the maintenance cost of keeping all those tools operable, changing some brushes in the motor of a bench grinder. While that job was on an electric motor, I noted that I far more often had to maintain infernal combustion engines that powered my equipment. Electric motors required far less maintenance, didn't need to be run from time to time to keep the gaskets moist and supple, and didn't have much in the way of consumables, like air, oil, and fuel filters, spark plugs, distributor caps, rotors, and points, that made an entire wall of my shop a storage area for tune up parts. I had chainsaws, rototillers, cars, trucks, weedeaters, generators, and all sorts of tools with small gas engines that all required regular maintenance, and half my trucks and gas powered equipment was broken down at any given time, not only not productive, but a never ending time and money sink I could ill afford. I also had roughly the same number of electrically powered saws of all sorts, bench tools, planers, drills, blowers, compressors, and so on, almost none of which ever required any maintenance whatsoever, beyond the few that had replaceable brushes, and rarely broke down. I thought about what it took to keep my small fleet of trucks on the road and me working. By the end of the day I wanted an electric car, a lot. It would save me a fortune in tune up parts, and several hours a month in time spent tending to maintenance, not to mention the constant drain and unpredictable cost of breakdowns from leaky hoses, worn out parts, and major problems like blown heads and cracked blocks.
When Tesla came out with the Model S, I was excited. I remember seeing my first one in a parking lot, and asking the driver (who turned out not to own it) if I could take a closer look. The performance specs were exciting, and the fit and finish were excellent. As time went on, however, I gradually became disenamored with Tesla products, primarily because of the surveillance the vehicles undertook of their owners, but the subscription model Tesla used for certain features, and similar drawbacks to Teslas continued to mount up. I have zero interest in a Tesla today, and that has nothing to do with the ridiculous political outrage of people that call Musk a Nazi. Even if he was a Nazi, if he could make a product that met my need, I wouldn't even care.
I don't even carry a cell phone outside my house, because I am not going to pay to be tracked and surveilled by creepy stalkers, and I'm sure not going to pay $100k for a radio collar I can ride in.
The market seems to be taking note of people like me. Edison Motors has designed an hybrid diesel/electric log truck that has only off the shelf parts so that they can be easily and inexpensively repaired by operators, and takes advantage of the mountainous terrain log trucks usually operate in with regenerative braking. Along with the reduced maintenance costs of electric motors compared to infernal combustion, that really makes them an attractive proposition for log truck drivers, especially in concert with the attributes of electric motors that simplify operations compared to vehicles with 16 gears on outrageously sloped and rudimentary roads while laden with ~40 tons of wood.
Finally Slate has come out with a simply designed electric pickup truck that isn't a tracking and surveillance suppository with a steering wheel. AFAICT there is no tracking and surveillance built into Slate trucks. I have only just learned of them, and haven't found a technical document yet, so if you can disappoint me please do. I'd rather be disappointed right now so I can quit wasting time and interest on the truck than later after that time is lost forever on a pipe dream.
Not only is the Slate (maybe) free of tracking and surveillance, there are no subscriptions for a bunch of fancy options. There's a choice of battery packs providing different ranges, but the trucks are produced in a bare bones - Blank Slate, they call it - configuration at the factory, and then there are myriad aftermarket options that purchasers can pay to have Slate install, or DIY themselves.
I am suspicious because it's too good to be true, actually. While without technical specs and illustration I can't ascertain just how off the shelf and DIY repairable Slates are, promotional materials claim they are made to be tailored by their owners to their specific needs. Like the VW Bug the simple base model becomes a platform for an almost infinite variety of options that turned Bugs into everything from Dune Buggies to Trikes, and I can see even more potential for an electric motor powered pickup truck to be customizable produced with that same philosophy. The biggest drawback for me is the lack of 4 wheel drive. I need a 4x4 to get where I need to go often.
Best of all the price, at least presently, for the base model is claimed to be <$20k. With Fords, Teslas, Rivians, Chevys, and Dodge pickups all hitting >$100k new, that's an incredible price point that may make the Slate the first real global standard electric vehicle. I've already plunked down the $50 reservation fee, which you can do at https://www.slate.auto/
What do you think?
I'm pretty psyched to watch where this start-up goes. There's definitely a market here in the US for a bare-bones and economical EV pickup. This is a segment that auto manufacturers have ignored. I see this being a hit in rural areas and for light hauling.
That's exactly what I need it, or something like it, for. I presently have a 1980 VW Rabbit Pickup that I use for that purpose, but as you might guess, finding parts for a foreign made truck almost 50 years old is becoming difficult. Not only that, but I live right on the beach and 'coast cancer' is taking an horrific toll on the steel body.
Thanks!
Those VW pickups were rare in the US! The diesel versions were the most common. I really hope they call pull it off. There are many other EV startups like Aptera that are getting my attention.
In my particular circumstances, I have no electricity bill. This presents the prospect of never having to pay for fuel for an electric vehicle, on top of the low purchase price and very low maintenance and repair costs electric drive offers, which makes the Slate extremely attractive to me.
Otherwise, the limitations of pure electric drive, rather than a hybrid, would be off putting. However, because I can run a generator on wood gas, and wood is in abundance here, even in a grid down situation I can expect to keep a Slate in operation for some time (although all the limitations of the infernal combustion engine of the generator would be the most likely time limiting factor), and adding solar panels presents the prospect of years of potential, at least occasional, utility even in a grid down situation. The biggest limitation then becomes the batteries, which I have no information regarding yet. There are options for DIY batteries emerging that might mitigate that as well.
I need a truck, so other options for electric vehicles aren't attractive to me, although the Aptera looks like a fun ride.
My main concern, apart from being under surveillance, is the amount of poisonous electrical radiation that poured in from the bottom of Tesla's through metal and into your system. Just turning it on is almost like being inside a microwave oven. Which is entirely preventative if it is isolated properly. I have no idea if the slate truck is in the same fashion.
I have found the webby to give me both sides as being true. One side says it is harmful the other side proves it isn't. The only solution I see for myself at the moment is to read the data myself in person. Maybe it's not all Tesla vehicles but some? So it could be an unintentional manufacturer issue.
Dear @valued-customer !
Are electric cars popular in the US?
I remember that in a large country like the US, electric cars were not powerful enough to drive long distances.
Electric vehicles will not have 4-wheel drive because they have to charge their batteries.
I remember there being few gas stations for electric vehicles in the continental United States.
Where I live, it's common news that electric cars break down a lot, especially with batteries catching fire.
So, I think electric cars are for short distance driving!
I hope your choice is right!
I see Teslas every day, while rarely Rivian trucks or other makes of electric vehicles. Most Americans stick to ICE engines in their vehicles.
IMG source - somewhere in the shadows of the internet
There are 4x4 electric vehicles, and the ability to supply power to motors on each wheel makes it an extremely simple, if expensive, option. It has nothing to do with charging batteries.
Wheels that are motors have existed for some years now, and replacing OEM parts with them is potential, if the cost is deemed worthwhile. I already have a 4x4 that runs on gas, but that fuel is an expense that I expect to become less bearable as time goes on. I have considered making my VW pickup a 4x4 by replacing stub axles with electric driven wheels, and this may eventually be the best and least expensive option. We'll eventually have the necessary price and optional equipment available from Slate, and will make that judgement at that time.