Why I ordered a Slate Truck
I may have written in the past about why I don't like trucks, and I do definitely wish this was not a truck, but it is very different from anything else currently on the market.
Tech-Free
In alignment with a previous post about why I'm a luddite, the Slate Truck has almost no "tech". Meaning no OEMs spying on my activities, no subscriptions being forced on me (GM removed CarPlay/Android Auto to force this on their customers), and no ads in the vehicle. Advertisements are becoming increasingly common from OEMs such as GM, Ford, Stellantis, Subaru, WV, Mercedes, and BMW.
Most of these ads are for the OEM's own products, such as extended warranties, as seen above. However, these things have a way of only getting worse, and never getting better. We can see this progressive enshittification in the modern TV. That's the future of your $40k+ car.
They can also, at any time, as we've seen with other tech products, remove included features and put them behind some sort of paywall, without any consequence whatsoever.
Many vehicles are also paywalled behind dealer software. Often things as simple as registering an oil change or a battery replacement are put behind proprietary software that's not accessible by anyone but the dealer.
Now I own a Tesla, which may be the opposite of "tech free", but that is not why I bought it, and honestly I wish it was the same. My phone has all the tech I need. My Tesla does not currently have ads in the vehicle itself, but it regularly gets ads in the app for referrals, Tesla insurance, Tesla solar, buying a new vehicle, sales and promotions, etc. etc. Fortunately the app is not necessary to use the vehicle, and for me, doesn't even work anyway, because they block my VPN provider.
Security
This kinda goes along with "tech", and really more about being "constantly connected". One shocking thing I learned when I turned my Tesla in for service is that they maintain full-time remote access to the vehicle functions. I went to give them my key and they said "We don't need that" and explained that they can simply unlock and start it remotely. The mere existence of such a system creates a security vulnerability that doesn't otherwise exist. This doesn't apply only to Tesla, but any modern "connected" vehicle with such capabilities.
Price
The Slate does not have an exact price yet. They did before the federal EV incentives were rolled back (Thanks, Trump!), but as of writing, it is "in the mid-twenties", which to me indicates probably ~$28k. And honestly, this is not a great deal. For the same price you can get a brand new Chevy Bolt (currently $27,600 MSRP, realistically you would probably pay less than that, where the Slate price will most likely be fixed), or even better, for a little more, a Chevy Equinox ($35k MSRP). However, in the year of our lord [current year] you often have to pay more for less, and personally, I'm happy to pay it.
Rear Wheel Drive
There are good reasons some ICE vehicles are FWD. Mostly efficiency. I won't get into why I think that's a bad idea on ICE cars, but many EVs are also inexplicably FWD. There's no logical reason for this. I don't understand it. RWD has better traction, and thus better acceleration.
Third-Party Repairs
In stark contrast to Tesla and other similar companies like Rivian and Lucid, Slate explicitly condones third-party repairs. Tesla in particular has been militant about not allowing third-party repairs, going so far as to ban vehicles that have been externally-serviced from charging on their supercharging network, which remains one of the most compelling reason to buy a Tesla in the first place.
In addition to partnering with an existing company called RepairPal for warranty repairs, they will also offer "Slate University" where servicers can become certified, and owners can access repair documentation.
Slate
Plastic Panels
There's an interesting phenomena with many modern vehicles, but in particular Rivian, where certain body panels simply can't be replaced and the entire vehicle is written off and junked.
If you'll look around you'll find lots and lots of information about this but here is a random article that covers the situation extensively:
Jason Torchinsky
And here's the tl;dr version of it:
The bed quarter panel on most trucks is standalone. For the Rivian, it is one piece from the back corner all the way up to the front windshield. Since that piece was damaged, it had to be removed and replaced and then painted. To properly access it, they removed the back windshield.
Not only are the body panels on the Slate truck easily removable with a handful of exterior bolts and the most basic of handtools, but they're also plastic, so they can simply be scrapped and swapped. You can see these bolts in any given image, but here's a close-up:
This to me is inconclusive evidence of a company that prioritizes repairability, which just doesn't exist elsewhere. The vehicle may be too expensive upfront, but cost of ownership will be low.
Customization
Most cars only come with a select set of bland and bold, plain "agreeable" colors. And you, the consumer, must pay for this. Slate, again, comes with plain plastic body parts. And you paint or wrap it however you well please, or...don't? It looks pretty sick in the plain matte black panels. If you want to customize it, Slate offers that option as well. You can configure a seemingly endless list of options:
Slate