this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2026
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Electric Vehicles

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Electric Vehicles are a key part of our tomorrow and how we get there. If we can get all the fossil fuel vehicles off our roads, out of our seas and out of our skies, we'll have a much better environment. This community is where we discuss the various different vehicles and news stories regarding electric transportation.

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Slate's $24,950 electric truck is on track for release this year — here's how it stacks up against the cheapest EVs I've tested (www.tomsguide.com)
submitted 1 month ago by Sunshine@piefed.ca to c/electricvehicles@slrpnk.net
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[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

These reviews entirely miss the point of the slate. Like they're mentally incapable of making the comparison because to them, the lack of features is a bug, not a feature in and of itself. I'm buying a vehicle. Not a phone. I have a phone. I don't need my vehicle to be a phone.

I think the best comparison would be to the original Toyota pickup/hilux, like the 2nd and 3rd gen. The slate having manual windows is an intentional design choice, but a modern review outlet can't comprehend that people value simplicity and things which don't allow for surveillance. It's a platform you can build on. It's leveraging the fact that an ev power train is actually much simpler and less likely to fail than an ice power train.

Questions I want to know which should be compared: repairability, serviceability, maintenance cycles. How extendable is the platform? How easy will the electric system be able to be tapped into?

I'm in line for the slate and planning on getting one. I'm thinking utility truck first then maybe conversion to a food truck.

[–] IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I want one of those so badly since it's perfect for my use cases but I also don't want to be an early adopter.

[–] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 22 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Jeff Bezos being one of the owners is a big turn off for me.

[–] radiantshackles@lemmy.dbzer0.com 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You might've been misled there: bezos is an early investor in slate, but he doesn't own the company and doesn't even currently have representation on the company's board. Bezos reportedly hasn't been involved in decision-making for the company and doesn't have an ownership stake, so I'm willing to accept that slate simply took his early support without handing him the reins

[–] lemming741@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Bezos Expeditions has a seat on the board, what are you talking about?

[–] Kind_to_Everyone@slrpnk.net 15 points 1 month ago (5 children)

I want the Slate to succeed, but unless you need a truck bed daily, a used Bolt offers greater value for the average person at a lower price.

[–] burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I feel like it's more for someone going to Home Depot and IKEA most weekends than someone who needs a truck bed daily to haul gravel and 15 horses 800 miles across a glacier

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh stow that counterproductive bullshit.

Yeah, used cars are always better value than new ones because someone else has already eaten the depreciation. That's why no one makes new cars, they just can't compete on value.

I find "daily" to be too strict a criteria, go for "routinely." I'm a woodworker, I haul lumber, tools, scrap and finished projects around in my S10, sometimes multiple loads a day, sometimes not for weeks. It's been 8 days since I hauled something heavy in my pickup, I bought a new compressor and it wasn't gonna fit in my Buick.

Plus...some people want a truck because they like them. If you want the unwashed masses to drive more EVs, you're going to have to allow EVs to be things other than expensive luxury sport sedanover Model Y clones or "cut off your genitals to save weight and get better mileage" self-flagellation machines for self-loathing Green party voters like the Leaf and Bolt. Bring back fun little toy cars like the Geo Tracker and the Subaru BRAT but with electric powertrains. Something that's just as fun to slide through the mud as a Wrangler or Bronco but 7/8ths as big, something a blonde named Tina wants to drive to her job at the Great Clips in Rocky Mount.

[–] timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Username checks out.

But in any case, I get what theyre saying. If I bought this I'd probably not use half my vehicle most, if not all, the time.

Personally very much like the idea of a slate car but not on offer yet.

[–] dmention7@midwest.social 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not jabbing at you in particular, but how often does the average 4-door sedan owner use their back seats? If you'd reqire a truck bed more often than rear seats, the argument for a small pickup is logical.

[–] timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 month ago

I have passengers far more often than I use a bed. Honestly I think I might use a truck bed once a year at most and that's if I'm looking to use it.

Families, etc. All probably use those back seats more than they would a truck bed. But your argument isn't wrong- I just agree with op that for a lot of people a bolt is a more attractive option assuming you're not super into the core of the slate- ie. No tracking, etc etc

[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And if you need a truck bed daily you're probably going to buy a truck with a full size one, instead of a 5ft bed which barely gives you more storage space than the trunk of a wagon.

[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Good luck hauling a full sheet of plywood in a wagon.

[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Full sheet of plywood is 250cm long. That truck has a 150cm long bed. You're going to need roof racks or a trailer anyway. I know because I regularly haul full sheets of plywood and plasterboard with a pickup truck that has a 180cm long bed. Leaving the tailgate open doesn't help much either because while the bed technically is wide enough for a full sheet, in practice it's not because of the wheel arches on both sides. It wont lay flat and is quite hard to tie down.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Regarding the wheel arches on compact pickups: Most compact pickups that can't fit a sheet of plywood flat on the floor between the wheel arches have notches in the side of the bed for crossboards. That allows you to easily build a platform for sheet goods. Like this:

That's what the rectangular notches in the side of the Slate's bed are for:

[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 1 points 1 month ago

I have a similar setup on my truck even though it doesn't have those notches. I just don't like having the overhang flopping in the air and not even being supported by the tailgate anymore so I just don't bother with it. A mid-size pickup simply isn't good for that. If it's just a few sheets I'll put them on the roof but for more than that I just use a trailer instead.

[–] ContactClosure@lemmus.org 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I'm a bit out of the loop, the slate doesn't have a modem and GPS? I assume the bolt does? Seems like an important factor these days.

[–] Iconoclast@feddit.uk 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's a car, not computer. Lack of wireless connectivity is nothing but a plus in my books. My phone has an internet and GPS for when I need them.

[–] ContactClosure@lemmus.org 1 points 1 month ago

That was my point.

[–] HAL_9_TRILLION@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago

Seems like an important factor these days.

Seems like something I'd want to avoid at all costs these days.

[–] Kind_to_Everyone@slrpnk.net 1 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Yes, but it's moot from a privacy standpoint for most if you bring your cell phone in the car.

[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

If you're worried about it, it's trivial to throw your phone in a faraday bag.

[–] blitzen@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Whatever the right amount of distrust in phones, the distrust in car makers is much much greater.

[–] ContactClosure@lemmus.org 1 points 1 month ago

Yes we know phones have radios in them thank you.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Doesn't that apply to ANY vehicle with a truck bed? You're just comparing apples and oranges.

[–] Klanky@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 month ago

I love this concept, just wish I had the money or use case for one.

[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 3 points 1 month ago

Not giving our money to business ventures backed by Jeff Bezos.

That's what we should do.