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Slate Auto gets serious about privacy for its bare-bones EV pickup (arstechnica.com)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/electricvehicles@slrpnk.net
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If they actually follow through on making the Slate as privacy friendly as they claim in this article, and it doesn't have any major flaws, I'm gonna go ahead and say this is perhaps one of the best options for someone in need of a mini-truck/SUV hybrid.

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[–] 15 points 5 months ago (10 children)

Who wants a big truck? I don't think you know what people who actually need work trucks want

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago* (2 children)

    I mean, I guess I do? I want a 2 door truck that's wide enough for a bench that will sit 3 people and a bed that's at least 6.5 foot long. So, 90's style F-150 or 1500. What they're offering is too small for me to be interested. But I'm actively hoping they make a bigger version in the future.

    Alternately, I'm kind of hoping their stuff is modular enough that I could electrify an older gasoline truck. Doubt they're actively looking to sell kits to the hobbyist market, but that would be awesome.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    I have one of the aforementioned 90's style trucks. Still had an extended cab and a proper sized bed even then (late 90's at least).

    It's also not my daily driver, but if I could get something off similar capability in a fairly simple EV I'd gladly swap it and my regular car over.

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  • [–] -3 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    Everyone wants big trucks. That's why they buy them by the boatload. They're the top selling vehicles in America by a wide margin, and have been for a long time. And it's why no one even makes small ones anymore.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    It's not purely a demand side thing. It's also a regulatory change. The CAFE standards were updated in 2010 to require a sliding scale of fuel economy standards where larger vehicles were permitted to have less efficient fuel economy ratings. Small trucks sat in an unviable zone of too small to be allowed to be fuel inefficient, and too big to actually be fuel efficient, so they were phased out right around 2010.

    Now, fully recognizing that small trucks are in demand, and that EVs don't have worry about fuel economy standards, several manufacturers have made plans to occupy that niche with EVs.

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  • [–] 0 points 5 months ago

    And how many people are buying EVs in general? It's a very small amount % wise. And with the tax credits disappearing it seems the EV market is just about being abandoned entirely. Ford made an electric version of the best-selling vehicle in America, and it was fantastic, and almost no one bought it, and they discontinued it a couple years later. Same story for Tesla's and GM's trucks. Americans don't want EVs in general, much less pickup truck EVs, and much less than that, tiny 2-door electric trucks.

    Again, I very much hope I'm wrong, but that's the impression I get from my observations of the market.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (1 child)

    Those people have no need for a truck. They are in the market for a penis replacement.

    I'm talking about people who need trucks for work. They want smaller 4x4 trucks.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    I didn't mention any specific group of people. I said "everyone".

    What type of truck they need for work is entirely dependent on what type of work they're doing. Going bigger instead of smaller is often a safe bet.

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