cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/electricvehicles/p/2162853/usa-slate-s-new-electric-truck-will-cost-slightly-more-than-24950
Range is said to be 205 mi (330 km), higher than the original estimate. This price is for the basic truck. The SUV configuration is expected to be $5000 more.
But those are usually 5-seaters while this looks like a two seater. And it doesn’t have a trunk, just this weird truck bed that does nothing to protect your stuff against the weather. I like the design philosophy of this truck, but I’d argue that you get much more value out of a compact car.
That’s what’s called a pickup truck bed.
Sorry, my European brain cannot fathom how such a pickup truck bed could be useful in daily life.
Go to the garden store, buy 20 bags of mulch, sling them on the back, drive home. Or go to the drive-in theater and lay blankets in the back! Or put a kayak in the back and leave the tailgate down.
That’s my use case anyway.
Go camping and just throw all the dirty stuff in the back to clean at home. Take all the yard clippings to the mulcher without having to bag them or keep a pile on the curb. I have a hard tonneau cover so sometimes I like keeping my tools under there if I have to park in the city without worrying about people seeing the valuables through a window.
People like to say truck owners never use their trucks but I use mine constantly. I’m camping at least 12-15 weekends per year, hauling yard equipment, kayaking, helping people move, and all in a midsized truck.
I don’t really hear people say that about tacomas or equally sized trucks. Moreso the bigger ones and usually they don’t have a scratch on them.
I can’t afford a car, but I’ve got a house with a yard that needs that much mulch?
I think the point is that a pickup truck bed is better for hauling this than vehicles with other body styles.
You can get a flatbed pickup for $25k if it’s not brand new. And it does the job just as well as whatever this thing is.
So what? Should no basic, inexpensive vehicles be produced because you could get a nicer or more capable used one for a similar price?
Also, this one is electric. Sans the Cybertruck, there aren’t too many electric pickups out there, and probably not many on the used vehicle market.
I’m all for basic, inexpensive vehicles. This isn’t basic, it’s threadbare. And it isn’t inexpensive, either.
Why do you think Americans have to spend so much more money on an electric vehicle than their international peers?
I’m sorry? We have an acre that we’re converting from all grass to trees, shrubs, herbs, crops, and wildflowers.
Must be nice.
We got very lucky. A coworker was looking to get a bigger house when I started my job and we wantes to get out of an apartment. We didn’t use a realtor and paid $170k for 1200 sqft and an acre. We’re on the outskirts of a small college city so it’s fairly quiet but close enough for a 15 minute walk downtown.
Toss my bike in and goooo.
EDIT: Dammit I am legitimately curious why someone down voted this. Did they read my comment and go “You know what fuck you for riding a bicycle.” Or were they like “You fool! You have to strap it down too. That’s unsafe!” Maybe they’re a hardcore bicyclist and had sympathy pains imagining me tossing my bike in the back of a truck.
I. must. know.
We know.
and the point of the truck is that it’s highly modular, if you want more seats it’s made to add them in
Okay, I won’t pass judgment until I see the actual real-life price of the truck with the modification for an additional row of seats and can compare that to other car models.
It also has a trunk in the hood