The Rivian R1T, or something like it, is what Tesla's truck should have been.
The Cybertruck is worse every time I see it. I can't believe they stamped that fucking thing as good to go for the American pickup market.
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Agreed. Although, I think the slate will outsell both combined.
The Slate is the first EV I've even considered buying. It just isn't as close to the Tesla brand in my opinion. It's an open company with simple design. Tesla is a closed company with.... some kind of design.
In fairness the truck is a massive deviation. That's kind of my point. They totally fucked it up and it's incredible no one saw it coming.
Well, I think it more had to do with price & politics. If they had actually sold a $39k version, and Elon never got in bed with Trump, I bet it would have sold like hotcakes.
Yeah, the slate idea is super cool. User repairability is unheard of in EVs. They will definitely eat market share from all manufacturers.
What I wonder about the Slate, is, why a truck? Wouldn't there be demand for this in a sedan?
Lemme know the next time you see one with a payload of gravel or mulch… I’ll way…
Most sedan drivers want luxury. Slate achieves their price point by delivering a barebones vehicle. It doesn’t even have a stereo. There’s no market for a barebones sedan.
Do they? I feel like if you just want to get from point A to B, which is the vast majority of (say) urban or suburban commuters, then you need the sedan form factor, not a truck....
Isn’t that what compacts are for?
OK sure, perhaps compact or sub-compact is a better term... I mean I guess I'm thinking along the lines of the VW bug, like super-cheap, highly customizable, user-serviceable...
I guess the common theme here is "car with a specific job to do", rather than "car that's some lifestyle / brand statement"....
Historically, pickup trucks did the best in a barebones config. That would be my guess. And as an anecdote, it's the first I've been attracted to. I hate sedans. It can also be configured as an SUV. I will never buy a sedan.
There are probably fleet buyers who will like them too. It isn't just a consumer market. There are a ton of municipal work trucks that dont need to be as much truck as they are. Something like a cheap Slate is probably appealing. Parts delivery, etc.
For me the question is more about how small it is, not how large. If anything, that's where I'd agree with you. The American truck market consistently says it wants the Slate but doesn't actually buy those types of trucks, which is exactly why no one makes them anymore. So I think you're kind of right, except they'd be competing with an already well established market. There practically is no market alternative for what they've made. Only time will tell how that works out, but I can't emphasize enough that it's the only new vehicle I've been excited about since like 2013, and the first time ever for an EV.
Plus, I think Americans may start shifting back toward that style of vehicle. I've seen a resurgence in restoration for the old small pickups. People just dont want the expensive payments for obscenely over complicated princess trucks, myself included. I would drive a sedan if I wanted luxury. I don't. I want a practical truck that can tow, haul, and move just me around. The Slate fits that bill in theory.
Yeah, you’re thinking of the compact segment (versa, fit, Yaris, etc.). Sedans are the Model 3, Accord, BMW 5/7 series, etc…
But I agree. Slate should release a barebones compact.
Americans will have to adapt to a decline in quality of life as the country continues down the communist road. This truck should fit in nicely.
Why should they though? The Camry is the closest thing on the top ten list and it's number 9. And the only EV is the Tesla model Y.
Half of them are pickups, and the other four are SUVs. Their vehicle can be an SUV or a truck.
If that list is an indicator of what people are likely to buy, it seems that an small EV is very unlikely to succeed. An EV at all is grim enough.
The core design of the R1T anticipates a future where utility doesn’t require aggressive visual statements; a restraint Tesla seems to have missed entirely.
And if they can get it down to 20k... Dude... You can hardly find decent used vehicles near that range these days. And the ICE ones you do find have a host of potential problems to inherit vs an EV.
And in China you can get a nice EV with some bells and whistles BRAND NEW for $10k.
But communist America hates free markets.
The obsessive geometry of the Cybertruck seems less a design choice and more an attempt to impose a logic onto utility that simply doesn’t exist within the truck market's existing conventions.
I think gap between what Americans want and what Americans can afford is going to grow exponentially over the next 20 years.
A slate sedan would be priced around 15k imo. 150 miles of range with nothing from the factory. Not even a stereo. Just like the truck.
Business idea: ship cars "almost" assembled, snap them together in America, profit 😄
Like Cody Wilson with the 3d-printed gun, legally speaking the "firearm" is the lower receiver, so just 3D print that part and the rest is just pieces of metal.
Yeah that's a good point. I don't know how nice they really are. I've never driven one. From what I understand they're also heavily subsidized
Government’s tentacles are deep in various industries in basically every country. It’s hard to know what’s subsidized and what isn’t.
But, the only reason we don’t have $10k cars here is due to government regulation.
Yes, but they do also prevent competition to protect the manufacturers here. Or at least they hinder it significantly