So why do you think there are no cheap basic cars being sold new?

[freebeard]

The $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen

Meet the Slate Truck, a sub-$20,000 (after federal incentives) electric vehicle that enters production next year. It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. It is the bare minimum of what a modern car can be, and yet it’s taken three years of development to get to this point.

But this is more than bargain-basement motoring. Slate is presenting its truck as minimalist design with DIY purpose, an attempt to not just go cheap but to create a new category of vehicle with a huge focus on personalization. That design also enables a low-cost approach to manufacturing that has caught the eye of major investors, reportedly including Jeff Bezos. It’s been engineered and will be manufactured in America, but is this extreme simplification too much for American consumers?

Any color you want, so long as it's a vinyl wrap.

[JSH]

The Slate is interesting. Personally I don't see it going far to retail customers but it could make a great local delivery vehicle. The primary problem is that it is a 2 door $27,500 EV with a 150 mile range and a completely stripped interior with crank window. 5 Years ago they might have had something but today a Equinox EV with 4 doors, 320 miles of range, and an interior that is a luxury car in comparison. It is due in 2026 - the same year as the new Bolt and Kia EV3 that are both expected to be sub-$30K

The Slate is heavily dependent on the $7500 Federal EV tax credit sticking around AND applying to everyone.

Remember that the EV tax credit by law is not refundable so someone has to have $7500 in tax burden to get the full credit. The Biden admin instructed the IRS to not try to claw back the credit from people that claim the full amount at the dealer but don't quality but you can't expect the Trump Admin to keep that going. Heck he could even instruct them to claw it back from past years.

[freebeard]

Whatever it's prospects, I appreciate the paintless approach. Like the Cybertruck.

Having bare-metaled and primered a few cars, I find paint to be the hardest part to maintain.

[redpoint5]

SA was talking about the appeal of the truck today.

I share Jason's pessimism, especially since it will never be delivered at the price quoted.

There is a risky game to play to win the maximum amount of federal subsidy with the smallest size battery one can get away with. It's risky because it takes more years to plan and produce a vehicle than the years of the political cycle.

As I've been saying, the way you minimize the battery size and maximize the subsidy is to build a 16 kWh PHEV. It's low risk because you've minimized risk in every way. If the subsidy goes away, you haven't spent too much on batteries and still produced a compelling vehicle.

I keep referring back to the RAV4 Prime; a CUV with 40 mile EV range, 40 MPG, 300 horsepower, and AWD. That should sell no matter what the politics are, and rake in heaps of subsidy so long as insanely stupid subsidies exist.

[freebeard]

Pessimism? Not 'Interesting', 'a great local delivery vehicle'?

Price, and drivetrain choice are variables, of course; but what I see is another attempt, like Aptera, Arcimoto or (in Canada) Edison Electric, to increase the number of manufacturers above three.

I see a parallel to the Nissan Pulsar Sportbak, or the xBus, with the modular architecture. A four passenger 240-mile range version is offered.

Cheap and basic is ontopic for the thread.

edit:
Another competitor would be the Telo MT1

https://img.equipmentworld.com/files...max&q=70&w=400

www.cartoq.com: Billionaire Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto Promises $25,000 Shape-shifting Electric Pickup

A new electric vehicle startup backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is drawing attention with a bold pitch: a compact electric pickup truck priced at just $25,000, with modular body styles that can be swapped or customised post-purchase. The startup, named Slate Auto, was quietly established in 2022 and is now reaching out to investors with its radical vision of a "Transformer-style" EV—one that can morph between body types depending on what the user needs.

'Member the custom minitrucks in the 1990s?