Literally born from a clean slate
News first broke last month and now further images are to hand. Slate.auto believes 'people deserve to have a car that they can afford'.
They add that the concepts of desirability and affordability should be 'inseparable'. Blank Slate will go heavy on personalisation options.
Tisha Johnson, director of Design said that the response to the Slate Truck's unveiling last month was overwhelming. It reflects the public's desire for an affordable yet still attractive pick-up.
Johnson said that the Slate project appealed specifically to her desire to have a 'meaningful impact for society and on people's lives'. It also gave her an opportunity to fulfil a career ambition. 'It was concerning to me that I hadn't delivered affordable mobility, an affordable car, to people.'
Indeed, the Slate Truck is tipped to be one of the most affordable pick-ups – electric or otherwise. It goes on sale in the US with a targeted start price of $US27,000, before incentives.
That makes it roughly the same amount as an entry-level petrol-engined Ford Maverick. It's about half the price of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the least expensive electric pick-up in America.
To achieve this it has a bare-bones cabin featuring manual seats, no stereo as standard and a device mount in place of a touchscreen.
'People know what they want in their own tech that they're carrying with them. Let them nest their phone or a tablet, if they want to, and then just get back to the act of driving.'
It's an approach similar to that taken by the Dacia Spring and Citroën ë-C3.
'We are probably the least influenced by the directionality of industry players,' she said.
There's a huge array of personalisation options for the pick-up. They range from vibrant liveries and chunky cladding to different wheel designs and even the choice of body style. There are kits available that turn the vehicle into a compact SUV or a fastback crossover.
Johnson said the aim was that 'the person looking at it can overlay some interesting possibilities'.
'First and foremost, we want people to love the car.'
Slate can build just one basic model line at its factory in Indiana, which keeps tooling and supply chain costs in check.
Will Slate go global? Not initially, according to Johnson. It is 'focused on an American truck that we can deliver in the US'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
7 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
UK drops 'backdoor' mandate for Apple: spy chief
Britain has dropped its demand for iPhone maker Apple to provide a "backdoor" that would have enabled access to protected encrypted data of American citizens, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard says. Gabbard issued the statement on X on Monday in the United States, saying she had worked for months with Britain, along with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, to arrive at a deal. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was in Washington on Monday along with other European leaders to meet Trump and discuss Russia's war in Ukraine. A spokesperson for the British government said on Tuesday that, while they would not comment on any agreement, Britain had long worked with the US to tackle security threats while seeking to protect the privacy of citizens in both countries. "We will always take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe," the spokesperson added. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Gabbard's statement. US lawmakers said in May this year that the United Kingdom's order to Apple to create a backdoor to its encrypted user data could be exploited by cybercriminals and authoritarian governments. Apple, which has said it would never build such access into its encrypted services or devices, had challenged the order at the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT). The iPhone maker withdrew its Advanced Data Protection feature for British users in February following the UK order. Users of Apple's iPhones, Macs and other devices can enable the feature to ensure that only they - and not even Apple - can unlock data stored on its cloud. US officials said earlier this year they were examining whether Britain broke a bilateral agreement by demanding that Apple build a backdoor allowing the British government to access backups of data in the company's encrypted cloud storage systems. In a letter dated February 25 to US lawmakers, Gabbard said the US was examining whether the UK government had violated the CLOUD Act, which bars it from issuing demands for the data of US citizens and vice versa. Cybersecurity experts told Reuters that if Apple chose to build a backdoor for a government, that backdoor would eventually be found and exploited by hackers. Apple has sparred with regulators over encryption as far back as 2016 when the US government tried to compel it to build a tool to unlock the iPhone of a suspected extremist.
NZ Autocar
8 hours ago
- NZ Autocar
Tesla backtracks on stalkless cabins
Tesla is partially reversing one of its most controversial design decisions, reintroducing steering column stalks to the Model 3 – at least in China. The American EV maker removed indicator and gear selector stalks from the Model 3 in 2023, moving their functions onto the touchscreen and steering wheel controls. While the move was billed as part of Tesla's push toward simplicity, not all owners warmed to the change. Trying to use the indicators while also turning, as you would do when negotiating a round a bout, proved troublesome. Now, new Model 3s delivered in China will once again feature a turn signal stalk as standard. Existing owners will also be able to retrofit the part through Tesla Service Centres for a fee of 2,499 yuan (around NZ$350). Eligibility begins with cars built after 7 February 2025, with earlier vehicles to follow at a later date. Read more 2024 Tesla Model 3 RWD review For now, the retrofit is only confirmed for China, with no word on availability in the United States or other markets. Some aftermarket solutions already exist, ranging from stick-on units to fully integrated steering column conversions, catering to drivers who miss the convenience of a physical stalk. The debate isn't limited to the Model 3. Tesla's wider line-up has also been affected by the company's stalk-free approach, with none of its current US models featuring a traditional gear selector. The updated Model Y is the only Tesla sold globally with a turn signal stalk fitted as standard. This is not the first time Tesla has walked back a bold design experiment. In 2021, the refreshed Model S launched with a futuristic yoke steering wheel, with CEO Elon Musk insisting at the time it would be the default setup going forward. Just two years later, Tesla reinstated a conventional round wheel as standard, relegating the yoke to a NZ$1,600 option on the high-performance Model S Plaid and Model X Plaid. Tesla has long prided itself on challenging automotive conventions, but its latest U-turn highlights that not all drivers are ready to abandon tried-and-true ergonomics. After all, stalks have been around for decades for a reason: they're simple, safe, and they work.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Car crashes into restaurant injuring influencers as they film video
Two American social media influencers didn't get the dining experience they expected when a car crashed into the restaurant where they were eating. The footage captures the pair taking a bite of some sliders before the impact forces the glass to shatter and the window to buckle, sending large
