This was announced last week, but it looks like we’re finally gonna get our “Framework Truck” of sorts 
I figure that the venn diagram of folks who would want this truck and Framework owners is very close to a circle; I certainly want one.
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I was sold when I saw that it has physical controls for the HVAC, and manual wind up/down windows, lol.
From what I’ve seen, it’s really early days, so it’s all just a concept right now. Hopefully it really is as cheap and basic as they say.
I wouldn’t want this as an only vehicle, because it sounds like it isn’t going to have a ton of range. But as a small, short trip truck for trips to the hardware store, etc., I like the idea of it. We’ll see how it shakes out over time.
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This is cringe. I want 8’ bed for 4x8 sheets and such 
It sounds like it’ll make it to market, but as with literally anything industry/trade related nowadays, we’ll have to see. For me, I’m a car-free household so in order to justify getting one it needs to:
a) Be low maintenance - EVs are great at this since there are only a handful of moving parts.
b) Be able to take a beating since I’ll be parking it on the street and might not move it for weeks at a time - the composite panels make it resistant to sunburns, bird poop, and midwestern winters.
c) Be flexible for whenever I do need a car - hardware store runs, Costco runs, camping, visiting family in neighboring states.
And the Slate checks all the boxes. Regarding range, there is an extended range battery that can go up to 240mi, but we’ll have to wait and see.
The problem is, I have family I occasionally visit that are about 115 miles one way, as well as a place I have to travel for work occasionally that is about 130 miles one way. And EV range estimates are almost always a bit…generous. I could probably charge along the way or while there, but I’d be pretty hesitant to want to switch to an EV with less than 300 miles of range. Other than those trips, I don’t actually drive all that many miles. In a given year, those occasional trips almost surely amount to more miles than I drive in total, otherwise. So a low-range EV would make sense for 99% of my trips, but probably only 30% of the miles I drive in a year, lol.
If it was cheap enough, a practical EV with a small bed could make a pretty handy second vehicle. Not sure I could justify a second vehicle, even a cheap one. But I sort of like the idea of it.
I’m sticking with the TELO Truck. Not quite as modular at launch as the Slate, but at least right to repair friendly.
And @HardHat_Media , yes the TELO will fit plywood between the wheel wells (but with hanging off the tailgate a bit, or you would have to drop the midgate and possibly push up the front row a tiny bit).
Completely correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t Ford’s and some of the other more typical car brand EVs have come pretty or even under reported range numbers? I actually thought it was Tesla who was kinda stretching the truth with their numbers, but I may be wrong/misremembering what I read.
All this to say, I’d hope they follow in more of Ford’s footsteps in range reporting then.
Install a terminal and sudo ectool fwchargelimit
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I think Tesla has a reputation for overstating range a bit, but in general, it’s just that the range is pretty variable, and most companies are going to report the high end of what’s possible, not the low end. That’s what I mean by generous. A car may claim 300 miles of range, and maybe you can easily get that on a road trip…on a clear day at 72 degrees.
But when it’s cold, dark, and snowing and you’re running the wipers, the headlights, and the heater, and the battery has less range to begin with because it’s cold? I’d estimate I need at least 400 miles of “best case” range to have enough range when it’s poor conditions. Just a rough guess, but that’s the number I sort of have in my head for what an electric car would have to have in order to be my only car. At least, without having to stop to charge on the relatively common, single day trips I make (not super common, but probably average once a month throughout the year). Not that I couldn’t charge on trips, but there aren’t all that many charging stations in the areas I go, so I’d have to go out of my way a bit. It would probably add an hour to my round trip travel time if I have to go somewhere to charge, even if I don’t have to charge very long to get enough charge to get home. That’s doable, but I’d prefer not to, lol.
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Great idea and if it really lives up to all of the promotional material I think it will be fantastic. It is a truck but a truck for everyone. It is not a truck for the people who REALLY need a truck.
For me, I want to know how reliable it is going to be. I want to hear about how it is affordable but meant to last. I don’t see anything like that in their promotional material.
I like it. It seems really great. Let’s see how it is once it is a real thing and people are using them.
The root cause problem of range advertisements vs reality is that the EPA rating system is completely and utterly broken. There are multiple, overlapping, conflicting testing methods. “Highway” cycle is like 55mph max IIRC. I have an old school Volt and a new fangled Y. I can beat EPA efficiency/range in either one… in perfect conditions at 30-40mph.
So people see that number and think oh great I’ll get that same range going 80mph against a 20mph headwind at -20F. Guess what, your combustion car is going to have horrible efficiency in those conditions too, but you won’t notice because you don’t calculate your mpg, gasoline retailers are conveniently spaced, etc.
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Tesla even accelerates the odometer to expire warranty
Wow, really?! Is there proof of this? If so, I can’t believe that wasn’t a bigger scandal. That’s just outright illegal.
Really? Got any evidence to back that claim up? I’m pretty sure if there was even an ounce of truth to this that there would be legal action against them.
There are lots of news articles and discussions, here’s one, another one. Just search “Tesla odometer fraud” or “Tesla odometer class action”
Tesla isn’t very pro-consumer, it’s known to reduce range and charging speed by OTA, in the US and Norway, and the company faced class action lawsuit before. Some of the cars got disabled by a BMS error caused by said update. Interestingly the BMS wasn’t “permanent fail” as the BMS functions got restored by simply undoing the update, so did vehicle range and charging speed. Tesla also has inflated range, possibly related to the removal of regenerative breaking and stopping mode options.
Right now, it doesn’t sound like there is any proof. It’s a guy who started a lawsuit, claiming a lot of things based on his driving habits not changing, but his Tesla racking up miles faster than his “previous car,” and then gaining fewer miles per month after the warranty expired. There may be good evidence somewhere, but I wasn’t able to find anything except the claims of the person who filed the lawsuit.
That doesn’t mean it’s not true. But it’s far from a proven thing at this point. Edit: At least, based on the two articles you linked.
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I think it’s s more like “innocent until proven guilty” is law
The best way to handle enforcement of the law, and in fact the way it works in the US. However, to my point, when guilt has been proven, you will have a point.
I guess it will be interesting to see how the Tesla odometer fraud allegations shake out. If the claims by some customers are proven to be true, I think it should turn into more than a class action lawsuit from some customers. But who knows if anyone from the current administration would actually pursue legal action against Tesla.
Back to the Slate truck. It’s cool, lol. As mentioned, I think it remains to be seen how “cheap” it will be, if it will be reliable, and if the company will be around for the long haul.
There are a lot of EV startups and concepts right now. It’s just a matter of which ones make it to market and manage to succeed well enough to stick around. But I think there is a definite need for cheaper cars in general, not just trucks. Every car these days is a rolling, high-tech, luxury apartment. That’s cool, but when someone is trying to get by on a small income and needs basic transportation, pretty much the only option is 10+ year old cars with a ton of miles on them, and questionable reliability. Because as new car prices rise, so do old, used car prices.
And even the “under $20,000” price is an “expected” price, and takes into account the $7,500 income tax credit. So it’s still a bit “marketing speak.” Basically, it will “hopefully” be around $27,000. That’s cheap for an electric truck. But not all that cheap for a tiny, basic as possible vehicle. It is cool, and I really hope it works out. We’ll see.
Theoretically electric vehicles are cheaper, easier to repair and maintain and more eco-friendly and reliable. Unfortunately most electric vehicles in real life packed with proprietary software, subscription etc etc, with all that unnecessary, artificial complexity, they are currently harder to repair or customize compared to combustion powered vehicles.
Framework-like vehicle manufacturers like Slate and Aptera have great potentials of solving this problem
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