AI Auto Podcast Nov 17, 2025

S6E74 – The Slate Truck at the World Car of the Year Awards in Pasadena

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14:54

Car

Ford Expeditions

The Ford Expedition is a large SUV that can carry a lot of people and their stuff. It's great for families or anyone who needs extra space and is good for road trips because it's comfortable and powerful.

Term

average car price

The average car price is how much people generally pay for a new car. Recently, this price has gone up a lot, making it harder for people to buy cars.

Term

average used car price

The average used car price is what most people pay for a second-hand car. This price has also gone up a lot, making it tough to find affordable options.

Car

Tesla Cybertruck

The Tesla Cybertruck is a new electric truck that looks very different from regular trucks. It's made of a special metal that doesn't rust, and it's designed to be very strong and efficient.

Term

kilowatts

Kilowatts is a way to measure how powerful something is, like an electric motor in a car. It tells you how much energy the motor can use at one time.

Term

horsepower

Horsepower is a way to measure how strong an engine is. The more horsepower a car has, the faster and more powerful it can be.

Term

Tesla Supercharger

A Tesla Supercharger is a special charging station for Tesla cars that lets you charge the battery quickly, so you can drive longer distances without waiting too long.

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Connect, it changes everything.

Today we're here in Pasadena

for the World Car of the Year award test drive.

But we're still in the car that is not on the list for now

because it's actually not available for people to drive.

It's already been announced.

A lot of excitement running.

And we're with Jeff Dovolanski here,

who is the head of PR for Slate.

That some people label this pickup truck

or the whole company of that Jeff Bezos

or Amazon pickup truck, right?

Yeah, so first of all,

great to be having this conversation now,

seven months after we showed this truck

for the first time in almost three years

into the production cycle.

Wow, three years already.

So we've been working really hard since late 2022

on this truck.

And yeah, I mean, so we're very thankful

that Bezos Expeditions was the lead for our Series A

and we're happy to have their support.

So let's talk about that,

what you mentioned the three year process

of making something like this happen.

And this is gonna be another year,

at least until it goes into deliveries, right?

So it's not easy to make a car.

It's not easy, not easy to make a car,

not easy to start a company and show your brand

and your product all at the same time all at once

and hope that you break through.

So yeah, so the last three years have been incredible for us.

We started with a clean sheet of paper,

said people can't afford their cars anymore.

Average car is over $50,000 in the US.

It's incredible, yeah.

It's an incredible, average used car

is over $30,000.

If you can get one,

because there's also a shortage of that too.

Exactly, so if you can get one,

you're probably paying too much for it

and we thought that there would be a better way.

Where were the affordable cars?

So we looked at what are all the things

people actually want in their car

and you and I are sitting in one right now.

Do people need big screens?

Do people need self-driving?

All these extras that the industry has said you need

and then often bundled the things you don't want,

we said, what if we take us

and make it a customer focused approach

by pay for the things that you want in the truck

and we'll give you everything you absolutely need.

And we made it an EV

and we're gonna make it in America.

Wow, amazing.

So you probably won't mention it by name

but I can, I guess.

But like the whole thing about screens

and like all these high technology came

started with basically with Tesla

when it like 10, whatever, 15 years ago.

They come with the huge screen here in the middle

which was vertical and horizontal

and everybody wanted that.

The consumers wanted it

because it was the first one.

And then all the other manufacturers followed up

and then like you go to extremes

where like the whole front dashboard

in some brands are screens.

And as you said, like initially it looks cool

but then like you, do I really need all these?

And maybe not.

So this is clean and I love the name also

because it relates to that, right?

It's a clean slate.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean what we've done is take the model

and transform it where we're actually decoupled

from the consumer electronics lifecycle right now.

So when you get a new phone,

suddenly in your slate

you have the most updated screen.

You have the most updated screen.

Yeah, because it's your phone.

Exactly, it's your phone

and you can put a tablet on here as well

using this rail and we'll show you

how to do all these things.

So if you're somebody who loves all that stuff

we're not saying don't have it

but for people who don't want it

it's not there and they don't have to pay for it.

And most users now, more consumers now

use their phone as their main navigation anyway.

They obviously need it in the car for calls

hopefully not texting and driving

or watching videos if that happened.

But I think, I mean, I think Apple CarPlay

prevents you from watching videos.

But anyway, so tell me about it.

So like we're sitting here in the cabin

this is audio so we're gonna try to do our best

to have explained the whole thing.

So let's start with the doors.

I see a manual handle for the windows

which is fine.

I mean how long it takes you, 10 seconds?

Exactly, it's not just a throwback

it is the easy simple solution

to how do you open your windows.

Yeah.

Crank windows are on the blank slate

as is everything you see here.

We make the truck one way.

So from the factory each one of them

is going to look exactly like this

down to that phone mount

that you're gonna have a new truck.

But standard HVAC, some lockable storage.

It's a two seat truck right now

but it converts into a five seat SUV

using the SUV kit, the accessory kit

that you can purchase as well.

And let's get a little bit into the exterior

because we were talking about this

before we hit recording actually last night at dinner.

So the exterior panels are made of some special composite.

It's not the traditional,

well nothing is traditional I guess.

But the colors are integrated into that material.

So you avoided having a paint shop right in your factory.

Tell me about that.

That's right, so the color is molded in

and so basically it's a steel frame

and instead of having paints on the outside

we basically said, we don't want to engineer

the cheapest car the cheapest way

because that's not the way to deliver the best product.

We wanted to deliver a lot of value in the truck.

So we took out things that are very expensive

like two to $500 million investment in the shop.

And it has to be updated constantly baby.

Exactly, yeah.

And instead we said, all right

we're gonna have one configuration

and then the body panel is designed to accommodate wrap.

So you can even see the pieces

where you'll be able to put the wrap on yourself.

Oh okay, so a lot of people are doing that

with let's say cyber trucks for example

which don't have paint either.

And the difference here also is

you're not gonna have to take parts off

in order to wrap it.

The wrap is, it's going to fit

based on the directions

that are on this individual piece.

Oh I see.

And we'll show you exactly how to do it.

So yeah, really easy to wrap

and then it becomes any color you want.

Oh really?

You can make the panel cynical?

Any color wrap that you want?

Oh the wrap, the wrap, yeah.

But the truck from the factory

comes in how many colors?

Or will it come in how many colors?

I, it comes in slate gray.

Oh okay.

Oh, this is one color.

So what I saw in the promo videos are wrapped.

It was all wrapped, yeah.

Oh I see, I see that.

Exactly, so for our reveal

so we took, as it was risky

we said, what would no car company do?

They would show, instead of just one car on stage

and not two, we showed eight vehicles.

Exactly.

And they kept coming off the line

and all the different configurations

from two-door pickup, open air, SUV,

a fastback, SUV, squareback.

And we had multiple vehicles

and we put them all outside to show the variety

because if you showed just one

it's hard for people to understand.

Exactly.

So in that sense it's even more amazing

because you're showing the versatility

from the very beginning

and maybe that's why I was confused too because

so it comes in this gray color

but you can make it whatever you want.

And that's also another trend.

I mean like again, I'll mention the Cybertruck

which is exactly the same thing.

That like stainless steel

but people are wrapping it in crazy designs

and all that, which it's great.

So tell me a little bit more about the company itself.

We mentioned that Amazon or Jeff Bezos

invested a lot of money

or one of the main investors.

And then like you also have recruited a lot of people

from the automotive industry, including yourself.

You were another brand, so tell me

how is the team, how many people are working in it

and all that kind of thing.

Yeah, so what's great about our team is we're everywhere.

Our headquarters is in Troy, Michigan, so outside Detroit.

We are building our truck in Warsaw, Indiana

which is about two hours driving from Chicago.

Okay.

And we have design studios in Troy

and in Long Beach, California.

So we've taken kind of a traditional approach

where we're not just in one place

but our team, we're about 500 people right now

all across the country.

Oh wow.

That's not that many really.

What, you know, we come from all different industries

and what unites us is that we all love cars.

We love talking about cars.

Yeah, absolutely.

Question we like to ask everybody,

what was your first car?

Yeah, yeah.

Everyone has a great first car story.

You don't need to be a car person to know the answer to that.

Yeah, exactly.

So yeah, so we come from a lot of places.

Our culture is exceptional and unique.

Okay, so let's go back to seven months ago

when you opened the order process and all that.

How's that been going?

How can people get in?

Because I understand now the line is pretty long already, right?

The line is long, but if you go to sleep.auto,

which is our website,

you can place a reservation for a truck

which will get you closer on that line.

And so far, the reservation cost is $50.

It's refundable.

And we have over 100,000 people

who've made reservations for trucks.

So let's say people who place their order number one,

I guess there must be a number, right?

So people who ordered that one

will get it within a year more or less?

Our first deliveries are gonna start at the end of 26.

So basically around, you know, here we are,

you know, this time next year, that's what we're targeting.

And then we'll be ramping up after that.

And then for example, if I place my order today,

it will be like a year.

Do you have any idea?

Do you have any, the company has like a timeframe

for the whole production in terms of what,

I guess it depends on the amounts

of confirmed orders at the end.

For now, it just reservations, right?

Yeah, convert exactly.

So our factory has capacity for 150,000.

Oh, okay, so you're good.

Exactly, and through this at the novel manufacturing approach

where they're all built the same way,

it should be easy to get people trucks

as they come off the line.

And then, so you get the truck

and let's talk about the price

because the initial announcement was made

before many changes in the automotive industry

in the US, the federal taxes, incentives

and all that kind of thing.

So what's the price today, November, 2025?

What people can expect if they order one today?

People should expect mid-20s.

And actually we set it back in April

with the asterisk that there was

a federal tax credit in place.

Without the tax credit, it's still mid-20s.

Mid-20s, so like super affordable.

And then let's talk about the variations

of the variant.

So with, you said there were like seven

or eight different ones and depending on the kit

that you will install on the bus.

And what's the process to get that and install it?

I guess it's super easy, but let me explain that please.

Sure, so with our SUV accessory kits, we have two of them.

Our square back looks, you've seen pictures

of both actions.

The square back and the fastback

has more of a sloping roof line.

We're going to offer them in basically

flat-packed kits that will ship to you

or to an installer.

So in your driveway, you can do it yourself.

Oh really?

You don't need a special tools or anything else?

You'll need some tools, but you won't need them.

Something that everybody has at home.

Exactly.

And actually we're going to introduce

something that goes way beyond like a user manual.

We're calling it Slate University.

And Slate University will literally,

you'll be able to watch a video

to see how to do this.

Step by step.

And also know how difficult this is

whether if you've never done

any work on a vehicle before

or if you're like literally a pro,

you'll be able to figure out

what level is appropriate for you

and if you want to bring people in.

We also just partnered with the RepairPile Network.

So RepairPile has over 4,000 sites

of independent shops in the US.

Oh, okay.

So you're going to be helped.

It's going to be someone nearby who can help you.

Yeah.

But it's not going to be a Nike bookshelf

that you get confused.

Like it looks simple, but it's really complicated.

And how many kits are there?

How many different kits are there going to be?

So for the accessory SUV kit,

and then basically everything is all apart after that.

If you want, if you want a slate lid,

if you want speakers,

if you want, you name it

and it will be available.

Even for the windows,

if you're someone who says,

okay, I like the crank windows,

but I also really want a power window.

We'll help you install power windows.

Oh, really?

You can do that?

Even one at a time.

So if you know that it's just you

driving your truck most of the time,

load it over here.

That's a little selfish.

Okay.

Okay, I have it for you,

my wife or my friend or whoever.

You don't get it.

But it's options.

I mean, it's great that it's available like that, right?

Yeah, and it all happens after you take delivery.

So when you have your truck,

you can continue as your life changed, needs changed.

You can add accessories based on those changes.

Okay.

I think we haven't mentioned any numbers

in terms of range,

the battery capacity, charging capacity, and all that.

What can we say about that now?

Yeah, so 150 kilowatts of power is about 200 horsepower.

The range is about 150 miles.

We also offer an extended battery pack.

That's good for 240 miles.

That's more than enough, yeah.

So yeah, so plenty of choice.

For me, even in Southern California,

when you start thinking about how much driving

you actually do.

Yeah, 180 miles is pretty good.

And you can also plug into a Tesla Supercharger,

charge at 120 kilowatts and recharge that 20 to 80%

in about half an hour.

Is Slate gonna offer any packaging

for like charging stations for home

or is there any plans for that?

Or you're gonna leave it like people

that might already have another one

that you can use the same

because this is gonna be

the North American Standard Charger?

Yeah, I mean consistent with everything else we do.

Look for the most affordable price

and the simplest solution.

So if you have a charger already, great.

For people who, for whom it's their first EV,

welcome now.

Yeah.

What have you seen in the website

with all the reservations?

What are the main questions people are asking?

People are asking,

so basically we give people the option to choose

or to indicate their interest if they want,

and if they buy an SUV kit

and if they're interested in the extended range battery.

And in fact, where we see take from both.

So it's not just one side or the other.

Yeah.

That's been the most interesting thing

but what's really cool is our configurator

which we call the Slate Maker.

We've seen over 10 million.

Wow, 10 million.

So and it shows the level.

I mean, it's wrap, decal, SUV kits, all of that

and how really like when we say we make it one way

and then it becomes infinitely customizable,

we mean that.

That's really amazing.

So congratulations.

And again, we're here at the World Car

of the Year award test drives.

This is not eligible for this year

but maybe in a year we'll be doing another interview

talking about that.

I can't debate for World Car of the Year.

I look forward to seeing you again next year.

Thank you, Jeff.

And I can't wait because I really like it.

I like the concept.

I like everything about it.

I like technology but like sometimes honestly it's too much

and this is just enough.

So thank you very much and see you in a year.

Hopefully, sooner than that.

Thank you.

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In these parties, share love with a call.

Happy parties, I wish you AT&T.

Connect, it changes everything.

0:00

14:54

S6E74 – The Slate Truck at the World Car of the Year Awards in Pasadena

Ford Expeditions

average car price

average used car price

Tesla Cybertruck

kilowatts

horsepower

Tesla Supercharger

About this episode

Original notes