If they actually follow through on making the Slate as privacy friendly as they claim in this article, and it doesn’t have any major flaws, I’m gonna go ahead and say this is perhaps one of the best options for someone in need of a mini-truck/SUV hybrid.

  • Sunshine@piefed.caM
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    6 days ago

    Even if you don’t like Jeff Bezos, the fact of this existing opens the door for smaller competitors to enter the scene.

    Canada is getting 3% more ev competition due the recent 49k chinese imports deal even if they’re banned from entering the USA, Americans will have an easier time checking out the models on their travels and then they will ask their-out of-touch politicians why they don’t also have similar options.

    The future is EV!

  • artyom@piefed.social
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    6 days ago

    I ordered one day 1. There are a lot of drawbacks though. I don’t care for trucks. This would be my first one. I appreciate the exclusion of a modem but…not even so much as wiring for an aftermarket audio system is dumb.

    My largest concern remains the future of the company. As the article states, most consumers don’t care about privacy. They expect connected everything. And I don’t think a small truck is viable in the US market.

    Further, the price is still too high. You can get a Chevy Bolt for the same price, with many more comfort and convenience features. This will be an unfortunate result of the company’s small size and low volume.

    Nevertheless I will vote with my wallet and hope I’m wrong.

  • kixik@lemmy.ml
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    6 days ago

    Like apple claims to protect its users privacy I guess. It ends up being a matter of trust with now a days mobile phones with wheels and motor

    • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.netOP
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      6 days ago

      If they really don’t include a modem as they claim, then it would be truly fundamentally different, and apple’s privacy claims would not be an apt comparison.

      If a user does not install the Slate app, there would be literally no way for the vehicle to collect any information whatsoever, it would be like driving an EV from the 90’s, if they had better batteries back then. That would make it stand out as the only privacy respecting modern production vehicle I’m aware of, besides toys for the rich like a Morgan.