I really really want this to succeed but, especially without the federal credit, I am not sure it will if the rumors about Ford’s Maverick EV at $29,999 end up being true (and they actually stock that model). Ford has capital to burn compared to a startup, so this is largely going to depend too on how much Slate’s upgrades cost. If the average person is given a choice of the same features (like automatic windows) for a few hundred dollars difference most are going to go with the dealership that’s been down the street for decades. If that happens I am afraid the enthusiast market won’t be enough to sustain Slate.

Toyota has some ideas about that.

I really don’t get why they did that. They marked up the Maverick Hybrids too and we ended up getting a more expensive Mazda rather than a Maverick because the markup was so much that the Mazda was cheaper out the door. Not even around Covid either, this was the summer of 24.