The best daily transportation isn’t a car/truck at all, but there is still some need for freight/hauling to be done.
I’m posting because this truck feels like the opposite of modern trucks. I mean the CyberTruck (literally the icon of Cyberpunk dystopia) and other trucks like Rivian are:
- extremely anti-right to repair
- brag about their 0-60 (instead of practicality/efficiency)
- a privacy nightmare
- massive in size
- have high prices across the board
- are absolutely crammed with manadory luxury features like air conditioned seats or motorized trunks
This truck, with manual roll-up windows, seems to be about getting work done. Its not trying to be the biggest baddest fastest most-techo-advanced thing money can buy.
I bet, in less than 1 year, hobbyists will have solar panel array mounted on the back of these.
I emailed them and they confirmed there’s no data tracking on it
Hell yeah, thank you for doing that.
Honestly a utility vehicle that isn’t a surveillance box is like all I want from an electric vehicle
Wish there was a 4wd version then it’d be perfect (for me)
My thought is, they’re just starting. It is incredibly hard to start a vehicle manufacturing company. Hopefully if they get enough traction (🥁🐍) they’ll expand to vans, roadsters, and 4wd models.
In the video they mention this as a likely future option.
Damn, that’s a pretty major pro/incentive, and makes it stand out not only in the EV world, but the entire new car market.
Here’s hoping the Aptera follows suit (unfortunately there is no way to contact them to ask such a question, as according to their contact page, they will only respond to media inquiries, and won’t answer any questions related to the vehicle).
I live firmly in the #FuckCars camp, but I honestly think this is fantastic. Standards and conformity breed massive changes within an industry if they’re permitted to take root, and this is already bucking the “monster truck” trend that’s killing people and ruining cities.
Imagine the potential of a city buying a few thousand of these to serve as work vehicles: interchangeable parts would drastically reduce costs as you could canibalise one vehicle to service many, and you could easily re-task vehicles with minor, off-the-shelf (or even custom) modifications.
The real test though will be whether (a) the establishment car companies will allow it to survive, and (b) whether its US origins will make it radioactive to the rest of the world given their current fall toward fascism.
“Bezos backed”
That’s going to be a big 'ol nope from me…
(1) Only minor involvement from what I can see.
(2) A broken clock is right twice a day. So long as the car doesn’t require a Facebook account, I’m happy.
So long as the car doesn’t require a Facebook account, I’m happy.
That’s a pretty good summary of my criteria for my next car purchase…
There’s a rich evil asshole at the top of every car company out there. Good luck finding another car that’s less likely to spy on you.
I, as a 6’5" man was watching the video linked thinking “oh no, this looks kind of cool but I’ll never fit in it”. Until the host mentions he’s 6’10" LMAO, I looked it up and he sure is. They should really add a disclaimer at the bottom of the videos he’s in cause it throws off your prescription of the car lol
I understand that the whole community will likely hate me for this.
I have kids and need a third row. I’m on mobile and I’m having trouble with the website. Anyone see if it can do a third row?
It’s a two seater pickup truck with bucket-ish seats.
Edit: actually, the video says “you can turn this into a 5 seat SUV” so more than just a two seater but no third row.
Not a car person (or a car owner) but this is an exciting project. I really wonder why they still have a “frunk” though. Why not go with something closer to a kei truck with the cab over the front wheels and allow a shorter wheelbase or a larger bed?
Probably for crumple zones for crash safety.
I like it! I just wish they’d shorten the hood and frunk by a foot and give it a 6 foot bed.
Someone finally listened to me about manual roll up windows. This is tits.
Roll up windows suck.
The last car I had with that was a 2004 Ford Focus, and those things were made cheap. Like afraid it would snap off on a cold winter day kind of cheap. In fact, the gas cover did exactly that one very cold morning.
This thing is built very cheap, so I wouldn’t get too excited.
I’m less excited about this truck specifically as much as the idea of affordable economy vehicles with no-frills making a comeback.
So exciting to see that this might start making some changes. I would be very happy to see European-style small cars that are simple and just made to get you from one place to another. It doesn’t need to be an identity thing.
Of course, public transit is better but light trucks would be a good start I suppose. Won’t save the environment but might save lives in accidents
It’s being made let’s see if it’s a success. I’m guessing it won’t be much of a success but would love to be wrong.
Have you ever heard of Dacia?
Good news!
And yet auto high beams. Why?
They’re offering solar panels right off the bat.
Best as a supplementary power source for charging your phone on a trip. If it gives you enough range to go to the grocery store and back on a sunny day, that would be a lot.
It’s enough for some :)
How much would it cost to give a slope to the front of the car. If you want your vehicles to be the future let’s make sure it doesn’g kill it.
Not only having a straight hood makes it more likely to be lethal in case of collision with a pedestrian but it also greatly reduce visibility to shorter individuals, like kids.
EDIT: I hadn’t watched the whole video, didn’t realize the presenter is 6’10" which gives a skewed perspective on the height of the hood. Still lower than a lot of other truck hoods, but not as good as my original comment made it out to be.
A valid complaint, but at the same time, just watching the video, the person presenting the truck, if he was hit head-on, would fly over the top of the hood because the hood would hit him square in the hips, right underneath his belly, sending his top half flying over the top of the hood, instead of dragging him under.
The issue you raise is still valid, but its way more of a problem in the giant trucks that are everywhere now. The Slate seems to be one of the smallest trucks that will be available on the market. Sure, the sloped hood would help, but the height of the hood is going to be hitting pedestrians on their hips and legs, not their major internal organs in their stomach, nor does it risk dragging them under the wheels like most big trucks.
Take the little wins, sometimes.
https://www.motor1.com/news/757625/slate-truck-size-explained/
Slate’s electric Truck is about the size of a 1984 Toyota Truck. No, really. Both the Slate Truck and a short-bed, single-cab 1984 Toyota Truck SR5 share an overall length of 174.6 inches. A Slate Auto representative says this is purely coincidence.
Still not affordable for the working poor.
Given enough time, these will eventually reach the used market, making them more attainable.
Not everyone should need or own a truck, even if they can affird it .
Everyone, including the working poor are better served by great PT and AT and cities organized around that and then occasional need for a truck is met with rental, like the occasional need for a u haul trailer.
These cars would also make for a good car sharing fleet 🤷
There is no much to repair /s
