$20,000 seems like a lot for a car. My current car is a 2008, which I paid $6000 for five years ago. It’s been perfect for me.
The only other concern for me would be no paint. It’s not cheap to paint a car, and it would need to be done immediately. I’d rather it be painted at the factory. In fact, no paint would be a deal-breaker for me.
It’s not cheap to paint a car, and they talk about that problem at some length in the article. I agree that $20K is a lot, but it’s not especially high for a new vehicle in general, and especially not a new EV – which we’ve been really wanting to get into.
It’s not high by comparison to other EVs, but it’s still more than most people can afford to spend on a vehicle, much less a second vehicle.
At $20K it lands cheaper than a new Civic or Corolla – granted, because of rebates whose future are under reasonable doubt – but if we’re comparing new car purchases apples-to-apples, it’s not hovering much above the existing price floor.
Other economic factors are pushing people to eke every bit of life out of their current cars (and buy used cars), absolutely, and there should be discussions about that, but I don’t really feel like weighing the new vehicle price with used cars is a fair comparison.
Except that’s the entire point. New car prices have been out of reach for most car buyers for a very long time, and it was only sustainable because the upper 5-10% bought new cars and funded the secondary market by absorbing the loss in value. The squeeze on the used market has a compounding effect on the new market, because buyers are looking for value on both sides of the trade. Reduced demand means lower resale values, and lower resale values means fewer new buyers. Introducing a “budget” market vehicle means you are competing with used car sales, because the buyer at $20k is evaluating all of their options, including the excess of quality 4-5 year old luxury models. They’re not looking at new Corollas.
Well, the panels aren’t metal, so no rust concerns, they’re grey plastic and Slate will wrap it any color you want. Read the article. This is $20k for a new electric vehicle, not a nearly 20 year old used car
sounds too good to be true
They haven’t actually made any yet, or built the production facility. Also, it would cost $28k and the advertised number is after government subsidies which might go away.
It’s a concept, and there are some interesting ideas, but they will discover 10,000 small stubling blocks while ramping up to bring the trucks to market. If they succeed, it will be several years before they are widely available.
I like the trends, though. Car touchscreens are a menace, and you already have an “infotainment gps” in your phone. Using colored injection-molded plastic instead of paint on metal is an interesting concept, and could make cars lighter and less expensive. Imagine if a manufacturer like Ford adopted some of these trends to cut production costs and build an EV to compete in the budget markets, we’d see an acceleration of the electric charging infrastructure.
It does. My excitement is tentative, but I’m holding on to hope until someone dashes it.
Mentioned on another comment Telo trucks are also coming to market soon if you’re looking for a small ev truck
I want it. It’s so small and has no bells and whistles.
Reminds me of the 80-90s era small trucks.
There’s also Telo trucks coming to market soon
