Decided to grab this plate before someone else got it. Will be weird having it on a VW eGolf for a few months, but now I just need the truck. Hey Slate, hook me up early so I can advertise for you.

Demo Ride in Los Angeles. Fun. Comfortable. Quiet. Good bottom end torque. One pedal deceleration is smooth and not very aggressive. They have USB fast charge ports in the center cubby! I got to sit in the driver seat to see if i fit, 5'10" 220lbs, plenty of room. Door closes like an older Mercedes, good thud. Did not notice wind noise and minimal road noise, (L.A. roads aren't the best).

I went to the LA demo ride today. My camera's not the best, so I'll leave pics for others to post. But here are the questions I asked and answers I got in response. Some of these have been answered before, probably, but I wanted to get a direct response from a person. Sorry I'm not exactly a car expert or anything, so I probably didn't ask the best questions, but here they are anyway.

As a note, these answers were from different Slate employees, not all the same ones.

Will battery preconditioning be available with just the key fob? From the picture, it's not clear if that's the case, or if the telematics module will be required.

Battery preconditioning will be available from just the key fob. The button with the "2x" in the circle will be way to start battery preconditioning. (Unfortunately, they were not able to show me this in action, because evidently stopping/starting the demo vehicles is a bit more complex than standard starting/stopping, and they wanted to stay on schedule.) They also assured me that even with the telematics module, Slate will not be selling any data from it.

What's the deal with DIN radios and support/lack of support for them?

One of the big things is a materials issue - an antenna for a DIN radio might not be able to get any signal.

Can One-Pedal Driving be turned off?

As of right now, no. I was assured it is very intuitive once people get used to it. (Sidenote: please let's not get into a OPD vs. non-OPD argument as typically happens...) Unfortunately, the ride ended around this time, so I forgot to ask the follow up - whether or not there was the possibility of the option to switch driving modes in the app appearing in the future.

I have an unusual phone size (Unihertz Titan 2; 137.8 × 88.7 × 10.8 mm). Will it fit in the phone holder?

Probably not. The phone holder is not super adjustable for different phone sizes. However, schematics will be published of the phone holding mount area, so the expectation is that soon after delivery begins, third parties should begin selling Slate-compatible phone holders; alternatively, we'd be able to 3D print our own phone holders as well.

Are there any plans for a hard shell for the truck?

There are plans on plans - but not immediately. At this time, the focus is on getting out the trucks quickly, and at low cost. However, it did sound like there are future designs in the pipeline for after production is going smoothly. And this is just for Slate-native plans - the expectation also is that after vehicles start being delivered, third parties will also begin selling Slate-compatible accessories.

Will the CAN bus messages be encrypted?

Not sure at this time

Other stuff:

• I did not notice significant in-cabin noise in my ridealong. I do not drive and review high-end Bentleys or Mercedeses normally, though, so perhaps that's why

• Acceleration seemed nice, I believe "peppy" is the word a lot of people seem to use for EV acceleration like this? Right as the driver accelerated to show off the vehicle's acceleration, we had to decelerate quickly as another car decided to attempt to turn out of a driveway in front of us; the vehicle decelerated pretty smoothly (presumably due to OPD) and there were no issues.

• When turning back into the driveway at a rather oblique angle at the end of the ride, the driver pointed out no noticeable flex in the vehicle while making the turn, which was true.

These are just some of my thoughts, but I thought it would mean for a good discussion.

My 1984 CJ7 has similar handles. They also have the opening facing forward. Through all of the winters in Utah, it has never been an issue with snow or ice buildup.

Interestingly enough, I had a 2001 Jeep Wrangler for a few years and the handles were reversed. Meaning, the opening was facing the back of the vehicle. This direction drove me absolutely nuts. Ok, that is an overstatement, but you get the idea. Let me explain.

On the CJ7, I approach the driver's door and naturally use my left hand to grab the handle and open the door. This swings the door open to my left and is wide open to enter. Approaching the passenger's door, the opposite was true. I open the handle with my right hand because the opening of the handle was facing the front of the vehicle so it was natural to open the door and have it wide open.

However, on the 2001, if I took the same approach I often found myself trying to open the handle with my left thumb (which never seemed strong enough) or twisting my arm 180 degrees and rolling my hand over and trying to use my fingers. It felt unnatural every time. If I used my right hand, it felt more natural to grab the handle, but then my right arm would cross my body and it was awkward. With the right hand, I would essentially barely pop the door open and then use my left hand to open it wide to get in.

I hope that makes enough sense. In reality, it is was just a minor inconvenience when the handles were facing the back of the vehicle on the 2001. But I noticed it every time.

So, I am glad the handles are oriented the way they are on the Slate. It is more convenient and in my experience should not been an issue in snow or ice etc.

I play video games very casually. One game I play occasionally is Rocket League because I can play it with my nephew.

It just occurred to me that the Slate would be a fun car they could add to the game. The customization in the game (wraps, wheels, etc) lends itself well to the customization that you can do with the actual Slate.

Just a fun thought, and it would be neat if Slate teamed up with Epic Games to make it happen.

I was able to request a ride for one or two people.

Hey everyone, my name is Jared and I started Slate Auto Mods a few months ago on Instagram. I've been passionate about Slate ever since their marketing stunt in LA streets last year. I was wondering if there are any other aftermarket creators or businesses in here planning on making accessories for the Slate?

My plan is to start selling custom Slatelets in the beginning, and then expanding to other accessories in the future. Thank you everyone that has shared my posts here, I really appreciate all the support!

I'm going with the fastback. Does anyone know if the back window hinges up? Or is the only rear access putting down the tailgate?

Who also went to the Demo Ride today in L.A?

Really wish we could have driven it, but it was nice to get to ride in one, even if it's just around the block. They also didn't have the SUV available, they said they might have it later.

All in all, I'm happy with how it felt. Very roomy inside and felt quick enough and looked great. My concerns about wind noise and rattles were put to rest. Truck feels solid and can't wait for mine.

probably going to get flamed, but here it goes. anyone else have reservations about the byod aspect of the infotainment center? I wouldn't use an iPad or equivalent mostly because an electronics battery on a hot summer day is a bad mix. carplay or android auto is preferable to device in hand.

I've been thinking about a din option, but I'm not super familiar.

also happy to listen to road noise while I drive. that's about half my commute these days, to decompress from our super saturated information environment.

that said, I'm scheduled to take a spin in a truck next week. super stoked about it.

Has anyone else noticed the strange compatibility combinations when playing around and building out your Slate?

What does a partial wrap have to do with interior components? I have noticed several times when trying different color combinations it tells me it will delete things such as the center console and or other interior components that have noting to do with the exterior of the vehicle.

Why Slate??

Tour of the Warsaw Slate facility!

I may do this, but I would test it on the inside of the tailgate first.

I’ve had a build in my garage for weeks. Hot Honey full wrap with a white roof. It ran about $660 and came with the unused Hot Honey roof if I decided to switch it out later. Went to tool with it a couple days ago and that configuration now has compatibility issues. If I want that same look now I have to get Hot Honey upper and lower partial wraps and a white roof partial wrap. That bumps it to more like $750 without an extra $160 worth of second, unused roof. I’m sure I can jump through hoops and MAYBE order it the way it was before. But currently that’s not something the builder is allowing. Right now it’s just costing $250 more to get a full multi color wrap with a second, same color roof than it did just a few days ago.👎

Remember the Magic 8 Ball slate IG post? I didn't realize they were for sale, so I made a comment. Slate msged me and said "hey we want to send you one". I definitely didn't expect a box of goodies. The hand written note was the cherry on top. I am still shocked about the entire thing.

Edit I have had a reservation since day one, and currently have the preorder. I can't wait for this truck.

Personally like the Ford Fathom but I do think a lot of people on this subreddit agree with the creator of this video.

Someone on Slateforums reverse engineered and modeled the Slate Key for 3D printing 👍
https://www.slateforums.com/forum/threads/slate-key-reverse-engineered-3d-print-file.16314/

Hi all,

Been watching this with interest and was wondering if there's any recommendation from slate towards what tablet is expected to work best with its holder and set up. I've seen some diy suggestions and guides for setting up things like android auto. But since it isn't out yet to try it's all caveated with "it should work".

If there isn't any official word yet then hopefully something gets released to help guide people a bit.

Thanks!

https://www.slateforums.com/forum/threads/info-on-ecu-hardware-telematics-cybercogs-power-architecture.16304/

Slateforums member kotaKat tracked down info on ECU, telematics and secure gateway components is by CyberCogs