Slate Auto’s truck builder goes live for its $25k electric pickup

Slate Auto 电动皮卡配置器上线，起售价 2.5 万美元

This morning, Slate Auto officially announced pricing for its Slate electric truck. Ars will have some time with a prototype later today, along with—hopefully—answers to many of our remaining questions. In the meantime, we decided to play around with Slate’s online configurator to see how much you might actually have to pay for one of these exciting new EVs.

今天上午，Slate Auto 正式公布了其 Slate 电动皮卡的定价。Ars Technica 将于今天晚些时候体验原型车，并希望能解答我们心中剩余的许多疑问。在此期间，我们决定先试用一下 Slate 的在线配置器，看看购买这款令人兴奋的新型电动汽车实际需要支付多少钱。

As expected, Slate has managed to achieve a sub-$25,000 starting price; if you ignore things like taxes or the as-yet-unknown delivery charge, the Blank Slate pickup really does start at just $24,950. The battery pack uses lithium iron phosphate cells, with 63 kWh useable energy (65 kWh gross) and a 181 hp (135 kW), 195 lb-ft (264 Nm) electric motor driving the rear wheels. In pickup configuration, with 17-inch steel wheels, the EPA range estimate is 205 miles (330 km). DC fast charging takes 30 minutes to charge from 20 to 80 percent at up to 120 kW via a NACS port, or four to 17 hours using AC, depending on whether you use a level 2 or simple wall socket.

不出所料，Slate 成功实现了低于 2.5 万美元的起售价；如果忽略税费或尚未公布的运费，这款“Blank Slate”皮卡的起售价确实仅为 24,950 美元。其电池组采用磷酸铁锂电芯，可用电量为 63 kWh（总容量 65 kWh），搭载一台 181 马力（135 kW）、195 磅-英尺（264 Nm）的后驱电机。在皮卡配置下，配备 17 英寸钢制轮毂，EPA 续航里程预估为 205 英里（330 公里）。通过 NACS 接口进行直流快充，20% 到 80% 的电量充电需 30 分钟（最高功率 120 kW）；若使用交流电，根据充电桩等级或普通墙壁插座，充电时间需 4 到 17 小时不等。

Bare bones

极简配置

And if you really want a bare-bones pickup, here is your chance. The first variant I mocked up this morning came in at just $25,289.97—plus pending taxes and fees—and that’s just because I spent a little over $300 on some decals to make the truck look like my favorite pair of sneakers. As you go through each option on the configurator, a little icon tells you how easy or hard it should be to install that part yourself, what kind of tools you might need, and how long it might take. For the wraps, Slate points out that these can be a “big commitment for a DIYer. We’d recommend professional installation if you’re not sure you can tackle it.”

如果你真的想要一辆极简配置的皮卡，现在机会来了。我今天上午模拟配置的第一款车型仅需 25,289.97 美元（外加税费），这还是因为我多花了 300 多美元买了一些贴纸，让车看起来像我最喜欢的那双运动鞋。当你浏览配置器中的每个选项时，一个小图标会告诉你该部件的安装难度、可能需要的工具以及预计耗时。对于车身贴膜，Slate 指出这对于 DIY 爱好者来说是一个“巨大的挑战”，并建议如果你没有把握，最好寻求专业安装。

The work truck

工具车配置

For many people, a pickup truck exists solely as a work truck for tradespeople to carry tools and supplies to job sites. It needs only two doors, seating for two or maybe three if there’s a bench, and that’s it. And a no-nonsense work truck spec is possible at a sticker price still under $30,000. Below is one I made for $28,594. It has some interior trim that the bare-bones pickup did without, and it sports a fetching purple wrap to match my unicorn-servicing business’s uniforms, which admittedly adds $499 to the bottom line. But the rest is purely functional: a structural floor liner for the bed, a toolbox, a locking tailgate, and some MOLLE webbing into which I can strap things. There’s a tow hitch—rated for up to 2,000 lbs (907 kg), with up to 1,550 lbs (703 kg) in the bed, and a $275 telematics module because I do want to be able to track this truck online. Without this telematics module, you can’t connect your phone to the car via Bluetooth.

对许多人来说，皮卡仅仅是工匠们用来运送工具和物资到施工现场的工具车。它只需要两个车门，两个座位（如果有长条座椅则为三个），仅此而已。配置一款实用的工具车，价格依然可以控制在 3 万美元以内。下面是我配置的一款车，价格为 28,594 美元。它增加了一些极简版皮卡所没有的内饰，并采用了迷人的紫色贴膜，以搭配我那家“独角兽服务公司”的制服，这确实增加了 499 美元的成本。但其余部分纯粹是为了功能性：货斗的结构性地板衬垫、工具箱、可锁定的尾门以及可以固定物品的 MOLLE 织带。它还配备了一个拖车钩（额定牵引力 2,000 磅/907 公斤，货斗载重 1,550 磅/703 公斤）和一个 275 美元的远程信息处理模块，因为我确实希望能够在线追踪这辆车。如果没有这个模块，你就无法通过蓝牙将手机连接到车上。

The off-road brodozer

越野改装版

For my final pickup variant, I wanted to build something for adventuring, and my selections came in at a total of $32,923.64… plus whatever the lift kit ends up costing. Almost $8,000 in add-ons is a lot—much of the money went to the various exterior lights—and I probably could have kept going with some gear to help get unstuck from sand or mud. The all-terrain tires were a significant cost; upgrading from the stock 17-inch wheels will add at least $1,000 to your Slate.

对于我的最后一个皮卡版本，我想打造一款用于探险的车型，最终选配总价为 32,923.64 美元……再加上升降套件的费用。近 8,000 美元的附加配件确实不少，其中大部分钱花在了各种外部照明灯上，而且我可能还会继续添加一些能帮助车辆脱困的装备。全地形轮胎是一笔不小的开支；从原厂 17 英寸轮毂升级至少会增加 1,000 美元的成本。

A fun fastback

有趣的溜背版

Two of Slate’s three alternative body styles are available. There’s the $29,950 Squareback SUV and the $31,950 Fastback SUV. Both add rear bench seats but stick with two doors. You also get a roll cage and extra airbags. My build ended up at $35,299.85, plus the usual caveats. This time, I went for a $799 wrap called Sub Lime that, like my first build, matches my favorite pair of sneakers. (I’m not a complicated man.) I also paid a bit more for some interesting front and rear lamp plates—alternatives that don’t look like murdered cartoon characters are available—and some interior trim like floor mats. However, upon digging through the interior options, it seems that the ability to add electric window controls, which we believed would be possible, has not made the cut. If you buy a Slate, you will roll your own windows.

Slate 提供的三种替代车身样式中，有两种已经上线。分别是 29,950 美元的 Squareback（方背）SUV 和 31,950 美元的 Fastback（溜背）SUV。两者都增加了后排长条座椅，但仍保持双门设计。你还会获得防滚架和额外的安全气囊。我的配置最终价格为 35,299.85 美元，外加常规的附加费用。这次，我选择了一种名为“Sub Lime”的 799 美元贴膜，就像我的第一个配置一样，它与我最喜欢的那双运动鞋很搭。（我这人很简单。）我还多花了一些钱购买了一些有趣的前后灯罩（也有看起来不那么像“被谋杀的卡通人物”的替代品），以及一些内饰配件，比如脚垫。然而，在深入研究内饰选项后，我们原以为可以添加的电动车窗控制功能似乎并未提供。如果你购买 Slate，你将不得不手动摇下车窗。