Get those low-cost EVs on the road
On pedestrian dangers, the F-150, and why a very affordable electric truck would be great for society
TechCrunch claims to have a scoop on photos that document an electric pickup truck from Slate Auto seen in the wild, witnessed on a flatbed in Los Angeles. What is attention-grabbing about the discovery isn't the vehicle's styling, but rather the expected price. Slate is reportedly on a mission to make a $25,000 EV truck.
â– That would be a fascinating and worthwhile goal, if true. Ford, the biggest truck-maker in the country, is proud of turning its massively popular F-150 into the F-150 Lightning -- with a starting price of $62,995.
â– Technologies that cross over from premium products to mainstream sellers and even low-cost leaders are the ones that really create useful change. It's no secret that Americans drive trucks out of proportion to their actual utility: The cab-to-bed ratio is basically the inverse today of what it was even into the 1970s. Meanwhile, many of the best-selling truck models have gotten obscenely tall -- too tall for drivers to see pedestrians, increasingly deadly even at lower speeds, and too tall to make them cargo-friendly.
â– A product that could both shrink the pickup truck's physical profile and come in at a price point competitive with even some of the most modestly-priced cars out there would be a double benefit to society. And if it could displace rival vehicles that create more air pollution, that would be a significant victory, too. The futurist ID Pearson once noted, "If we want a world where everyone can have a good lifestyle, we need to accept and even encourage rapid obsolescence, driving the technology quickly towards low environmental impact." An electric truck at the price of a Kia sedan would very much fit the bill.
