As Jalopnik’s resident maker and DIY pervert, the Slate truck feels perfectly targeted at Me Specifically. It’s cheap, it’s dead-simple, and it can fit a motorcycle in the bed — what more could I, or any buyer, possibly want? But then Ford came along this morning and announced that its own compact electric pickup, the Fathom, would start at just $3,545 more after destination fees. Even for me, that’s tough for the Slate to come back from.
The Slate is mechanically simple in a way I love. It’s not a connected car the way so many modern vehicles are, which also appeals to me — I don’t love when my data is sold out from under me. I don’t even care that it doesn’t have a radio, since I’m happy to install a head unit and 3D-print some enclosures for nice aftermarket speakers. But the Slate lacks the Fathom’s real killer app, a pickup feature many deride that I’ve come to love: A rear seat.
I’d take the Ford
I don’t want to downplay the price difference between the Slate and the Fathom. Breaking both down into monthly payments, the Fathom costs an extra $66/month over a five-year term — as someone who makes $70,000 a year in New York City and has cut out all streaming services for budgetary reasons, I can confirm that’s not nothing. But I’m also someone who has friends, and the ability to haul them around — to climbing trips with a bed full of ropes or pads, to the beach with sun shades in the back, to new apartments with their furniture in tow — is worth $66/month to me.
The Fathom really has the Slate beat here, and I say that despite truly loving the Slate’s barebones offering. So long as the Fathom’s bed turns out to be an actually usable size — something that is, admittedly, still not yet confirmed — I’d spend the extra money for the Ford any day of the week. It may not be as customizable as the Slate, it may not offer 3D files to let me print my own accessories, but I’m willing to give those up for the benefit of a back seat.
