Electrek readers non-committal on Ford Fathom killing Slate
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- Electrek's sidebar survey drew nearly 2,700 responses asking whether Ford's $30,000 Fathom electric truck would sink Slate Auto before launch
- Most respondents were non-committal, picking either a "maybe—every penny counts" option or a "too soon to say" option rather than declaring a winner
- Commenters NickD and Scott Z argued Ford's nationwide dealer network would sabotage the Fathom through markups and poor sales experiences, with Scott Z saying he's avoided dealerships for 20 years
- Regular commenter Mrvc compared Slate Auto to Ford's original Model T, citing single-color simplicity, user customizability, and non-franchised local service with high end-user repairability
- Commenter Taycan argued the Fathom's biggest threat to Slate isn't the truck itself but the "chilling effect" that waiting for Ford has on Slate orders
- Top commenter Jason questioned Ford's EV commitment, pointing to the company's failure to follow through on its F-150 EV flagship
- Ford CEO Jim Farley is cited for previously convincing customers to wait for the NACS version, which the article says "cooked a generation" of Ford EVs and cost billions in R&D
Why it matters: Per the top commenter, Ford doesn't need the Fathom to beat Slate on merit—the announcement alone creates buyer hesitation that could choke Slate's pre-delivery order pipeline. That chilling-effect dynamic mirrors what Farley's prior NACS wait cost Ford's own EV sales, per the article.
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