00:00For those who don't know about this $20,000 pickup truck, tell us the details and when it's coming out.
00:05Well, first of all, thank you for having me here. We're thrilled with the fundraise, but this started four years
00:10ago.
00:11Our founders asked this simple question, why can't automakers make an affordable vehicle again?
00:17And so Chris and her team have been working on this for the last four years, and Chris is a
00:23world-class automotive executive.
00:24When it comes to design and engineering and manufacturing, what we're about to build is really going to excite the
00:30automotive community.
00:31And it's because of this combination of affordable price and the ability to customize the product.
00:37So we're so excited for the launch later on this year.
00:40Just to kind of go to what Matt mentioned, that we were in this period where EV demand was struggling,
00:45but perhaps higher oil prices changing that.
00:48How do you see current demand for EVs?
00:50Well, I think the biggest driver of demand, when you take a look at the research, is usually affordability is
00:55number one.
00:56You know, we happen to be an EV.
00:58Maybe we'll get a tailwind because of oil prices, but we're not dependent upon oil prices.
01:02We're not dependent upon any kind of government incentives.
01:06We're really customer focused.
01:08And as you guys know, affordability is a crisis right now, you know, across the U.S.
01:12People, new cars are $50,000 plus.
01:16Even used cars are climbing into the $30,000 plus.
01:19So the idea that in the mid-20,000s, we can bring out a brand new vehicle that can be
01:24a pickup or convert to be a five-seat SUV, it's thrilling.
01:28And, I mean, the customizability to me is the most ingenious play.
01:33You're starting a third-party marketplace, kind of like what Apple would do, right?
01:37They get developers to make things for their platform, and you're doing that for this platform.
01:42I've spent most of my life customizing Ducati motorcycles and Harley Davidson, so I'll buy a perfectly good bike, and
01:48then I'll spend the exact same amount again making it my own.
01:52Is that what you expect customers to do as well?
01:54Absolutely.
01:54In fact, when you read the feedback from people who have reservations, that's the second part they're really excited about.
02:00They get to choose what accessories to put on the vehicle.
02:04They aren't chosen for them in a package.
02:06And what we're doing with color wraps I think is a game-changer.
02:09Literally any color you can imagine or combination of colors.
02:13We're building a plant in Louisville, Kentucky to do custom designs.
02:16It's going to be a game-changer.
02:18No one's ever done this before.
02:19Hang on.
02:19You're building a plant in Warsaw, Indiana.
02:21Warsaw, Indiana.
02:23Yeah.
02:23And another one in Louisville, Kentucky.
02:24The Louisville, Kentucky plant is focused on the color wraps.
02:27Just the wraps.
02:27The big plant is in Warsaw, Indiana, and that's where we're going to make the vehicles.
02:31We're very proud of our investment there of over $400 million because we took an existing plant.
02:37You guys may know the story.
02:38They used to make the Sears catalog.
02:40Yep.
02:40And went out of business in 2023.
02:42Printing plant, yeah.
02:43Printing plant, yeah.
02:44And we've now made it into an automotive plant, and so we're quite excited.
02:47We've already begun to hire people.
02:49We've already begun.
02:50The phase we're in right now is called design validation.
02:52This is where we begin to put together the car and begin to get ready for production,
02:56and we're planning to be in production later on this year in Q4 and deliver to customers this year.
03:02Very exciting.
03:03I get why someone like Matt would be very excited about this because he's used to this sort of idea
03:07of customizing something.
03:09Yeah.
03:09Whereas I am not, and I would have no idea what to do.
03:12How do you make sure that this isn't just a niche product for a niche audience?
03:16It's a great point, Danny.
03:17I think everyone agrees on one thing.
03:19We all want something affordable, so that's common we all have in common.
03:22But on these accessories, we've created the accessories with two audiences' mind.
03:27One is maybe Matt, who's the DIYer.
03:30But for the rest of us, like you and I, we have a whole group of RepairPal service centers across
03:35the U.S.
03:36that will gladly install these on your behalf.
03:39So what is that?
03:39I mean, you're not going to have a dealership network, right?
03:42I imagine you'll be selling yourself online.
03:44But what, you get in touch with my local auto body shop and you train them up to how to
03:49do this?
03:50Exactly.
03:50So RepairPal is a network of the highest rated service providers across the U.S.
03:55So they're already qualified.
03:57They will be qualified to work on slight vehicles.
03:59And the game changer is you're not dependent on only one dealer that you can go see in your local
04:04area.
04:05You can pull up in your app and you can choose from five or six or seven in your metropolitan
04:09area.
04:10You choose which of those places you want to go to.
04:12So it's really, everything we're doing is centered back to how do we give the customers choice, you know?
04:18And that's what's been lacking, I think, in the automotive industry.
04:21They get to choose the product.
04:23They get to choose the accessories.
04:24They get to choose the colors.
04:26It's exciting.
04:26One of the concerns, I guess, and we haven't really seen it too much, but there's a kind of a
04:33bait and switch thing where you say, like,
04:34ah, this is going to be a $60,000 truck and we'll make a battery electric only, and then they
04:40only put it out with a range extender and it ends up costing like $70,000 or $80,000.
04:43Yeah.
04:44Especially since the $7,500 tax credit went away, how can you keep this thing or can you keep this
04:51thing at $20,000 to start?
04:52We can.
04:53And I think it's because of the original design.
04:56You know, our slate vehicle has 700 parts.
05:00The average automotive vehicle today has like 3,500 parts.
05:03It's a huge difference in how we thought about the design and engineering of it.
05:07And then from a manufacturing standpoint, we greatly simplified that process by doing two things.
05:13One is we don't have a paint shop because these composite panels are meant to be wrapped in the color
05:18of your choice.
05:19And then, two, we greatly simplified the production process by producing one skew across the entire line.
05:26So every truck that comes off our line in Warsaw is the same two-door blank slate pickup.
05:32It's after the production process where you get to customize it.
05:36That simplification allows us to do both pass along great affordability to the consumer, but also still be a profitable
05:44company.
05:44And we're looking forward to proving that later on this year.
05:47Listen, I spent the weekend driving around in a Kia EV9, which, you know, at the top of the range,
05:51it's four times the price of your slate truck.
05:53But it's a fantastic appliance.
05:56Everything about it works perfectly.
05:58The only problem, as usual, is the charging.
06:01I drove around forever to find a place where I could actually charge it.
06:04And then when I got there, I had to figure out how to do it.
06:06And, like, it took a long time to add mileage.
06:09How are you going to deal with that issue?
06:11And what kind of batteries will you use?
06:13So our initial battery has a range of 150 miles, and the average consumer drives around 37 miles a day.
06:20So we're really imagining that consumers will have a two- or three-day period where they could just drive
06:25on battery only.
06:26Most people, when you take a look at the data, actually recharge back in their home garage or in their
06:31workplace.
06:32Fair point.
06:32But in our app, we're actually going to expose you to all of the charging networks across the country and
06:40enroll you in a program that makes it trivially simple for you to charge your vehicle at any of those
06:45charging outlets across the U.S.
06:46But, Peter, I'm sure you've thought about this a lot.
06:48Why isn't there a charger at every shell station?
06:51Why not make a partnership with gas stations that are ubiquitous?
06:54Why isn't there a charger at Walmart?
06:56Why isn't there a charger at Home Depot?
06:58Why isn't there a charger at Stu Leonard's?
07:00Like, they should be everywhere.
07:01Agree, agree.
07:01And I think once we begin to get this install based out there, we'll get into that virtuous cycle.
07:07And I think you're absolutely right.
07:08I think we'll see a time where wherever we spend our time, there's going to be charges available to us
07:12in the future.
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