Very intrigued. I have a $100 deposit on one just in case they ever actually exist. No, they don’t come looking like that. The idea is you get a “blank slate” in some neutral primer gray. No stereo. No frills at all. You can choose to keep it that way or get custom paint or a “wrap” which seems to be trendy.
Probably will not go through with my silly Cybertruck pre-order. Not that I ever was going to, but now too likely to get spray-painted or Molotov’ed.
EDIT I only saw ad for “blank slate” ones. I would love a short-range small electric pickup. It’s odd that this picture went viral because not sure there is much overlap between electric “tree-hugger” and dead stuffed real animal people but get gas back up to $7 and who knows?
@pmarin Actually, it’s probably more likely that a CT just brick itself. They are just horribly built vehicles.
At least they’re accepting trade-ins now. Sure, it only highlights how undesirable they are, but it’s an improvement over them not accepting trade-ins at all.
@narfcake well my Model3 never bricked itself. If a software update comes in it lets you know it will be “installing” for xx minutes same as most phones do now or you can choose to wait. 100% reliable over 2 years. Yes I understand the targeted hate for CyberElon truck.EDIT I haven’t bought a new car in a long time but Customer service has been top-notch. Seem to be mostly young happy 20s people hoping for a ride to Mars to go start a new generation of Musk-o-vites.
The CT … name it, something has failed. Hubcaps were recalled for cutting into the tires, trim panels were recalled for flying off, and their “fix” for the glued on stainless panel that was peeling off is to weld a stud on the back which leaves a visible mark AND an even larger gap. Glass cracked due to the difference of thermal expansion between the aluminum casting, steel inner structure, and glued stainless panels. Many drive unit failures. Many fit and finish issues overall; leaks are expected, including the bed cover. It can’t handle snow because the AWD system doesn’t apply power correctly, and it can’t handle rain because water collects in the rear frame casting, submerging the wiring. Brake failures have caused crashes. Suspension design and components that aren’t up to the task. Seats creaked, interior panels rattle, mirrors break off. Early battery packs suffered from degradation since their 4680 cells were all brand new – all in all, it’s a beta product that was “rushed” out to the market several years later than anticipated at a significantly higher price and with less range.
It might just be the closest thing to “The Homer” IRL.
@yakkoTDI Me too, but aren’t these things from China in crates on a container ship and you are responsible for all paperwork and duties. Often also not “street-legal.” Yes, it’s a scam, I know.
Imports of all small Asian pickup trucks were heavily taxed for a long time. Look up “chicken tax” the result may surprise you.
@narfcake@yakkoTDI You are right about built in America. I remember that from their ad. It was more that until 1970s-90s we had small economical trucks with 4-cyl engines. Some real 4WD. Some made here but many imported.
Didn’t use neatly enough gas or sell for as much base price where now everything is $50-$80K without the options. Gas companies like 8MPG trucks; automakers like $ 80K trucks. Here we are!
@narfcake@pmarin@yakkoTDI We recently inherited my wife’s step-dad’s pickup. It’s a 2010 full size Chevy Silverado (2WD) with only 75K miles.
We always could borrow it pretty much any time we needed, but now it sits in our own driveway . It’s nice enough - clean and well-maintained but nothing too fancy. From some paperwork I found, it sold new for ~$17K. Previous experience was ~20mpg on the highway.
@macromeh@narfcake@yakkoTDI nothing wrong with a big ol’ basic truck. 2WD is fine usually and more efficient. If you really want to treat it (and yourself) you might get a full-service detailing. About $2-$300. Not just the quick kind at car washes. There used to be a place nearby I could drop my truck off for a day and it was close enough to walk home, but the place closed during Covid and owners semi-retired. Another place had mobile detailers; they showed up in a big van with lots of tools and soaps and stuff and worked about 1/2 a day. They needed a plug for power but brought their own de-ionized water for no water spots. I did that for my friend’s Nissan pickup I’d been borrowing over Winters. That detail cost a bit less but didn’t include the full hand-wax unless you paid a bunch extra. They say do it every few months, but I’m cheap, so once every 10 years is good.
This was quite a few years ago, probably pre-electric, but I read an article about how car makers hadn’t found the top end of what people were willing to pay for a truck. They were actively trying to find a way to make a more expensive truck for the people that wanted one. Also, they didn’t like to make small trucks because they cost just as much to make as a big truck, but they couldn’t sell them for the same price.
@walarney it’s ironic but the original market for trucks and vans used to be commercial services: construction, repair. They’re just getting harder to find. Generally no-frills trucks. Some even had window cranks. Usually white.
I noticed a local dealer specialized in “fleet sales” and the ad says qty 1 and up. This is probably what you want and only in bigger cities in commercial/warehouse areas. Not the one with the shiny black lifted trucks with big chrome wheels and tires out by the street on the local “auto row”
I’m not in the market yet but would probably start by internet or phone, and say I do rental property maintenance, which is partially true, but just need 1 truck for now. Maybe imply you might buy more in the future if your sales experience is good.
@walarney Also I heard that they figured out it was now cheaper to just put in power windows in everything instead of the more complex mechanical hand-crank system.
@walarney My first truck was a 1966 International Harvester stickshift. 4 speed but you didn’t normally use 1, that was “granny low.” It was parked by the road with a sign and a phone #. The guy tried to explain it was a “work truck” meaning possibly rough condition; don’t expect much. I did use it to bring stuff to/from college, about 100 mi. And go to the flea market. It was actually pretty reliable. And white, of course.
@walarney the top end of what I want to pay for a truck doesn’t meet the bottom end of what most mfrs want to sell a truck for. So statistically, it would be very difficult for them to find my top end price.
That said, I have a friend who works at a GMC dealer and regularly sells six figure pickups. That’s nuts.
I remember early 2000s was shopping for a new pickup. An F150 was in lots at $9,999. Might have been 4WD.new.not the luxury model.
Because I had ambitions to load a camper on it, I wanted the F250 Diesel 4WD (Diesel not available in 150). Found one used but with high mileage from a guy near my work. It served me well. Numerous trips to Colorado and the “big trip” to Alaska which was also a honeymoon. 10000 mi. North of Arctic Circle. Grizzly bears (no polar bears). Camping on the beaches at times (why you sometimes want 4WD).
@pmarin
Our current farm/plow/logging truck is a 2001 F-350 Super Duty 7.3-l turbodiesel.
We bought it used in 2003 for about 13K, to replace the 1997 F-150, which I bent the frame on plowing snow through our driveway, which features many trees, boulders, and stumps to get caught on.
It was my daily driver until Hurricane Katrina was predicted, at which point, [before the storm even made landfall] the price of diesel skyrocketed so SWMBO drove it for errands until we retired it from the road completely this past winter.
Despite sitting for months at a time, it has always fired right up and carried way more than it was rated for.
Seems to me that we got 14-15 MPG no matter what we were hauling or carrying- empty or fully loaded.
It’s a rust-bucket body-wise, but its frame and mechanicals are still basically solid.
Man, the slate and the telo are both right up my alley. I bought a Santa Cruz when preorders first started.
The Telo I think has the Slate in the specs category, but the Slate has nostalgia in spades. So vintage style and a spirit airlines approach to getting what I want, or a 500hp mini cooper that can haul sheet goods? I’m intrigued.
I am not, however, interested in taxidering my family.
Very intrigued. I have a $100 deposit on one just in case they ever actually exist. No, they don’t come looking like that. The idea is you get a “blank slate” in some neutral primer gray. No stereo. No frills at all. You can choose to keep it that way or get custom paint or a “wrap” which seems to be trendy.
Probably will not go through with my silly Cybertruck pre-order. Not that I ever was going to, but now too likely to get spray-painted or Molotov’ed.
EDIT I only saw ad for “blank slate” ones. I would love a short-range small electric pickup. It’s odd that this picture went viral because not sure there is much overlap between electric “tree-hugger” and dead stuffed real animal people but get gas back up to $7 and who knows?
@pmarin Actually, it’s probably more likely that a CT just brick itself. They are just horribly built vehicles.
At least they’re accepting trade-ins now. Sure, it only highlights how undesirable they are, but it’s an improvement over them not accepting trade-ins at all.
https://electrek.co/2025/05/18/tesla-starts-accepting-cybertruck-trade-ins-confirms-insane-depreciation/
@narfcake well my Model3 never bricked itself. If a software update comes in it lets you know it will be “installing” for xx minutes same as most phones do now or you can choose to wait. 100% reliable over 2 years. Yes I understand the targeted hate for CyberElon truck.EDIT I haven’t bought a new car in a long time but Customer service has been top-notch. Seem to be mostly young happy 20s people hoping for a ride to Mars to go start a new generation of Musk-o-vites.
@pmarin The rest of their lineup has been fine.
The CT … name it, something has failed. Hubcaps were recalled for cutting into the tires, trim panels were recalled for flying off, and their “fix” for the glued on stainless panel that was peeling off is to weld a stud on the back which leaves a visible mark AND an even larger gap. Glass cracked due to the difference of thermal expansion between the aluminum casting, steel inner structure, and glued stainless panels. Many drive unit failures. Many fit and finish issues overall; leaks are expected, including the bed cover. It can’t handle snow because the AWD system doesn’t apply power correctly, and it can’t handle rain because water collects in the rear frame casting, submerging the wiring. Brake failures have caused crashes. Suspension design and components that aren’t up to the task. Seats creaked, interior panels rattle, mirrors break off. Early battery packs suffered from degradation since their 4680 cells were all brand new – all in all, it’s a beta product that was “rushed” out to the market several years later than anticipated at a significantly higher price and with less range.
It might just be the closest thing to “The Homer” IRL.
If I was buying an electric pickup I think I would go this route.
@yakkoTDI Me too, but aren’t these things from China in crates on a container ship and you are responsible for all paperwork and duties. Often also not “street-legal.” Yes, it’s a scam, I know.
Imports of all small Asian pickup trucks were heavily taxed for a long time. Look up “chicken tax” the result may surprise you.
@pmarin @yakkoTDI No, Telo is American.
@narfcake @yakkoTDI oh maybe yes, then; where do I buy one?
@narfcake @yakkoTDI You are right about built in America. I remember that from their ad. It was more that until 1970s-90s we had small economical trucks with 4-cyl engines. Some real 4WD. Some made here but many imported.
Didn’t use neatly enough gas or sell for as much base price where now everything is $50-$80K without the options. Gas companies like 8MPG trucks; automakers like $ 80K trucks. Here we are!
@narfcake @pmarin @yakkoTDI We recently inherited my wife’s step-dad’s pickup. It’s a 2010 full size Chevy Silverado (2WD) with only 75K miles.
. It’s nice enough - clean and well-maintained but nothing too fancy. From some paperwork I found, it sold new for ~$17K. Previous experience was ~20mpg on the highway.
We always could borrow it pretty much any time we needed, but now it sits in our own driveway
@macromeh @narfcake @yakkoTDI nothing wrong with a big ol’ basic truck. 2WD is fine usually and more efficient. If you really want to treat it (and yourself) you might get a full-service detailing. About $2-$300. Not just the quick kind at car washes. There used to be a place nearby I could drop my truck off for a day and it was close enough to walk home, but the place closed during Covid and owners semi-retired. Another place had mobile detailers; they showed up in a big van with lots of tools and soaps and stuff and worked about 1/2 a day. They needed a plug for power but brought their own de-ionized water for no water spots. I did that for my friend’s Nissan pickup I’d been borrowing over Winters. That detail cost a bit less but didn’t include the full hand-wax unless you paid a bunch extra. They say do it every few months, but I’m cheap, so once every 10 years is good.
This was quite a few years ago, probably pre-electric, but I read an article about how car makers hadn’t found the top end of what people were willing to pay for a truck. They were actively trying to find a way to make a more expensive truck for the people that wanted one. Also, they didn’t like to make small trucks because they cost just as much to make as a big truck, but they couldn’t sell them for the same price.
@walarney it’s ironic but the original market for trucks and vans used to be commercial services: construction, repair. They’re just getting harder to find. Generally no-frills trucks. Some even had window cranks. Usually white.
I noticed a local dealer specialized in “fleet sales” and the ad says qty 1 and up. This is probably what you want and only in bigger cities in commercial/warehouse areas. Not the one with the shiny black lifted trucks with big chrome wheels and tires out by the street on the local “auto row”
I’m not in the market yet but would probably start by internet or phone, and say I do rental property maintenance, which is partially true, but just need 1 truck for now. Maybe imply you might buy more in the future if your sales experience is good.
@walarney Also I heard that they figured out it was now cheaper to just put in power windows in everything instead of the more complex mechanical hand-crank system.
@pmarin @walarney Silverado WT trim or F-150 XL are the fleet spec vehicles. They’re still like $40k, though.
@walarney My first truck was a 1966 International Harvester stickshift. 4 speed but you didn’t normally use 1, that was “granny low.” It was parked by the road with a sign and a phone #. The guy tried to explain it was a “work truck” meaning possibly rough condition; don’t expect much. I did use it to bring stuff to/from college, about 100 mi. And go to the flea market. It was actually pretty reliable. And white, of course.
@walarney the top end of what I want to pay for a truck doesn’t meet the bottom end of what most mfrs want to sell a truck for. So statistically, it would be very difficult for them to find my top end price.
That said, I have a friend who works at a GMC dealer and regularly sells six figure pickups. That’s nuts.
@walarney
These guys may have found the mark, but I kinda doubt it.
https://ineosgrenadier.com/en/ca/
@PhysAssist @walarney idk, they could encrust it in Swarovski crystals in a realtree pattern and get another 50k in there.
Those look like they told the G-wagon to hold their beer while they go pick on the jeep gladiators.
@djslack
That’s why we bought our F-350 used.
We did buy a 2020 Honda Ridgeline new, ‘for reliability’ at 0% for 60 months when SWMBO’s Fit died.
What a joke, because it has already had 4 recalls, and we still have 9 more payments on it.
Otherwise, it’s a pretty decent light to medium duty truck with a water-tight lockable trunk under the bed, and dual swinging tailgate.
@PhysAssist @walarney
I remember early 2000s was shopping for a new pickup. An F150 was in lots at $9,999. Might have been 4WD.new.not the luxury model.
Because I had ambitions to load a camper on it, I wanted the F250 Diesel 4WD (Diesel not available in 150). Found one used but with high mileage from a guy near my work. It served me well. Numerous trips to Colorado and the “big trip” to Alaska which was also a honeymoon. 10000 mi. North of Arctic Circle. Grizzly bears (no polar bears). Camping on the beaches at times (why you sometimes want 4WD).
@pmarin
Our current farm/plow/logging truck is a 2001 F-350 Super Duty 7.3-l turbodiesel.
We bought it used in 2003 for about 13K, to replace the 1997 F-150, which I bent the frame on plowing snow through our driveway, which features many trees, boulders, and stumps to get caught on.
It was my daily driver until Hurricane Katrina was predicted, at which point, [before the storm even made landfall] the price of diesel skyrocketed so SWMBO drove it for errands until we retired it from the road completely this past winter.
Despite sitting for months at a time, it has always fired right up and carried way more than it was rated for.
Seems to me that we got 14-15 MPG no matter what we were hauling or carrying- empty or fully loaded.
It’s a rust-bucket body-wise, but its frame and mechanicals are still basically solid.
Since no one else has joked about it yet…I want to know, is that website
TaxidermyFamily.comorTaxiderMyFamily.comI also have to wonder: what might “taxider” mean?
UPDATE: I actually visited TaxiderMyFamily.com and the splash-screen prominently displays this picture:
Man, the slate and the telo are both right up my alley. I bought a Santa Cruz when preorders first started.
The Telo I think has the Slate in the specs category, but the Slate has nostalgia in spades. So vintage style and a spirit airlines approach to getting what I want, or a 500hp mini cooper that can haul sheet goods? I’m intrigued.
I am not, however, interested in taxidering my family.
@djslack
You guys/gals suck, because you got me looking at them now, and my retirement day is next Monday.
@PhysAssist you and my mom… Congratulations!
And sorry for putting thoughts of purchases in your head!