Fast, Frugal, Scrappy: How to Find the White Space and Disrupt Established Markets - Rod Copes, Slate Auto

You've had this front row seat to the transportation industry.

And so I lump Harley into that basket and certainly EV companies like Slate Automotive and like Rivian.

But talk about what you're seeing there.

I mean, what's going on in the marketplace now, both from an EV standpoint and then maybe some consumer preference and demographic things that are happening that makes this value proposition for Slate make so much sense?

Yeah, so I mean, the auto industry as a whole in the United States has really kind of been whipsawed around, specifically with the introduction of EV.

And, you know, Tesla kind of did that, even though GM has been playing in the EV space for decades, if not a century.

But Tesla really rediscovered it and showed that it can be done in a way that's very unique, it's very inexpensive, and it's actually a great experience.

So Tesla gets a lot of credit for really creating that, taking it from an electric kind of go-kart to a true automobile.

And then there was just so much momentum.

It's almost like the AI movement right now.

It just moves very quickly.

And so everybody rushed into it and Rivian was just one of the many players.

So full speed ahead, everyone pivoted billions of dollars.

Dozens hundreds of startups and then you know lo and behold, you know policy can change things and obviously with the current administration a little bit of a pivot in the $7,500 rebate which kind of put them I would say not necessarily the brakes but just kind of yeah put things in kind of a little bit of a pause and a neutral mode and so a lot of people involved in the auto industry still believe that EV, electric vehicles, are a better long-term solution, but it will take decades, not just months and years, as we all thought previously.

So, you know, there's kind of, all companies are kind of reacting a little bit differently, which leaves opportunity.

Yeah, opportunity for sure.

And I mean, it's a market that we've watched really closely.

And I think, yes, there were federal subsidies and a lot of those driven at sustainability and so on that probably drove a fair amount of both the infrastructure from a manufacturing side into that marketplace and also created an enticement for the consumer who could then get a tax credit, if I'm correct, against the purchase of a vehicle.

So there were certainly some subsidies and incentives that made sense there.

But at the base of it, it's better technology, right? And I think that as the charging infrastructure advances, as the weight of the batteries comes down, as their ability to store power in the range of the vehicles continues to increase, and the performance, I mean, if nobody's ever, you know, put the pedal to the metal, if you will.

I'm probably dating myself a little bit.

In an EV, I've got a friend who has a Tesla that said, you should take this for a ride a couple of years ago.

And we jumped on the interstate and her line was send it.

And I mean, it is like a rocket ship, man, that car.

And so just from a performance standpoint, and you have the mechanical simplicity of the model versus an internal combustion engine, all of these advantages, are we hitting on the reasons that long-term this is probably a great play?

You've had this front row seat to the transportation industry.

And so I lump Harley into that basket and certainly EV companies like Slate Automotive and like Rivian.

But talk about what you're seeing there.

I mean, what's going on in the marketplace now, both from an EV standpoint and then maybe some consumer preference and demographic things that are happening that makes this value proposition for Slate make so much sense?

Yeah, so I mean, the auto industry as a whole in the United States has really kind of been whipsawed around, specifically with the introduction of EV.

And, you know, Tesla kind of did that, even though GM has been playing in the EV space for decades, if not a century.

But Tesla really rediscovered it and showed that it can be done in a way that's very unique, it's very inexpensive, and it's actually a great experience.

So Tesla gets a lot of credit for really creating that, taking it from an electric kind of go-kart to a true automobile.

And then there was just so much momentum.

It's almost like the AI movement right now.

It just moves very quickly.

And so everybody rushed into it and Rivian was just one of the many players.

So full speed ahead, everyone pivoted billions of dollars.

Dozens hundreds of startups and then you know lo and behold, you know policy can change things and obviously with the current administration a little bit of a pivot in the $7,500 rebate which kind of put them I would say not necessarily the brakes but just kind of yeah put things in kind of a little bit of a pause and a neutral mode and so a lot of people involved in the auto industry still believe that EV, electric vehicles, are a better long-term solution, but it will take decades, not just months and years, as we all thought previously.

So, you know, there's kind of, all companies are kind of reacting a little bit differently, which leaves opportunity.

Yeah, opportunity for sure.

And I mean, it's a market that we've watched really closely.

And I think, yes, there were federal subsidies and a lot of those driven at sustainability and so on that probably drove a fair amount of both the infrastructure from a manufacturing side into that marketplace and also created an enticement for the consumer who could then get a tax credit, if I'm correct, against the purchase of a vehicle.

So there were certainly some subsidies and incentives that made sense there.

But at the base of it, it's better technology, right? And I think that as the charging infrastructure advances, as the weight of the batteries comes down, as their ability to store power in the range of the vehicles continues to increase, and the performance, I mean, if nobody's ever, you know, put the pedal to the metal, if you will.

I'm probably dating myself a little bit.

In an EV, I've got a friend who has a Tesla that said, you should take this for a ride a couple of years ago.

And we jumped on the interstate and her line was send it.

And I mean, it is like a rocket ship, man, that car.

And so just from a performance standpoint, and you have the mechanical simplicity of the model versus an internal combustion engine, all of these advantages, are we hitting on the reasons that long-term this is probably a great play?