It was a big deal when legacy automaker Ford (F) rolled out plans for an electric pickup truck that came in around $30,000, without having to sacrifice a lot of features to get there. But in the process, Ford also found itself running afoul of a new startup: Slate. The two may have a similar product in the works, but even Slate believes it can live in the same market as Ford. The news did not concern investors much, as shares ticked up fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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The Ford announcement a few weeks ago definitely caught attention, and it also really caught attention at Slate. A field it likely thought was wide open several months ago—comparatively inexpensive electric pickups—was now occupied, and in a big way, by an established automaker. Thus, there is a growing concern that Slate’s operations may be largely shut down before they can even get started, especially given that Slate means to get its truck live in late 2026, while Ford is aiming for early 2027.
Slate chief commercial officer Jeremy Snyder, meanwhile, is less concerned. He noted, “I don’t really see what we’re doing as competition with the rest of the industry, because our approach is so different. I think the major differentiator…that it’s personalizable…. People want to be unique. They want to be their own. They want to show off their style in their vehicle, and we’re facilitating that in a far more streamlined way than the industry ever has.”
Coming Soon: Built-In Cooler?
The transmission hump in many vehicles has long been a worthwhile hunk of real estate as a storage space. But as it turns out, Ford may have new plans for the center console concept, as revealed in a patent Ford recently filed. Basically, the patent puts a refrigerator right in the car, in this case, in the center console.
Useful for everything from hauling groceries to tailgating—though the exact amount of space might not be enough for a full grocery run—the idea certainly has applications. And while there is no plan to install such a feature in any upcoming model year, the fact that powered coolers already exist suggests that Ford could put this one in play rather easily.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, eight Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 10.4% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.77 per share implies 8.18% downside risk.
