Slate: Introducing the Bezos-backed EV pickup for the masses

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

With only one form factor and color, the $25K cheap EV is aimed at regular Americans but embraces DIY culture with a myriad of aftermarket options.

“We built it, you make it.”

That’s the motto for Slate, a new American electric vehicle company, which just revealed its launch model and is backed by ex-Amazon (AMZN) executives, including, reportedly, Jeff Bezos’s family office

Slate said its EV pickup, a bare-bones truck with a footprint smaller than a Ford (F) Maverick, will cost somewhere in the mid-$20K range, and it will come in any color you want — as long as it’s slate gray, that is. The option-challenged vehicle offers a choice of two battery sizes for the rear-wheel-drive truck: a 52.7-kWh battery pack targeting 150 miles of range and an 84.3-kWh pack with 240 miles of range.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/slate-introducing-the-bezos-backed-ev-pickup-for-the-masses-022141712.html

Don't know if I'd buy one but it's not as expensive nor as ugly as Musk's Cyber Truck.

[BoRaGard]

1. Not "as uglY - but

pretty damn homely

[dutch777]

26. At least it looks like a truck not a tin foil cutout of a truck made by a 5 year old.

Haven't really looked into but if it has basic payload capacity I think the DIY add on concept will appeal to many given the low starting price.

[Squaredeal]

30. I'm not interested in a gussied-up behemoth.

I want a working truck to use on my small farm, to haul things and to use for local transportation. A truck that I don’t feel the need to wash and polish every week or worrying about its bed getting scratched. A truck that will not be dependent on the cost of oil and last and EVs seem to fill the bill. I don’t need a $47,000 F-150 lightening for a truck to do what I need it for.

[Walleye]

2. I just checked out the picture, not bad at least it looks like a pick up truck

[Celerity]

3. pics

[malaise]

7. Nice

Rec

[DBoon]

4. Like a 21st century Model T

Affordable, homely, and only one color

[allegorical oracle]

5. Reminds me of the Toyota Hylux I had in the late 70s. Homely, but imminently

lovable. Great gas mileage, icy AC, radio. All I needed. Paid $1,200 for it, used.

EV trucks aren't a big hit in my area of Fla. a) because it's the land of wooly mammoth four-wheelers, and b) there are virtually NO charging stations. Have never seen one station, yet.

[RussBLib]

6. There are over 3600 EV charging stations in Florida

...with over 11,000 charging ports

https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2025/01/22/charging-electric-vehicles-is-getting-easier-in-florida

[allegorical oracle]

11. Oh I'm sure there are plenty of stations in/near the big cities, but not where I live. Never see

any at service stations in a radius of about 50 miles around my home. Only a handful of people in my neighborhood drive EV cars...two that I actually know.

[hunter]

20. Any electrician can install an electric vehicle charging station. It's not a big deal.

Most people charge their electric vehicles at home.

Here in California, where I live, an increasing number of apartments, motels, and other businesses offer electric car charging as an attractive amenity to people who own electric cars.

People park their cars for eight hours or more when they are sleeping or working. Electric cars can be charged in that time on ordinary electric circuits.

Personally, I don't believe electric cars are going to save the world but charging stations are not the bottleneck.

Furthermore, in a society where many families own multiple cars, fast chargers are not essential to the overall acceptance of electric vehicles. If a family has two cars, one fuel powered, and one all-electric, the electric car can be used locally and the fuel powered vehicle for longer family road trips.

Plug-in hybrids might be an even better option, allowing all-electric operation for local trips and commutes and fueled operation for longer trips.

[flvegan]

8. Not a bad idea, but

not so sure I'm interested in another vehicle backed by a wanna-be evil genius billionaire, famous for selling everything with a subscription while data mining every little thing they can about you/yours.

Where I live, that's a death trap anyway (at least in appearance). Hard pass. Besides, if I wanted an electric vehicle for $30k I'd probably buy a used MachE.

I like the idea, but not the execution. Just my opinion though.

[Buzz cook]

9. If it can't carry a full sized sheet of plywood, is it really a pickup?

More of a sport truck or commuter pickup.
Still nice to see more competition.

[MineralMan]

32. Very few pickups today have 8' beds.

It's not even an option in many cases. So, if you carry sheets of plywood, the tailgate has to be down, or you put them in so they're tilted and hanging over the back on the tailgate.

So, it's not a good indicator anymore. Now, I've owned a few pickups with 8' beds, but they're really not necessary. What is necessary is a 4' wide bed inside the bed. With that, you're fine for plywood, drywall, and other sheet goods.

[sl8]

33. Other sources say that it can carry 4x8 sheets

Not completely within the bed, as it's 5 feet long. By comparison, the Ford Maverick's bed is 4.5 feet long.

[pecosbob]

10. Good to see investment in economical small work vehicles. We don't need more $80,000 mobile living rooms.

[fujiyamasan]

12. I actually like it

I’m not really picky about the color when I’m getting a car anyways. It’s not hideous looking and expensive like the cybertruck. It reminds of older Toyota Tacomas.

It may hit a nice sweet spot, which none of the others are filling yet. The f150 lightning and rivian pickup (forgot the model) are nice, but very expensive.

I wasn’t even looking to get an electric vehicle but did end up with a PHEV, due to the $7500 lease credit and good trade in.

We rarely fill it with gas since the EV range takes care of most of our needs. Ultimately I think Tesla is going to have to step it up, because there are so many other options out there.

[Wounded Bear]

34. Drove a 90's Ranger for years. Great little truck.

The world needs more "no frills" vehicle options that don't cost $90k.

[onethatcares]

13. Picture...if you would

a l952 Studebaker 1/2 ton pick up truck.. Ugly as hell but it hauled huckleberries, coal, dirt, lumber, rocks and a myriad of other products. I learned to drive on one of them.

My dad and uncle had a business of sorts and that was the vehicle they had. Twasn't fancy and when needed they painted the body with whatever paint they had left from a job or two . I don't think the steel body ever rusted out no matter how bad the Pennsylvania winters were..

Gawd, I wish I had that truck.

Now, picture doing that to a 2024 Lincoln pick up something.

I like the looks of this EV. it'd be worth buying a stock model and putting it in the "barn" as an investment

[hunter]

21. Except for the coal and huckleberries, that's how I use my 25 year old truck...

... and it looks like it.

It's hauled everything from rocks to worn-out appliances to composted manure. My dogs sometimes ride with me in the cab.

I think my truck would be offended if I repaired all the dings and scratches, polished it up, and used it as a commuter vehicle.

[newdeal2]

15. I kinda like what they're trying to do here

We’ll see if it’s successful.

[NickB79]

16. Rear wheel drive, ugh

I've driven rear wheel drive vehicles in the snow and ice. Never again.

[drmeow]

17. If I buy one

will Bezos get any money? If yes, I'm a no.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. Mid $20k range? So $40k?

[Liberal In Texas]

19. Manual window cranks - ick!

For example, the last automaker to use manual crank windows was Jeep in the JL Wrangler, and as of 2025, the company no longer offers them as an option. Ford also recently phased out hand-wound windows from its Super Duty trucks. That’s because electric switches are cheaper and readily available from suppliers—who are mostly located in China—and because automakers that offer manual and powered windows had to have two different door assembly lines to accommodate the different tech. That made building both options more expensive. Power windows are also somewhat safer for families with younger children in the backseat, as parents can lock the roll-down feature. (from the article)

A real backward shift.
However, all in all it's quite a novel idea: An affordable EV.

[harumph]

25. I beg to differ. My 2009 f150 has manual roll windows and I love them.

They won't break - and if they do, it's a relatively easy fix. Each to his/her own.

[CoopersDad]

22. 🛻 🛻 🛻. Here is the Slate Configurator website! Full sheets of plywood fit.

You can order different models and it can be wrapped in colors of your choosing.

https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization

?fm=webp&w=3840&q=75

[Cha]

23. So the oil Billionaires gonna like this? And will it

complete with his fellow Fascist fuck Mump's tesla?

Just curious.

[SupportSanity]

24. They crossed a Bronco with a Land Rover

Another thing not to buy from Bezos.

[Squaredeal]

27. I had a 1985 Toyota Pickup.

A basic truck. Paid $5200 new. Great little truck. Helped me haul a lot for my home over the years. No service issues. Great 2.2L engine. Still running 20 years later, just rusted out.

[SheltieLover]

28. Is this going to cause fleaon to have a sad & a tantrum?

I hope so.

[Raven123]

29. Henry Ford would be proud

[haele]

31. Bezos is one of the backers in a consortium.

He isn't a majority shareholder though. His name allowed them to get the funding and a slot at the NTSB safety lab. They're even crash testing their phone holder.
Unlike many of these startups, Slate's got a couple working pre-production models for the auto reviewers, support vendors, and a factory already set up.
It may be a basic truck, but they're really pushing affordability, the fact that most of the components are sourced in North America (Rivian claims the same), the ability for the customer to determine what they want to own with the truck without having to subscribe to an ecosystem, and the right to add on or repair.
As a small basic home use truck or SUV conversion for errands or occasional hauling needs, I can see it attracting the Gen Z crowd or nostalgic boomers. It's not a huge bully truck for hauling 5th Wheels off-road, it's like my old bare bones 1971 Datsun that I used to haul garden supplies, and the annual "Clean the Closets" donations to Thrift stores and dump trips, or to move from one rental to the next.