Slate Truck - sub-$20,000 EV pickup, 150 mile range, 2026/2027 release

[Obelisk]

Article 1
Article 2

Company Website
Vehicle specs

TL; DR:

• 150 mile range on standard battery, 240 miles on extended range battery
• 150 kW motor, RWD. 201 HP.
• 2 door, 2 seat pickup at base, but can be reconfigured to a 5 seat SUV among other things
  • The manufacturer/parent company is fully intending on this car being highly personalizable from the get-go.
• Body panels are molded plastic rather than steel, skips paint entirely. This, combined with the "simple" shape, is intended to allow wrapping of the car. Wrap kits, per the website, are $500.
• Will charge on a standard 120 or 240 outlet, also supports Level 2 and Level 3 charging.
• Comes with a companion application
• Incredibly bare-bones. Not even infotainment available on the base package.
• Modular interior
• Intending to lean into direct sales much like Tesla
• Intends to lean into DIY maintenance, offering "Slate University" program to allow people to tinker and service their vehicles in their backyard/anywhere else. Will still maintain a network of trusted mechanics for those who can't work on their cars or are uncomfortable with working on their cars
• H: 69.3 in; W: 70.6 in; L: 174.6 in; Wheelbase: 108.9 in
• Bed length: 5 ft; bed volume: 353 cu. ft
• Frunk: 7 cu. ft
• Payload: 1400 lb; Towing: 1,000 lb
• Manufacturer is looking to secure a 5 star USNCAP rating
• Prices at below $20,000 with federal incentives, roughly $28,000 otherwise.

 

[Joey D]

Well, under $20k with government breaks and that's assuming those government breaks actually stay around. Otherwise, it's like $28k. But I'm not really sure who the market is for this, at least in America. Fleets don't want an unknown vehicle when they have decades of experience with established domestic brands. Very few new vehicle buyers want something barebones either, despite how much the internet seems to think they do. The range isn't very good for the Slate and put a trailer or a load in the bed with two people in it and I bet that range drops to under 100 miles on the standard battery. So basically you're left with a less capable side-by-side.

The Ford Maverick is cheaper and has a better payload rating. Hell, Japanese mini trucks are more useful.

 

[Obelisk]

Well, under $20k with government breaks and that's assuming those government breaks actually stay around. Otherwise, it's like $28k. But I'm not really sure who the market is for this, at least in America. Fleets don't want an unknown vehicle when they have decades of experience with established domestic brands. Very few new vehicle buyers want something barebones either, despite how much the internet seems to think they do. The range isn't very good for the Slate and put a trailer or a load in the bed with two people in it and I bet that range drops to under 100 miles on the standard battery. So basically you're left with a less capable side-by-side.

The Ford Maverick is cheaper and has a better payload rating. Hell, Japanese mini trucks are more useful.

Given the emphasis on Slate University, personalization and wrapping, I suspect the intended audiences are gearheads and DIY tinkerers.

 

[05XR8]

Might be surprised how many will jump on it for the price and simplicity. It’s just a couple inches longer than a Rabbit Pickup(LWH:172.4 in, 64.6 in, 58.7 in; weight: 984kg). That’s awesome! I think they’ll take off quite well.

Major thing that sucks is edit: owned Jeff Bezos investing in the company.

Edit2: From the website

A Slate is a radically simple vehicle, for lots of reasons.

We set out to make the most affordable new vehicle possible. We miss the days when a truck was just a truck. We like looking at a road, not a screen. We don’t like paying for stuff we don’t need. We like picking out the stuff we do need. We know not everyone likes what we like. We want our cars to work with our phones, not the other way around. We engineered it to last a long time. We made more room for people and cargo, precious and otherwise. We decided it should cater to your taste, not ours.



So if you need a great, no hassle, daily driver that you can dial in to your taste and budget, a Slate is worth a look. That said, even with all the ways you can personalize it, a Slate is not for everyone. If you need to win drag races or towing contests or want a self-driving spaceship, a Slate is not for you. But even then, it does make a great second car. Just saying.

Edit2: Body Syles

Bring the apps you know and love to create the experience you want. Instead of a bulky, distracting, and quickly outdated infotainment system, a Slate can come with something simpler: a smartly designed mount that fits a phone or tablet and a holder for a portable Bluetooth speaker. Your Slate will age gracefully, because it’ll always have the latest tech—yours.

That’s what I’d do if I were building a new car.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I think these could be popular in active-lifestyle urban areas like Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, SLC, Raleigh etc where you may live in the city and are therefore constrained by space* but want to take your mountain bike to the nearby woods on the weekend. I suspect they will be most popular on the west coast.

 

[05XR8]

Making it charger friendly(I guess) should open it up to Amore people that just want to use it from A to B with spending heaps.

If someone in Australia could make one like this, I’d be in. My round trip commute is 18km/11 miles, perfect for my needs.

Seriously, being able to keeps it for a long time and add upgrades whenever is fantastic. Definitely a second car if I were still living in Florida and moved from Orlando to Miami.

 

[TrdScionxB2]

 

[Omnis]

It feels like someone has been lurking and stalking all my posts and social media interactions. This vehicle is exactly what I have been wishing some company would make. Put a full-size rack from harbor freight on it and it's the perfect urban contractor truck. The specifications are perfect to do any weekend warrior stuff in south florida. You have just enough range to get to anything you could imagine down here.

This is what the Maverick should have been. I hope they don't swell in price like that one did.

It would be rad if this were light enough to drive on golf courses, too. So many people drive these stupid golf carts on the roads that are like pushing $15,000-$20k. These make so much sense.

 

[05XR8]

It’s actually like the early small pick ups. From a Datsun 17T to a Nissan hardbody 2WD. You just buy it, start it up and drive away. No options no nothing. I guess it’ll have air conditioning, but it’s got lights and windscreen wipers. Done.

 

[Keef]

Hell, Japanese mini trucks are more useful.

Organizations of politicians and rich people are working to ban them state by state and vehicles like this are why. Georgia banned kei trucks because Club Car started building a truck-like golf cart vehicle that isn't useful for anything more than groundskeeping or as a pit truck.

 

[BKGlover]

Aside from plastic panels, which do make plenty of sense, this is something I've been thinking about. Glad someone is able to get it going, but I hope there is a market for it. If they made it tough as hell and idiot proof, I know a lot of people who can barely afford used stuff that would at least consider this.

And if they add to the lineup...a very short-tailed version could make a nice hatchback.

 

[McLaren]

Organizations of politicians and rich people are working to ban them state by state and vehicles like this are why. Georgia banned kei trucks because Club Car started building a truck-like golf cart vehicle that isn't useful for anything more than groundskeeping or as a pit truck.

Sounds like the 1980's when Reagan & the Republicans wanted to curb Japanese imports b/c they were overtaking the domestic manufacturers.

 

[EngieDiesel]

I was looking at the proposed safety features, and I notice:

* Full Length Side Curtain Airbags (Truck 2) (SUV 4)

So if the body is supposed to be modular, I guess you have to wire up the extra airbags yourself when you put the rear shell on?

 

[Omnis]

I was looking at the proposed safety features, and I notice:

* Full Length Side Curtain Airbags (Truck 2) (SUV 4)

So if the body is supposed to be modular, I guess you have to wire up the extra airbags yourself when you put the rear shell on?

It looks like they come built into the pillars that are included in the flatpack. There is some wiring harness visible in their photos. Probably no more complicated than taking a seat out of a car. Couple bolts and a DTM plug.

Aside from plastic panels, which do make plenty of sense, this is something I've been thinking about. Glad someone is able to get it going, but I hope there is a market for it.

Believe me, there is a market for it. The trades would love something like this. It's all the utlity of the Canoo pipedream but without the clowns running the company and without the clowncar look. It's just a small pickup. Spartan, cheap, and perfect for what it is.

 

[Keef]

I was looking at the proposed safety features, and I notice:

* Full Length Side Curtain Airbags (Truck 2) (SUV 4)

So if the body is supposed to be modular, I guess you have to wire up the extra airbags yourself when you put the rear shell on?

Like Omnis said that's easy to work around. They might even plug themselves in - there isn't a single bolt that holds in Porsche headlights and they unplug and plug themselves back in with the 1/4-turn of a tool.

 

[EngieDiesel]

It looks like they come built into the pillars that are included in the flatpack. There is some wiring harness visible in their photos. Probably no more complicated than taking a seat out of a car. Couple bolts and a DTM plug.

Like Omnis said that's easy to work around. They might even plug themselves in - there isn't a single bolt that holds in Porsche headlights and they unplug and plug themselves back in with the 1/4-turn of a tool.

Fair enough. You'll have to forgive me for being skeptical, but I've seen so many startup EV builders over the last decade or so that just popped out of the woodwork, promised the next Tesla-beater in both price and driving quality, then either took the investor cash and vanished or threw together a couple hundred shoddily-built examples made of whatever parts they could get from the cheapest suppliers out there (some of which weren't even technically road legal).

Just looking through Slate's website I saw a lot of the same bullet points that those dodgy startups used to emphasize, albiet with proper spelling, better pictures and a nicer website template. And what articles I could find that weren't AI-plagiarized already all seem to have a whiff of "advertorial" around them, none of them are more than a couple weeks old and they all are basically "Is Jeff Bezos starting a car company WTF?!!!!1". Maybe having access to Lex Luthor's money will actually produce a decent product, but right now I'm getting the feeling I've seen this routine before.

 

[Keef]

Just looking through Slate's website I saw a lot of the same bullet points that those dodgy startups used to emphasize, albiet with proper spelling, better pictures and a nicer website template. And what articles I could find that weren't AI-plagiarized already all seem to have a whiff of "advertorial" around them, none of them are more than a couple weeks old and they all are basically "Is Jeff Bezos starting a car company WTF?!!!!1". Maybe having access to Lex Luthor's money will actually produce a decent product, but right now I'm getting the feeling I've seen this routine before.

Yeah, with all the random articles coming out the past couple days by every outlet and their grandmother it seems to me like they're getting paid off or something. I'm not even remotely excited about this thing and I can't figure out why any of the outlets seem to be so excited. They're trying to compare it to the Maverick, but the Maverick sells because it's a perfect package, not because it's a tiny and basic utility truck. If tiny and basic utility trucks were actually in demand then a used Ranger would cost more than $3000. Nobody is clammoring for used Rangers despite them being a thing that doesn't exist in the market that everybody says they want.

 

[Omnis]

That’s because used rangers are pieces of **** lol. And everyone who still has a working small truck doesn’t want to get rid of it. No supply, no market.

With one of these, you don’t have to have an suv. The only way it could be better is if you could summon one anywhere you needed it. (Hello, Tesla. RoboUte?)

 

[EngieDiesel]

Yeah, with all the random articles coming out the past couple days by every outlet and their grandmother it seems to me like they're getting paid off or something. I'm not even remotely excited about this thing and I can't figure out why any of the outlets seem to be so excited.

If i had to guess, it's a combination of paid promotion and riding the current anti-Tesla sentiment for more clicks. There are a more than a couple articles claiming the Slate is going to be direct competition to the Model 3, which feels a lot like comparing an apple to tomato. Sure they're both red round fruits at first glance, but when you look closer they have very little in common.

That’s because used rangers are pieces of **** lol. And everyone who still has a working small truck doesn’t want to get rid of it. No supply, no market.

Pretty much. Light trucks like Rangers, S-10s and Dakotas that are still in good condition have fallen into "I know what I got, no tire kickers" territory purely from attrition. People do still want them but it's been over 20 years since they were last built, and finding one that hasn't been abused and rotted to the frame is getting to be more work than its worth.

 

[Keef]

That’s because used rangers are pieces of **** lol. And everyone who still has a working small truck doesn’t want to get rid of it. No supply, no market.

With one of these, you don’t have to have an suv. The only way it could be better is if you could summon one anywhere you needed it. (Hello, Tesla. RoboUte?)

If i had to guess, it's a combination of paid promotion and riding the current anti-Tesla sentiment for more clicks. There are a more than a couple articles claiming the Slate is going to be direct competition to the Model 3, which feels a lot like comparing an apple to tomato. Sure they're both red round fruits at first glance, but when you look closer they have very little in common.

Pretty much. Light trucks like Rangers, S-10s and Dakotas that are still in good condition have fallen into "I know what I got, no tire kickers" territory purely from attrition. People do still want them but it's been over 20 years since they were last built, and finding one that hasn't been abused and rotted to the frame is getting to be more work than its worth.

Not rusty.

 

[05XR8]

I miss USA prices. $3500 USD=$5500 AUD, 170,000 miles=273,588.48 kilometres

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/mazda/bravo/