The Slate EV startup has unveiled its first model, the simply named Slate Truck. True to its name, it’s intended to be a blank slate (the company actually trademarked the name “Blank Slate”) that the buyer can customize exactly to their liking. It’s an electric truck that aims to be simple, customizable, and affordable.
“The definition of what’s affordable is broken,” said Slate CEO Chris Barman. “Slate exists to put the power back in the hands of customers who have been ignored by the auto industry. Slate is a radical truck platform so customizable that it can transform from a 2-seat pickup to a 5-seat SUV.”
The Slate Truck will come from the factory in a single configuration: a 2-door, 2-seater pickup with 17-inch steel wheels. However, it can be transformed into an SUV with an accessory kit that adds a bench rear seat for three, a roll cage, and airbags. You can even install it yourself. It will be manufactured in one color with opportunities to wrap it, unwrap it, and rewrap it to suit your tastes.
The Slate Truck is quite small, especially by pickup truck standards. With an overall length of 174.6 inches, it’s even smaller than a first-generation, single-cab Chevy Colorado and smaller than today’s trucks that we consider “compact,” like the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. The Slate’s curb weight is 3,602 pounds, a featherweight by electric truck standards.
The sole powertrain in the Slate Truck is a 150 kW (201 hp) rear-mounted motor. It makes 195 pound-feet of torque, has a 1,000-pound towing capacity, and a 1,433-pound payload rating. The standard 52.7-kWh battery pack claims 150 miles of range, but an accessory 84.3-kWh battery increases the range to 240 miles. It has DC Fast Charging capability of charging 80 percent in under a half-hour. A native NACS port gives it access to a huge charging network.
The rather simple interior has crank windows, traditional HVAC knobs, and no central infotainment screen. Instead, a universal phone mount near a USB port lets you use your own device for infotainment duties like music and navigation. Although it has a spartan interior, it still has modern safety features like forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and up to eight airbags.
The Bezos-funded startup is ambitiously targeting a price of less than $20,000 after federal incentives. Specific pricing for the 100+ accessories that will be available for the Slate Truck will presumably be announced closer to launch. Refundable reservations are available now for $50.
The Slate Truck not only has no direct GM rival but there’s nothing quite like it in the North American automotive market. Its purported MSRP will be approximately half the cost of America’s cheapest all-electric pickup trucks: the full-size Chevy Silverado EV and Ford F-150 Lightning, which start at over $50k.
Comments
Dang, Mbezos does everything Musk does, only slightly worse
This is a much more useful truck than the Cybertruck. Alsi, Bezos rockets aren’t exploding.
Yet another bored-zillionaire backed EV startup that will eventually fail.
I don’t get Bezos backing of this. Bezos backed Rivian, and whatever Bezos spent backing this, could have been put to better use as additional Rivian backing. Of all the EV startups, in the US anyway, Rivian is the only one with potential of making it.
whypac…my thoughts are that he is “backing” them for a tax write off, probably the only reason he is. He has to throw some of that money at something that will give him some tax breaks. Also, that pickup is almost as ugly as Muskrat’s cyber truck.
I think this is a great idea, if it had s gas engine. With a gas engine and the lack of all the modern comforts you can lower the price for many who dont find any of those things attractive. With a off the shelf gas engine, you could probably sell this at 15k with the same profit margins. Simple cheap cars is something we here in North America dont have, so it could really fill a niche.
And it might be Towable too!!!
Looks a bit like a first generation S-10.
Interesting. Gotta say kind of radical here. Curious to see how the public will take to this, it’s a pretty basic bare-bones stripped down vehicle – crank windows (is that even such a thing today, can’t think of one vehicle with crank windows), no radio, no infotainment screen. Not sure how the pampered US market will take to this? Reported targeted sales of 120,000 annually. Definite throwback vibes, reminds me of S-10’s/Jimmy’s from the ’80’s and 90’s.
Will this have any kind of lasting impact on the industry? Or just a passing flash in the pan thing? Similar parallels to Tesla when they showed up on the scene. Alex what are your thoughts?
Sounds great to me! That’s what a Silverado WT should be.
Agree!
I hope it does well. The highways are full of giant four door trucks that have gotten ridiculously bloated and overpriced.
I appreciate the concept of no frills, bare bones, and low cost. I do wish it was a gas powered engine, but this could be a really decent option for someone who needs a small commuter car and is still skeptical of an EV. Gives them a chance to have a lower initial investment to try it out.
May even be a good option for the old car parts runner trucks like NAPA uses.
I think it will be interesting to see how much all the accessories cost and what that does to impact the final pricing.
Agreed. The real market for this will be the small businesses that have local deliveries. I could see this hauling auto parts, industrial supplies for Grainger and McMaster-Carr, Pizza delivery, etc. The owner of the business doesn’t even have to deal with the logistics of paying for gas, as they can set up a simple level 1 charger for non-work hours and in-between deliveries.
I think there is a Volkswagen Beetle strategy that may pay off for economy minded individuals (like me). The Beetle was cheap and slow, but got the job done. The only disadvantage is that there may not be charging easily available for the people who live in apartments and college dorms.
It will be interesting to see. At less than $20K, it has a real shot at the old VW Beetle market.
Could see it being used too for like ports and warehouses. Or large mfg sites like Boeing has where they drive inside the factory. No pollution to worry about.
Okey dokey Smokey. When this is in a showroom, I’ll believe it. My mother always said, if it sounds too good to be true…. This is just another in a long line of “Tuckers.”
No screens. No nonsense. Just because its electric doesn’t mean it needs to be an iPad on wheels. I like it.
So I’m curious now. Is Bezos funding them because he is losing faith in Rivian?
Rivian has been on life support for a while now.
If so, why did VW enter into a 5 billion dollar joint venture with them?
The Germans aren’t exactly known for making smart decisions. I mean. Look how depending on Russia for all their gas needs worked out for them.
We have sped past the German decisions mark at WARP speed when we opted for tRump.
Totally different markets. Also, Rivian is Amazon backed. This is Bezos own money.
Totally disrupting! No doubt has the Detroit 3 scratching their heads in conference rooms in and around Detroit. There has always been talk about back to basics vehicles, but the last one I remember was Iacocca’s Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon America series.
I like it. It’s about time someone created a “practical” mode of transportation. No bells. No whistles. Affordable. Yea. It lacks a bit in styling but “practical” wins out here. If you look at it as a vehicle to easily wrap, it definitely fits the bill. Pretty simple outer contours. I see this as a cool platform for huge aftermarket dress up “stuff”. I think most big manufacturers are sitting up now. It’s about time. Kudos.
Why can’t GM come up with something like this? I would want an ICE model.
If the Federal EV incentives disappear (7k), it puts this truck in the price range of the XL Ford Maverick Hybrid. I would much rather have a reasonably equipped Hybrid than a stripped electric truck with 150-mile range.
After the Federal incentives are gone will it be the same price a base Maverick ?
Base XL Maverick with destination charge is $27,890.
Looks like Hello Kitty’s version of a Ford Maverik.
You can keep it as a render. 150 mile range? 1000lb payload? Laughable. That’s less than the previous gen Ranger.
150 mile (optional 240 mile with battery upgrade) range?
1433 lb. payload?
1000 lb. towing?
That’s all I would need.
I currently drive a 2-door GMC Canyon and my previous truck was a 2-door S-10. Both had crank windows.
So go get a Hyundai Santa Cruz.
can you plug that into your house for very inexpensive electricity