Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

https://www.slate.auto/en

by cobri • 29 days ago

311 512 29 days ago

slate.auto

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2027-slate-truck-price-expl...

cobri• 29 days ago

Pricing was released today for the base truck and accessories.

coldpie12• 29 days ago

Interested to see how this turns out. I'd like to see a size comparison. Is this actually a reasonably-sized vehicle, like a pre-2000 pickup, or just a cheap modern monster truck? Sadly it's not on carsized.com (yet).

If the company is still around 5 years from now, I could see myself getting one of these to replace our current "compact" (but still enormous) SUV.

fwipsy• 29 days ago

https://www.slate.auto/en they have a size comparison if you scroll down about 3 pages.

coldpie12• 29 days ago

Oh wow sure enough, I just needed to scroll down. It does look like a human-scale vehicle. Thank you.

gwd3• 28 days ago

Yeah, really enjoyed the size comparison.

Marciplan• 29 days ago

cute cute car

functionmouse• 29 days ago

Awesome

deadbabe• 29 days ago

That deeply undercuts Rivian.

brendoelfrendo2• 28 days ago

You wouldn't cross-shop a Rivian and a Slate. The Rivian is a high-end luxury vehicle with a laundry list of features, including things like self-driving. The Slate is literally the opposite: it has a laundry list of things it doesn't have and, indeed, its lack of features is part of the sales pitch.

dpb001• 28 days ago

Right. Even the cheaper R2 just released is in a different market segment. There will be some cross-shopping of the Slate with the upcoming new platform Ford EV truck, which Ford is hinting will be $30K. Of course, I remember when Ford hinted that the F150 Lightening would initially be a $40K truck, so we'll see.

pennomi• 28 days ago

Lack of features sounds better and better as time goes on. No thank you, I do NOT want my car sending telemetry data.

marssaxman• 28 days ago

Someone is finally building an electric vehicle for people like me!

frenchman_in_ny• 28 days ago

On your point of self-driving, I was just looking into if this would be compatible with a comma.ai autopilot, and it looks like Slate doesn't even have the default hardware onboard to allow it (and there's no option to add it?). Unfortunate miss.

ux2664783• 28 days ago

The Rivian is a high-end luxury vehicle

High end luxury vehicles are coach built. The Ferrari Luce is a mid end luxury vehicle. Rivian is more like a low end luxury vehicle.

pc865• 28 days ago

Approximately zero people who are in the market for a Rivian would consider buying this.

nathan_compton2• 29 days ago

One under-appreciated value of having an EV is that you don't have to buy gas. You literally do not have to buy gas. I cannot emphasize this enough: you do not buy gasoline for these cars. Not only that, but many places let you charge them for free. That is like someone giving you free gas.

coldpie12• 28 days ago

Not only that, if you have access to an outlet at home (many do; many do not), then you just never have to think about your "gas tank" at all. You start every day at a full "tank". After a month of ownership, your state of charge is just not even something you think about, at all.

bell-cot2• 28 days ago

Not quite that simple. "Normal" home outlets (120v, 15A) charge EV's very slowly. And even then, non-trivial driving will show up on your electric bill.

mitthrowaway2• 28 days ago

This is like saying "an under-appreciated value of ordering from Amazon is that they deliver to your house".

ericmay• 28 days ago

Well, if you had never used Amazon before and all you did was drive to the store it kind of could be considered under-appreciated if you didn't give it the proper weight in the convenience factor.

It really is under appreciated how much less stressful EVs are to own on a day-to-day basis until you have one. Never worried about gas prices, it's always "full", don't have to deal with crazy people bumming money at the gas station, &c.

x1874632• 28 days ago

Is that under-appreciated? It's kind of the whole deal aside from environmental concerns.

Schiendelman9• 28 days ago

It's hard to understand beforehand just how game changing it is when you switch. Once you're not constantly thinking "Wait, is 60% enough?", it's incredibly freeing. No more "ugh, I'll have to spend $70 before I do that."

bigfishrunning• 28 days ago

It's ok, just keep a generator in the bed and you can buy gas for it

economistbob2• 28 days ago

True, but one does not have to replace their gas powered engine and fuel tank and drive train every ten to fifteen years if they want to drive several hundred miles. The problem with EV is destroying the economy to shift it to a tiny few people. From all the gas station workers, fuel distribution, parts makers, parts suppliers, etc. for several hundred moving part vehicles. To the oligarchs who control the thirty moving parts that must be replaced every ten years for ten grand.

EVs are a massive serfdom wealth and freedom transfer masquerading as a decade of not having to visit a gas station while hiding the country sized hole that will be needed for all the battery trash.

They are a blight on humanity. China survives them at scale because they are communist and have policies to mitigate economic fallout in one sector by having people supported in others. The USA just makes more homeless people and tells the next generation of high schoolers to enroll in a special work ready jobs pipeline program for whatever the local school board thinks will be left. And their non-employment rate skyrockets.

Schiendelman9• 28 days ago

I'm not sure where you got these ideas. Do you have some recent data showing that EV batteries go to trash at all?

tedggh2• 28 days ago

You always buy fossil fuels with an EV, not directly but you do. When you stop at the plaza for a quick super charge there’s no way to tell where is the energy sourced from, it could very well be from a diesel generator a few miles down the road. The value is in all the parts found in an ICE that need servicing or replacement that you don’t have in an EV. With an EV you basically need tires and maybe brakes once every 8-10 years, no oil and fluids, no oil or engine filters, water pumps, spark plugs, valves, seals, etc etc

idiotsecant• 28 days ago

Depends where in the country you live and when you charge. 8AM in the pnw? 100% renewables. 5PM in oklahoma? Not so much

jackdoe• 28 days ago

You always buy fossil fuels with an EV,

"always" is just not true. "most of the time" is true, and it will get less and less as time goes by.

adammarples• 28 days ago

You can charge this thing on solar panels at home

froindt• 28 days ago

While it may be dirty sourced electricity, there are still significant benefits many people don't think about. As (or I suppose now, if) the grid moves towards cleaner electricity sources, the total emissions go down, where the ICE vehicle will always be an ICE vehicle.

Generators are also much more efficient at converting fuel to electricity. They don't have to provide pretty good power output at all RPM's, they are much more fine tuned. There are also emission reduction options that are economical at the scale of a power plant, but not when attaching to millions of cars.

bluGill20• 28 days ago

Where I live my utility generates more wind power in a year than all customers use. (I assume the excess is sold to some other utility) There is also a lot of solar people are putting on their houses.

no oil and fluids, no oil or engine filters, water pumps, spark plugs, valves, seals, etc etc

Those are cheap though.

You still have tires, shocks, and the general body wearing out from use.

tencentshill2• 28 days ago

But they are also extremely efficient. So at worst its like driving a diesel truck that gets 120mpg.

numpad03• 28 days ago

GP didn't say that you don't have to use gas; the comment says you don't have to buy gas. Which IMO signifies how miserable gas pump experience is felt to them.

WarmWash3• 28 days ago

Where people snag is the "gas station mentality", where everything they know about car ownership revolves around "filling up at a station".

So when they think about owning an EV, they focus really hard on "gas station mentality" things like "how long does it take to fill" and "how far can you go between fill-ups?".

Once you own an EV (and have a home charger) you pretty quickly forget about those things shy of the occasional 300+ mi road trip.

ux2664783• 28 days ago

It's true it only matters for the road trip, although a slight note that the slate has a stated 150 mile range so you may have to take it into account if you're driving all over a metropolitan area.

For an around-town daily, the only real reason you wouldn't want to take an EV is because literally all of your options are rolling privacy violations. At least with an ICE you can buy a 2011 panther platform and rest easy.

Thankfully, Slate solved this problem. I don't care that it's a cheapy, uncomfortable shitbox with no range. Please yes, more modern cars that aren't literally made out of spyware at an atomic level.

pc865• 28 days ago

That is literally the only selling point what are you on about?

mikestew2• 28 days ago

One under-appreciated value of having an EV is that you don't have to buy gas.

I’m pretty sure that’s the whole g-damned point of an EV. Who are you thinking needs to be told this?

x1874632• 29 days ago

These things remind me of my dad's 90's ford ranger. I would love a small functional pickup. I don't need to drive a battle-tank around town. If all works out for these trucks, it's a top contender for my money in the near future.

jollyllama2• 28 days ago

my dad's 90's ford ranger

The only reason it takes an EV to get this is CAFE.

malfist5• 28 days ago

The maverick isn't an EV

tonyarkles2• 28 days ago

I have a 91 Ranger Club Cab, 4.0L RWD sitting around waiting to get used again. The only reason I upgraded (2016 Tacoma) was because of how bad it was in the winter (Western Canada, lots of snow and ice). Couldn’t get good tires for it anymore (15” is so passé) and often got stuck on flat icy surfaces. If it had been 4WD I’d probably still be driving it every day.

I love the Tacoma for a lot of reasons, but that Ranger really had a lot going for it in the summer.

RhysU• 28 days ago

Loved that Ranger my father owned. Rolled it onto the driver's side, totalling it. Still have road rash on my left forearm from when the window broke mid-accident and my left arm dragged a touch.

for_i_in_range• 29 days ago

If not bankrupt in three years like Lucid and Rivian, I'll still buy a Cybercab instead. Also, I hope they succeed. There's definitely a market for them.

alistairSH9• 28 days ago

I'll be amazed if Tesla meets their sub-$30k target for the cab. But stranger things have happened.

And the Slate should have better utility, for anybody who needs a truck/SUV vs coupe. And also comes without the Musk stigma.

bluGill20• 28 days ago

The Slate only tows 2000lbs, and has a tiny bed. If you need a truck it isn't for you. Maybe it works as a SUV.

Of course most people only need a coupe to begin with. Too bad you can't buy any that are cheap. (that and you mostly only need a coupe, but at least once a week need something more)

alexb_2• 28 days ago

Personally, I hope that nothing Elon Musk ever does for the rest of his life succeeds. Maybe that's just me though.

whycome4• 29 days ago

I don’t care that it’s EV. I’m just stoked that they’re making an actually modular system like this. I don’t know why it’s not possible with other cars.

close04• 28 days ago

The modularity is there with classic manufacturers too, just not "exposed" to the buyer. Cars use a common platform and you can still buy the classic or fastback, different styling packages, but you won't be able to self service them after the sale. I don't really know how much Slate is the Framework of the auto world, and how much it's just customization options at purchase time.

Most people who buy a car would never be bothered to "tweak" it later, upgrade, add stuff. Modularity also constrains the design and could add some reliability issues.

The biggest benefit would be home repairability so I think that's a big driver for why other manufacturers don't do it. EVs already require less maintenance so that's lost revenue.

P.S. Looking at the options on the site, other than the body style everything else is just as easy to have on any other car. Most of the customization is purely esthetic (wraps, decals, rim options, light plates) and even the practical options like light bars or roof racks are common in the OEM world for any classic brand.

happyopossum• 28 days ago

The difference is that with a slate you’re not limited to buying one of the versions of the modular platform - you can swap them out yourself.

Want an open air 5 seater in the summer and an enclosed pickup the rest of the year, except for November when you really want an SUV? Sure, no problem.

mlhpdx• 28 days ago

This concept makes a lot of sense for first time car buyers. Having never owned a car, maybe being fresh out of college, a car can be a big leap. What will it need, what will it do? Commute? Car pool? Camping? Moving? Boating?

If the customization can be done after the fact it lowers the risk of buying.

Makes sense to me.

FloatArtifact• 28 days ago

Have you tried to get an EV part independent of a dealership?

nashashmi• 28 days ago

It makes sense for a utility truck to be modular. I cant say the same for vans and sedans.

eagerpace• 28 days ago

Tesla made some progress with this, but it’s the dealer network. The existing manufacturers are beholden to it and $200 oil changes.

NDizzle• 28 days ago

$200 oil change?! I pay $85 for a 5.7L V8 with a 7.5 quart capacity. Who is paying $200???

red_hare• 28 days ago

Oil changes aren't the best example. They're pretty easy to do at home for basically everything and filters are pretty standardized.

But car batteries, brake pads, tire pressure sensors are all becoming increasingly software-locked in. We're lacking open standards for this stuff.

linuxftw2• 28 days ago

GMC made a modular system for like 50 years, it's called the SBC.

neogodless8• 28 days ago

Web search found the "small-block crate" engine as what GM's SBC is. You're saying an engine makes a vehicle modular?

https://kagi.com/search?q=gmc+sbc

__s2• 28 days ago

https://www.andysautowreckers.ca they have a field of junk cars that people come in & harvest parts from

whycome4• 28 days ago

I decided I hate their website. If I'm looking for a part, sometimes the part applies to multiple model years and I'm not convinced that they've organized it with that taken into account. Also, I don't necessarily want to search for a specific part -- I may just want to know if they have certain vehicles. Why can't I just search by make/model/year and give me a list of all parts. If that's too taxing on the database add in classifiers like "electrical" "interior" or whatever the hell else. And the initial search form is enraging because it "tries to help" by automatically selecting the subsequent dropdown when I'm already clicking it and it sends me into the wrong section.

xnx2• 28 days ago

The tradeoff is creaks and rattles.

DangitBobby2• 28 days ago

Is it modular enough for creaks and rattles to be a concern?

lastofthemojito2• 28 days ago

I blame the dealers, at least somewhat. In the early days of the Scion brand, the idea was something like, all of the cars are shipped to the dealer as base models, customers could choose from a menu of add-ons, and the dealer would install them. Want just the basic car? Fine. Want to add keyless entry and mood lighting and a CD changer and chrome alloy wheels? They'll add those for you.

But (at least in my experience), that made for a worse product than having factory installation and QA. I bought a brand-new car from a Scion dealer in 2005 and indicated I wanted to add keyless entry. I paid the dealer, they did the install, and I left ... with a car that would intermittently fail to lock some doors with the key fob. I realized shortly thereafter that the dealer had installed an aftermarket system to save money rather than the offical Scion keyless entry system. I complained and eventually got them to install the right system, but jeez, that did not enhance my experience compared to just finding a car that was built in a factory with the options I wanted.

I'm not saying the modular Slate pickup isn't cool. I'm kind of tempted by it. But I wouldn't be surprised if people find themselves with leaky roofs, electrical gremlins and random squeaks and rattles compared to if they just bought some other truck/SUV and left it alone.

bluGill20• 28 days ago

Also assembly lines can achieve the scale factors needed to pay for all the jigs needed. A dealer doesn't sell enough cars to afford those expensive jigs. Making your cars in the factory is nearly always going to be cheaper the dealer customization. The dealer can do minor things that are quick and easy, but putting a different back on the bed on is something the factory should be able to do better and cheaper.

eddieroger2• 28 days ago

I vaguely remember that from the Scion days. I wonder what that does to liability? Like if it's something that impacts the safety of the vehicle - like a roll bar? - who takes on the liability if it's a dealer option?

dyauspitr• 28 days ago

They are significantly simpler than something that needs to burn fuel and have a transmission system.

RamblingCTO• 28 days ago

it kinda is with old defenders. with a bit of work I can turn mine into a pickup or whatever

sowbug• 27 days ago

Does the modularity make it easy to steal the accessories? I'd be sad if my new customized truck were downgraded to the base model while parked on the street overnight.

mycall• 27 days ago

Third-party mods might be the trick here.

whycome4• 27 days ago

Does Apple use encryption to ensure hardware is matched and is harder to repurpose? Lol

alistairSH9• 28 days ago

Just built a "hatchback" Slate with what I guess will be common options (speakers, wheel upgrade, spare wheel carrier, and a few other odds and ends) and it came to $35k. So, still pretty inexpensive, but also getting close to some existing EV sedans that are known entities and have pretty decent interiors. So, I'm not totally sold on these, but not not sold either. Need to see one in person, I think.

cammil• 28 days ago

Presumably you could reconfigure it easily later. Which seems like a plus

alistairSH9• 28 days ago

Yeah, you could buy a basic one and add the rear seats and roof later.

But, is that likely? Most people buy cars on credit and won't have $10k cash to spend on those bits later. I guess they could put it on Visa, but that's a terrible financial choice.

zamadatix5• 28 days ago

I'm simultaneously not interested in an electric truck & amazed the price is still reasonable if you want to turn it the truck into a hatchback instead. The range is also meh.

Same conclusion: interesting, but not necessarily interested. Hope they go places though.

alistairSH9• 28 days ago

I see lots of tradesmen in Ford Mavericks or Transit Connects. The Slate could work well for some of them - basic truck model, with the ladder rack for long stuff (like ladders or pieces of wood). Saves them some money up front, and gas and maintenance (in theory).

p1mrx• 28 days ago

wheel upgrade

At the same size (17"), going from steel to alloy improves performance but reduces durability. Larger wheels (20") are generally a downgrade for performance and ride quality.

Engineering Explained has a video on this topic: NYvKxsYFqO8

alistairSH9• 28 days ago

Yeah, I kept 17", but went to alloy (I think).

sokoloff3• 28 days ago

Downgrade in ride quality for sure, but that’s the first I’ve heard of it being a performance downgrade. Will check out the video later to learn more.

bruce343434• 28 days ago

tldw:

- wider wheels are marginally less efficient but almost negligible

- rims with larger diameter have larger air resistance. Probably because the rim patterns intersects the air in weird ways but it's not explained. Tire walls are relatively smooth, so tires with higher aspect are way more aero-efficient despite having more marginally lower rolling resistance.

roysting• 28 days ago

still pretty inexpensive

Can we stop being so out of touch and/or deluding ourselves to believe $35k is “pretty inexpensive” for people not living in a bubble; whether that is the Americas bubble or the tech bubble within the bubble or the urban bubble within that; let alone for a tiny two seater electric truck that has a 200 mile range.

The 45th percentile, i.e., the bottom 90% have a median income of roughly $40,000. $35,000 for a enclosed covered or even hatchback type mini SUV is not reasonable and you know very well when they come out with that, it’s going to be at least $40,000. None of that is inexpensive or even pretty inexpensive. That’s just rationalization and coping, trying to convince ourselves and others of things that are incongruent.

“Pretty inexpensive” would be an enclosed bed version that cost $22,000 maybe.

For additional context; the industry standard measure of income to cost ratio has risen from 9.3 weeks of household income gross pay for a baseline vehicle, i.e., civic, in 1973 to, 16.5 weeks of gross pay in 2024; and that’s based on the fraudulent official inflation numbers.

Yet more context, a civic can seat 5 people and still has a range of 450 miles on a tank of gasoline that you can find all over the place, even in far off rural places OSD puppy can carry gasoline with you if need be.

There is no sense in rationalizing and deluding ourselves about the real limitations that still exists that are real and are why adoption is not matching imaginations.

vel0city17• 28 days ago

tank of gasoline that you can find all over the place

I can find electricity in far more places than I can gasoline. It even comes out of my walls. Do you have gasoline piping throughout your home?

bryanlarsen13• 28 days ago

There are lots of vehicles available for $22K. On the used market. Buying new is a privilege.

A $35K vehicle will reach $22K on the used market a lot faster than a $60K vehicle will.

unregistereddev2• 28 days ago

I completely agree. A base Prius is $30k. A base Kia Niro is $27k. Those are hybrids and not EV's, but 50+mpg is not bad. Those also come with power windows and many other features and creature comforts that the Slate doesn't.

$35k is not outrageous for a new car, but the Slate is supposed to be affordable basic transportation. Slate is selling barebones, stripped down basic transportation for the price of a middle class family car.

bluGill20• 28 days ago

Most people don't buy new cars, they buy used cars. Particularly in the bottom 45%, they know they can't afford a new car - they might look at them but they know they know it is a dream (or the car they will buy in 5 years). Car makers know they can only charge this price for a new car because in 3 years it will still have a lot of value left - most new car buyers never pay the full price: they only pay the difference between the cost and the value in 3 years (plus interest).

alistairSH9• 28 days ago

A new Honda Civic is $25k, so the same as the Slate. The average new car price in the US is $50k, so double the Slate base price and still significantly more than the upgraded Slate I built. As far as I can tell, the US market has only one sub-$20k car - the base Nissan Versa.

aidenn08• 28 days ago

In '73 a Chevy Nova just under $2500, which CPI is just under $20k. Median household income was around $12k

$25k is about right for a cheap new car today (you can get a few base models for less than that, but good luck finding one). Median household income is around $83k. So a cheap new car cost went up by 10x but income only went up by less than 5x. Inflation implies it should cost 8x as much, but it costs 10x as much.

Of course the Chevy Nova didn't have ABS, airbags, a touch screen, an automatic transmission, power steering, or retractable seat belts. Car companies could make models without some of these (though most are required by law; can't even have a car without a screen since RVC is mandated). But now they would be competing with used cars that have most, if not all, of these things and cost less.

win311fwg• 28 days ago

Can we stop being so out of touch and/or deluding ourselves to believe $35k is “pretty inexpensive” [...] let alone for a tiny two seater electric truck that has a 200 mile range.

It suppose is "pretty inexpensive" compared to other new trucks you can buy right now. However, my much more equipped, full size truck cost less, inflation adjusted even, than this thing when it was new. Today's truck market baffles me.

aidenn08• 28 days ago

Compared to gas cars: Kia K4 hatchback is $26k with a lot more creature-comforts. Gets 34mpg, so if $6/gal gas is here to stay that's $0.17 per mile of fuel costs. My EV gets almost exactly 4miles/kW average and I pay $0.21 per kW so that's about $0.05 per mile.

So $0.12 per mile saved in fuel costs implies about 80k miles for break-even.

This excludes costs of servicing, which should be higher on the gas car.

[edit typo'd an extra 0 it's 80k miles for break-even]

[edit2]

After looking up my energy bill I pay $0.27 so it's between 10 and 11 cents per mile saved. Break-even is still under 100k miles.

fouc• 28 days ago

I think you meant 80k not 800k, $0.12 * 80,000 = $9,600

beaviskhan• 28 days ago

I think you've got an extra zero in there somewhere

$35k - $26k = $9k

$9k / $0.12/mile savings ~= 75,000 miles breakeven

superxpro122• 28 days ago

$.21/kw seems high for home charging... im at $.12, before the extra savings that gets me closer to $.10

jerlam2• 28 days ago

California (and many other states) also charges you an additional annual EV registration fee of $121 in lieu of gas taxes. There was some noise earlier this year about a federal EV tax too.

fooker• 22 days ago

Not sure if I'm out of touch, but this looks like such a minor difference in cost that I'd expect people to not even take cost into consideration while making the EV vs gas decision.

Factors like the (perceived) environment friendliness, comfort and (in)convenience are likely to be much more important.

cherry_tree2• 28 days ago

There isn’t a hatchback option. Did you mean fastback?

alistairSH9• 28 days ago

Yeah, whatever the 4-seater with a notchback style is called.

stasomatic• 27 days ago

A base trim Hyundai Ioniq 5 is now $35K in the US. The Slate looks very cool, I'd take 3, but it doesn't seem a good value as basic transportation, not including the perceived value of no telemetry, etc.

tedggh2• 28 days ago

I could not see anything related to safety besides airbags and cameras. Any crash tests available anywhere?

kasey_junk2• 28 days ago

I’m on the waitlist and this is the main thing I’m contemplating before actually pulling the trigger on buying one.

ramesh31• 28 days ago

Do they actually have solid delivery dates yet? This still reeks of vaporware to me.

neogodless8• 28 days ago

The Specs page has a list of safety features. Sadly it's an image and not text, so here's a direct link:

[PAGE] https://www.slate.auto/en/specs

[IMAGE] https://images.ctfassets.net/20dhmw20vttc/2wmiW5shOfgAKsd1nF...

beart• 28 days ago

They did a demo and some discussion in this video. I recall some discussion on safety features www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6_9_HHLOSY

theappsecguy• 28 days ago

This looks great, I'd happily buy one if they are proven reliable and can remain a sustainable company.

cjonas• 28 days ago

I would honestly consider one of these for the utility of a cheap, small electric truck, but not having 4wd is an absolute deal breaker for a truck in the mountain west.

gwd3• 28 days ago

I like the idea, but the "About" page triggers some warning bells: "We’re not trying to make this about us. BECAUSE SLATE IS ALL ABOUT YOU."

I mean, that's fine, but... I am on your "About" page, that's because I actually want to know about you. How can I trust you with $25k if all I know is "We’re designed in California and Michigan, engineered in Michigan, and assembled in the Midwest. And our team is spread across the entire country, from Washington state to Florida" ?

What's your funding? Who owns you? Who's the CEO? What are the credentials of your engineers? Basically, why should I believe that you can pull this off?

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

pc865• 28 days ago

The general population doesn't care a lick who has invested in the company, who the C suite is, any of that.

Normal people make product-buying decisions based on the product.

gwd3• 28 days ago

I mean, that's just not true. You're right that when people buy a Ford, they're not thinking that much about the CEO. But they certainly are thinking about other Fords they've owned, or their friends have owned, or things they've heard about in advertisements or the news. Ford may not be the best car out there, but it's very unlikely to have basic thinks like seals that don't work; and if somehow they do have basic issues, the company will be around to fix it. If you pre-order a Ford, you know there's a near-zero chance that you won't get what you ordered, and an effectively zero percent chance that you don't get your money back.

None of those things are true for a brand new company. Tesla was infamous for having random things wrong with their cars in the early days which the established car companies had figured out a long time ago. And there's a non-negligible chance the company will end up folding before it can give you your product, or before they can fix the product you got.

The amount of money they have, the character of their backers and their CEO, and the quality of their engineers matters significantly.

officeplant15• 28 days ago

It's well known to be backed by Jeff Bezos which might be the only reason they haven't ran out of money.

dwa35922• 28 days ago

It's at the second to last page where it says it's an EV. I didn't know and had to scroll down. Also there is no mention of range on one charge, which I think is a miss. The range (especially for an EV) must be on the landing page.

The modular design is cool though.

coldpie12• 28 days ago

Good criticism. It looks like the car's EV tech is average at best; definitely not outstanding. That's probably why they don't advertise it strongly, and also probably a big factor in why it's so cheap.

They list some details on the Specs page[1]. They quote 200 miles of range, which is not great especially for a small car. They list a 20-80 charge time of 30 minutes so it's probably a 400V architecture, which is becoming outdated as 800V architectures and chargers exist now.

Seems like a fine about-town car, but probably not a great one for road trips. I think that probably aligns with the NVH[2] expectations you should have for a car of this price.

[1] https://www.slate.auto/en/specs

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise,_vibration,_and_harshnes...

rjsw2• 28 days ago

That range is typical for European mass-market EV cars.

WarmWash3• 28 days ago

It's a fine anything-other-than-5hr+-road-trip car. Which covers 99% of people's daily driving. And frankly even if this thing was gas, it looks brutal to road trip in.

A 200mi range means you can comfortably commute an hour to work each day, and then get back and "drive around town" in the evening without any worry.

tristor2• 28 days ago

I pretty much concur with your take. I'm interested in this because I sometimes need a truck, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on an oversized gigantic vehicle I don't really need to have a truck the sometimes I need it. For me, that is mostly to go to the home store and back w/ materials, which is something I expect to do more regularly near the tail end of this summer onward as I ramp up my carpentry hobby. That 200 mile range is fine for me, because the closest home store is just 2.1 miles away from my house.

The flip side of that is over the holiday weekend I drove more than 250 miles to go visit my folks for Father's Day, which is just a couple of hours driving each direction. That's not even a long drive, that's a fairly normal weekend mini-roadtrip. It's not unusual for me to sometimes drive to the office in the next city over for meetings, and that's 116 miles from my house, where I work from home hence having significantly shorter typical driving experiences than most Americans. That next city over is a place where quite a lot of folks work and commute daily. 200 miles is definitely on the short side of acceptable range in the US.

Maybe it's just a Texas thing, but driving a hundred miles or more in a single direction is a typical behavior for many people under a variety of circumstances when you expect to return on the same day. This state also has the largest market for truck sales in the US.

officeplant15• 28 days ago

probably a 400V architecture, which is becoming outdated as 800V architectures and chargers exist now.

Good luck getting 800V mode to kick on half of the time if you ask most US drivers of 800V architecture EV's. Most of the networks I see with 800V capabilities are also the most expensive per KW of electricity by 10-20 cents a KW.

I'd much rather stick to 400V platforms for the next decade before we get serious expansion of modern charging networks in the US.

shawabawa3• 28 days ago

On the specs page is say "205 miles" estimated range for the blank slate/minimal version - which is not great

Very surprising it doesn't say the battery capacity anywhere and has no option for a bigger battery

dwa35922• 28 days ago

I dug in a bit. Slate has around 63Kwh battery capacity and a range of 205 miles. For pure metrics comparison - chevy bolt has similar battery capacity and a range of 260 miles and similar price range. So basically slate looked at the existing market and said we need a better looking chevy bolt even if it sacrifices range. I guess there will be a market for this.

tinyplanets• 28 days ago

I love the Chevy Bolt. Wish I could find one for a decent price in my local market.

rib3ye• 28 days ago

Saw this on Jay Leno's youtube channel: https://youtu.be/L6_9_HHLOSY

Everything about modularity seems awesome, but you can see panel misalignment in several shots. Are the component tolerances really going to be that low?

kllrnohj• 28 days ago

I believe all of these previews are using pre-production units. Production units should be better built with better tolerances since it becomes all factory done, but that's definitely something you'd have to wait and see when it actually begins shipping.

That said, given the price point and the new-ness of the manufacturer, there's all but certainly going to be fit & finish issues.

vablings10• 28 days ago

Tesla normalized bad panel gaps in production EVs. I don't really think they matter that much as say suspension creaks, performance and reliability and general useability

frabjoused• 28 days ago

This is very cool, probably should have gotten more inspiration from Porsche on the design UX. It's pretty rough.

freedomben4• 28 days ago

The color options are a much bigger deal than I think many people realize. It's been too many years since I saw the studies so I have no hope of being able to cite it, but in a marketing class in college I remember reading about how much people value picking a color they really like, that they feel matches their personality. It increases satisfaction, significantly reduces the cognitive dissonance (aka "buyers remorse") that usually accompanies a major purchase, and increases identity sharing (where the vehicle feels like part of your identity, which is good for brand loyalty and total ownership satisfaction). I've been surprised how limited the color palette usually is for vehicles given all that. It will be interesting to see how Slate does!

ellyagg• 28 days ago

I noticed recently it’s cool to match the color of your vehicle to your house

zamadatix5• 28 days ago

Anything beats https://blog.iseecars.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Graysca...

alamortsubite8• 28 days ago

Or clothes, if you really want to do it right, like Madeline Khan's character in High Anxiety.

efsavage• 28 days ago

AFAIK there's actually only one color and you can wrap it. The wrap kits are supposed to be DIY friendly so you can change it yourself when you want a new color.

xattt• 28 days ago

This is great if you have a garage to do it in. This is terrible if you’re an apartment dweller and have no workshop space!

bitexploder7• 28 days ago

The body panels are some sort of composite polycarbonate plastic. They offered a number of colors in the UI for the pre-order system. It basically allows you to configure options that are available and see what it looks like. The wraps are (offered) DIY and they claim it will take two people 14-16 hours. They offer a number of colors that cost $500 right now.

Pretty interesting as far as cars go. I think all of the customization options are really smart, but we will see if that is enough for the average consumer. The number of relatively inexpensive options and ability to customize various details rivals some high end car configuration systems, Porsche is famous for letting you customize every detail.

The way Slate has designed their vehicles, they are making it very easy to change just about anything with the vehicle. I can see this being very popular with young people who cannot afford a lot of car, but still want a highly customized and personalized vehicle that they identify with. We will see if all of the other factors work out in Slate's favor.

simonsarris• 28 days ago

That sounds a bit like one of Saturn's (1985-2010) original ideas from the 80s. The plastic paneling was easy to take off so that people could DIY change the colors or add their own panels (and Saturn engineers could quickly revise styles). I am not sure very many people ever did, however. Or even if the cars were all that customizable in the end.

whatever1• 28 days ago

And then they pick black or white.

xnx2• 28 days ago

Wraps are nice because they're not permanent and don't affect resale value. Having a car without a wrap might soon be as unusual as a phone without a case.

llm_nerd2• 28 days ago

The four most common vehicle colours in the US are white, black, grey and silver. I believe this covers like 80%+ of vehicles. Canada is worse still (so much so that many makers basically just offer the shades of grey, sometimes with a special-order red or something for the rebels), and a few days ago I was on a walk and saw a light turn red and a dozen cars that pulled up to stop and every single one was white.

People have other colour choices, but they're constantly choosing the most spectacularly boring, neutral colours possible.

The colour thing is neat, but I'm not sure it's going to be a big deal. It might actually lead to the paradox of choice where people basically feel even worse about their options.

vel0city17• 28 days ago

Going by what I hear talking to friends and family, they often don't want to choose outside of those range of bland colors as they're worried about resale value. Its probably easier to find a buyer who is OK with a black car than someone who would want metallic purple and gold car or a bright pink car.

Wraps are typically pretty easy to remove. Far easier than removing a paint job.

chucksta• 28 days ago

It also just so happens grey scale is almost always cheaper. Car color historically correlates with prosperity in the US

https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/cars-trucks/au...

https://www.ppg.com/en-US/autocoatings/color/history-of-colo...

freedomben4• 28 days ago

It might actually lead to the paradox of choice where people basically feel even worse about their options.

Very good point, that will be interesting to see

vel0city17• 28 days ago

The color options are a much bigger deal than I think many people realize.

Any mass-market car has practically the same color options. Wraps have existed for a looong time.

eddieroger2• 28 days ago

Wraps exist for folks who pursue it, which is always going to be a subset of those who only look at dealer / manufacturer options. Being able to get a wrapped vehicle off the line is a new option for most buyers.

insane_dreamer2• 28 days ago

the difference is manufacturers don't advertise them, so most customers go with what they see at the dealer or on the website

esseph9• 28 days ago

Most people cannot afford a new car, therefore they do not get to choose the color options. Fearures and colors are reserved for first buyers or those lease people.

V__• 28 days ago

That was my first thought as well. I can't articulate why, but if the company and product survive a few years, it feels to me like it might become a modern "cult" car.

cvdub• 28 days ago

Definitely!

Gen Z & A value uniqueness and authenticity. I think the customization options will resonate a lot with them.

overfeed3• 28 days ago

I heard cars with zany colors get stuck on the sales lot for much longer than boring colors. If that is true, customizations lower the value on the secondary market relative to factory restrained factory options, and the owners may get lowballed when trading in their cars, or will invest more time of selling as a 1st party.

If car colors were not mired in paperwork, I imagine dealers would respray them some shade of Millennial-gray, similar to realtors' M.O. when prepping homes for sale.

pjc50• 28 days ago

I think this is starting to change, fortunately, with things like the yellow Renault 5s.

Mind you, when ordering a lease car for the first time recently, I did notice that I was paying a premium for non-bland colours. I suspect the weird financial structure of new cars has - they're often not bought to hold, but leased - has a lot to do with the blandness.

kevin_thibedeau2• 28 days ago

There's a large segment of population that will only buy white/black/gray. The paint lines are geared toward those that sell well and special colors are relegated to shorter runs with more expense for changeovers.

SoftTalker9• 28 days ago

I'm not sure they are. I don't think most people give two shits about the color of a vehicle, that's why most of them today are white or silver.

volkk• 28 days ago

I think people care more than you think and it's mostly an effect of the limited options setting the tone/culture for most of society so when "exciting" colors randomly come out, nobody wants to stand out amongst the sea of silver/black/white. I bet if cars became more funky on average, people would exercise a lot more freedom in selecting wilder colors. An example of a culture of fun selection is snow sports. Colors rule the landscape, and yes sometimes for safety, but it's also because it highlights personality.

insane_dreamer2• 28 days ago

I agree, this is a very smart move.

I just wish they had also released a smaller body, so you could build something close to a regular hatchback (like a Golf or Mazda 3)

red-iron-pine2• 27 days ago

then buy a chevy volt, mate

kart23• 28 days ago

they’re selling a diy wrap. in other words, you get a large flat colored sticker (maybe pre-cut if you’re lucky, but these actually fit worse). wrapping your car and making it look good is NOT diy friendly, it’s a pain in the ass. you need special equipment, space to do it, etc.

it’s actually incredibly disappointing, because 99% of people are just gonna get the gray, and will be unhappy because it’s super boring.

real manufactures like porsche or bmw offer a ton of shades too, it just costs a lot, but they are very popular.

ericzundel• 28 days ago

The way I see it, you buy the kit and take it to a professional who is going to charge somewhere between $1000 and $3000 to install it. That's a lot more onerous than the buying a pre-colored car right off the lot, but many people already opt to have their car wrapped anyway. It's a wait and see game to see what installers like that would want - the pre-cut package or just buy the material directly from them.

The real downside to wraps from my perspective is that they don't last as long as a regular paint job. After 4 or 5 years you'll see damage and need to get it re-done if you care about the look. And if the underlying plastic is scuffed up, the plastic panel will need to be repaired before the new wrap will go on smoothly.

oliver66677• 26 days ago

don't believe those marketing research

boombapoom• 28 days ago

can someone please make an EV passenger van with good range and costs 25k?

coldpie12• 28 days ago

Probably not, no. Large vehicles are heavy which needs more battery, and good range needs more battery too. Batteries are expensive.

rjsw2• 28 days ago

What do you consider good range? Ford [1] and Stellantis [2] have small EV passenger vans.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit_Courier#Tourneo_C... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_e-Berlingo

uberman• 28 days ago

If only the federal incentives were still in place that might have made this brand new car cost $16k. I would have got one for each of my daughters.

alexb_2• 28 days ago

The truck is cool. The blank slate looks good. Every other "suggested" design looks insanely corny, in the Cybertruck sort of way.

kypro• 28 days ago

Everyone has their own corny. Problem with the Cybertruck is that it's corny in a single cyberpunk kind of way which doesn't appeal to many people. Some of the designs are corny but in a way I find quite appealing. The Moon Duster looks super cool imo.

__mharrison__2• 28 days ago

Wish it had all wheel drive...

deltoidmaximus2• 28 days ago

Wish it was at least at FWD. I know, I'm the oddball that wants a subaru brat. I'm more concerned about snow handling with very limited truck utility.

__mharrison__2• 28 days ago

Agreed. Driving in snow is paramount for me...

alamortsubite8• 28 days ago

In an ICE pickup, maybe, but assuming the Slate has an EV weight distribution advantage, RWD is probably better. To each their own, but I much prefer my driven wheels not to be my turning wheels.

That said, lack of 4WD is really a bummer.

Kalkaline• 28 days ago

I love the concept, but it's giving me Elio vibes.

jefb• 28 days ago

Can't believe it's come down to this in 2026, but if this does not beep incessantly and slam on the brakes when maneuvering around some foliage I'm all in.

tonyarkles2• 28 days ago

You’ve hit a nerve for sure. A couple years back I was doing some field ops in rural Illinois and the rental SUV I had (Nissan?) made it almost impossible to turn around on a gravel road. Slowly backing up towards the ditch, watching carefully in the backup camera… BAM, full brake, lots of beeping, cue frustration. Every damned time.

officeplant15• 28 days ago

You can usually disabled the automatic braking in every vehicle I've driven from 2020-2025. I tend to leave on the warning noises, but disable to auto braking.

rationalist• 28 days ago

I went through all the settings on my vehicle, and I can't; all I can do is just lower the sensitivity.

ChrisArchitect• 28 days ago

Previously (2025):

A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43794284

poppafuze• 28 days ago

tight cabin. where's the legroom.

WillAdams4• 28 days ago

Price on the tower roof racks? I need a plywood hauler.

MisterTea2• 28 days ago

My favorite part about this vehicle is no stupid center console touch screen. Hopefully aftermarket dash kits for a DIN radio become available and we can put proper audio and control back into our vehicles and remove the tyrannical center console screens.

mghackerlady4• 28 days ago

I love the lack of a center console touch screen precisely so I can add one I made myself with a raspberry pi and some cool shit from adafruit

alamortsubite8• 28 days ago

Entertainment, telemetry, weapons systems?

dmonitor• 28 days ago

I'm surprised I haven't seen a generic "turn a raspi into carplay" firmware or anything of that sort.

zamadatix5• 28 days ago

I love that there are physical buttons for all of the car functions (fuck trying to adjust the temperature/audio/car settings on a touchscreen while driving) but I do feel like having an optional component for a large 1st party screen which sits in the dash with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay would be nice instead of only having the phone mount option.

MisterTea2• 28 days ago

I have a 2022 CR-V and thankfully has knobs for the volume, and temperature controls with a few buttons. The touch screen actually crashed on me the other day while driving. I had to pull over to turn the car off and wait for the power module to kill the power to the screen as it didn't shut off (WTF happened to off being off!) I HATE these things with a passion.

gibspaulding• 28 days ago

Really excited to see this one step closer to release! My first car was a 1999 Mazda b2500 (a rebadged ford ranger). I’m sure I have a bit of nostalgia around it but I’ve missed the compact simplicity of that vehicle ever since. It had manual locks, crank windows, a manual transmission, and sat about 2.5 people. I distinctly remember in that truck that I could very comfortably lean over and crank down the passenger window without taking my eyes off of the road.

This feels much more like a spiritual successor to that truck than the actual new Ranger or Maverick. I’m really hoping this succeeds so that they’ll be around to replace our Dakota when it dies!

tbolt• 28 days ago

The b2500 was great. My buddy's dad had one and we would take it to go fishing. This and the 95 or so Ford F-150 are _the_ canonical trucks to me.

fergie• 28 days ago

Is this an actual think that is actually going to happen? I really want a simple notech ev.

mghackerlady4• 28 days ago

I don't like trucks, but I might get this solely because it's the only thing like it right now. Honestly half the reason I want one is because I'd love to cram a raspberry pi and some cool shit in there to make a custom "smart car"

giantg22• 28 days ago

I love that it's reasonably priced and somewhat low tech, but the range is just too limited for me. I can't wait for the batteries promising 4x energy density. That would really change things.

-warren2• 28 days ago

There used to be (before preorder) an option for an extended battery. Am I missing it hidden in the customizer?

MichaelNolan• 28 days ago

I believe they got rid of the smaller battery. Before the tax credit was removed, they were sourcing a more expensive battery. After the credit was removed the switched to a cheaper battery. The cheaper battery would not have qualified for the tax credit, but that’s not an issue anymore.

https://insideevs.com/news/799667/slate-truck-lfp-battery-ra...

-warren2• 28 days ago

Thank you for that!

throwawaypath• 28 days ago

A pickup truck with less towing capacity than a Tesla Model Y?

woeirua2• 28 days ago

Slate was far more compelling when we still had the federal EV incentive. Now... you can get a far better equipped Ford Maverick hybrid just around $30k (maybe less with dealer discounts). Hard to see what the market is for the Slate.

DangitBobby2• 28 days ago

There are people who want an EV and not a hybrid, like me.

woeirua2• 28 days ago

That's fine, but there are a lot of used EVs that have more features in the low-mid 20s now. You really have to want an _EV_ truck.

officeplant15• 28 days ago

Hard to see what the market is for the Slate.

Well you quoted a hybrid, which needs fuel. At current local electric rates ($0.07/kw) I can fully charge my E-Transit (~68kwh usable in the battery) for $4.76. Then I can go around 130 miles before coming back home to charge.

Vastly cheaper than a gas van, but lets look at the Maverick which gets even better economy.

Most gas stations I drove by today were $3.15 to $3.39 for 87oct gas. Self reported fuel economy for the Hybrid Ford Maverick on a few sites maxes out around 37mpg combined.

That means for a Slate truck with the larger 84kwh battery you'll be spending $5.90 for a full at home charge in my area which will get you ~240 miles. While if you bought a Maverick you'll be getting around 70 miles for the same cost.

This is all before we even factor in maintenance differences.

EDIT// They dropped the 84kwh battery, but my point still stands.

bradlys2• 27 days ago

YMMV here. Your electric rates are insanely cheap and places where EVs are most popular are in states like California where paying $0.50/kwh is not uncommon. Plus many of us in CA can't even install solar to offset any of it.

cptaj• 28 days ago

Dead on arrival.

China will sell you fully kitted hilux equivalents with japanese engines for 10k. Even toyota is making 10k trucks in thailand.

US manufacturers are just not ready to face free market competition these days. They're entirely reliant on tariffs protecting them.

voakbasda2• 28 days ago

That is not just the auto industry either. US manufacturers have really dropped the ball across the board, and tariffs are not going to fix it for them.

I’m not really sure what the solution is at this point. We can’t just drop the tariffs, as that will decidedly end almost all manufacturing that has been propped up by them. On the flip side, the current administration’s recent erratic application and resulting litigation in this area have created an environment where no one in their right mind would invest in building out new capacity. The winds have demonstrated that they are too likely to shift again.

I hope someone can swoop in on this thread and explain how it’s all going to work out. Because I just don’t see it anymore….

And that makes me sad, because I want to love the Slate. Seems great. But I can’t see past how the pricing is tantamount to systemic theft, knowing that it has been artificially inflated by such protectionism.

Server62• 28 days ago

I think the answer is subsidy rather than tariffs (maybe a combination). One of the reasons China is beating the US in manufacturing is because they have a fully thought out economic plan and directly subsidize targeted sectors. In the US its a free-for-all with tariffs, which means we can't compete on world markets.

therealdrag04• 28 days ago

US manufacturing is hanging on by leveraging heavy automation. At least a couple years ago I saw a chart that showed while employees dropped, manufacturing output stayed steady or went up. Labor is too expensive relative to Asia for it to be otherwise.

That’s not a full answer but party of the story.

As a nation we want a local manufacturing base. But as consumers we just want the thing, and it doesn’t matter where it’s made.

eudamoniac• 28 days ago

You say inflated by tariffs, I say protecting workers' rights from being undercut by other countries. We can have a bunch of workers' rights, 8 hour days, and minimum wages, or we can compete with China, but not both.

visha1v• 28 days ago

crank windows and zero touchscreens is a feature, not a compromise. give me a dumb car with physical buttons over a rolling ipad any day of the week.

MetaWhirledPeas• 28 days ago

We are about to see this increasingly frequent commentary put to the test.

bobchadwick• 28 days ago

I understand zero touchscreens, but what's the problem with power windows? What if you're driving and you want to lower the passenger window?

Marsymars10• 28 days ago

The obvious answer is that you don't. I don't have any particular preference for crank windows, but drove cars with them for years, and can't ever recall it being a problem that I couldn't lower the passenger window while driving.

zephen4• 27 days ago

What if you get swept away by an unforeseen surge of water, and want to lower a window to get out?

https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/public-safety/1-yea...

chrsw• 28 days ago

Do they not use any memory chips in this thing?

mekdoonggi• 28 days ago

The Japanese Kei trucks have a cult following, so if this hits the right niche, it might be viable. I think these might have a slow start, but as long as the company can survive and the trucks last, I think they could have a winner.

bryanlarsen13• 28 days ago

I wish the design was more function over form. Why is the grill so large? A lower front end would improve efficiency (and thus probably give another 10-20 miles of range), improve visibility, and kill fewer pedestrians.

I know why, the market is nostalgia and it wouldn't sell well if it looked more like a mini kenworth which has a hood that slopes down and in and less like a pickup truck.

That low range is going to turn off a bunch of buyers. I doubt another 10-20 miles of range would capture more buyers than a non-traditional shape would turn off. But I wish the market was that rational.

chaostheory• 28 days ago

They have a lowering kit, but it’s “coming soon” and it costs extra

SoftTalker9• 28 days ago

Yeah 200 miles is pretty much the low end of what I'd consider (and I assume that is an "absolute best case" number, e.g. unloaded at a constant speed on a flat road, not running AC or heat but IDK how those are actually computed).

300-350 miles would be a lot better. That would cover most of my trips (and allow for some payload) with a little bit to spare before I needed to stop to charge.

I guess the price isn't too bad. I still remember something like a Toyota or a Ford Ranger or Chevy S10 selling for under 10K new, but inflation and all... probably not terrible for a compact truck in 2026.

ssl-32• 28 days ago

I guess it depends on the person.

200 miles more than covers all of the driving I do on any normal day. Today is an exceptional day, and I'll be driving a total of 120 miles for work. The Slate would cover that just fine with a ton of breathing room.

I do take far longer trips than that for pleasure, but they're rare.

I think if I only had an EV to drive, and that EV could only do 200 miles on a charge, then I'd be able to figure out how to make these <5% events work for me.

(I can use a break after a couple/few hours on the road, anyway.)

neogodless8• 28 days ago

I own a Polestar 2 with an effective 75 kWh battery and an average efficiency of 3.3 mi / kWh. So 248 mile range if you charge to 100% and run it down to 0%.

Real world, 99.9% of driving I do is well under 100 miles per day, and my charging between 6pm and 8am on a 120V outlet adds 50-60 miles. You could plug in every night, but in practice I wait until the battery is below 40%, and tend to plug in every 1-2 weeks depending on how much I use it.

It's been driven over 200 miles in a single day twice, and each time the car was charged for 15-20 minutes at a fast charger to top up. shrug

For many people, in real world usage, 205 mile range is great for how you'll actually use the truck.

ajmurmann• 28 days ago

Most EVs are owned by people who also have an ICE car. Especially for this vehicle I would expect this to be the case even more so. That makes me wonder if a lower price with an even lower range would actually have been a reasonable tradeoff. That said, range anxiety seems to be a huge thing.

BizarroLand4• 27 days ago

There's still an undisclosed larger battery option, I hope it would be less than $5k additional to unlock a 300 mile range.

greedo2• 28 days ago

A lower hood would shrink the size of the frunk. Also, this isn't a tall vehicle by any means.

tw1984• 28 days ago

pretty cool, now wait for the Chinese to list this company as national security threat and ban selling any parts to it.

oh, wait, that is what Americans do.

satonakamoto• 28 days ago

Ha, no way. China will welcomes any American manufacturers to procure parts for their products. In fact, China is already capable of competing freely in any field. So, it will only happen that the US blocks China, not the other way around.

pwenzel• 28 days ago

Speaking for Minnesotans and other winter folk, I would love to see heated seats as an option!

bryanlarsen13• 28 days ago

Heated seats make a lot of sense for small battery EV's. Cabin heating can really take quite a dent out of your battery, but heated seats use a lot less power.

dismalaf6• 28 days ago

Looks cool but rear wheel drive only is a no-go where I live (somewhere very snowy).

bluGill20• 28 days ago

Don't be so sure. Rear wheel drive is just fine in a truck if you fill the bed with firewood. This is an EV, so I would expect they put a lot of batteries under the bed and so have good weight on the back wheels.

Of course I'm waiting for real world reports, but I'm not going to rule it out yet.

dismalaf6• 28 days ago

Rear wheel drive is just fine in a truck if you fill the bed with firewood

"Just fine" lol. Alright let's go straight back to being 16 years old and doing ghetto shit for the sake of it.

AWD is ubiquitous nowadays. Can get it on entry level vehicles as an option. Electric vehicles are way simpler, as in they could simply strap a motor to the front wheels without much complication.

I already have a 4WD SUV. 4WD is simply superior in the snow, even if I could suffer and survive with RWD.

peppersghost932• 28 days ago

Neat vehicle but there's no way I'm giving bezos even more money. Maybe I'll buy used if it's proven there aren't always on connections later down the road.

manfre• 28 days ago

I was interested until bezos. Hard pass.

jkestner• 28 days ago

The Bezos investment gives me pause too. But the claim that there’s no telemetry is exciting: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/slate-says-its-electric...

peppersghost932• 28 days ago

I'll believe it when it's verified by a third party hacker. Not trusting a bezos org on it's word.

thegrim33• 28 days ago

I mean, it still seems like a lot for an absolutely barebones vehicle. Going by an inflation calculator, $25K in 2026 translates to $~13K in the year 2000, and in the year 2000 the average completely barebones/entry car sold for $~8K-9K. So this is still 50% more expensive than barebone cars used to be.

superxpro122• 28 days ago

Compared to ICE? Yes. EV's are still paying a premium for the battery. That's not going to change any time soon.

Compared to Ford or GM's EV trucks? It's almost 1/3 the price...

The closest comparison is like the Ford Maverick, and that starts at 29.

drunner• 28 days ago

I am glad there is some viable disruption in the auto space here, but I am also really disappointed.

A new 4wd kei style truck is ~10k, with a bigger bed. I know its apples to oranges, but damn do I hate the ridiculous regulatory capture around small vehicles and trucks we have in the US.

doodlebugging• 28 days ago

I like the idea of the Slate. I think the ability to transform from truck to SUV mode in your driveway is pretty great. It reminds me of my Broncos where I can remove the top and the rear seat and have a truck. I love the idea of individualized wraps as there are far too many white, black, silver, and grey vehicles on the road. We need some color.

I love that it is a bare-bones basic vehicle that can made to be whatever you need it to be and that it does not have all the factory owner tracking bullshit in new cars today.

I can see this being useful to my wife and I both as a small truck and as an SUV. For the things that we do every week this vehicle would work fine and would replace our Ford Ranger. It might be able to replace our 90's F150 too.

I do most of my own maintenance so a vehicle that comes with factory manuals at no cost is far superior to any other that I have owned. I have bought factory manuals for all of our vehicles so that I can minimize downtime when doing maintenance. I would also take advantage of a service network in the event that I had more projects than time, which is increasingly the normal case at my house. With that network I could spend my time on things that have the highest impact.

The vehicle's range works fine for my wife and I. As a vehicle for our kids off at college it is not as attractive. The distance from our house to campus is just under the stated range of the Slate so anything that prevented the vehicle from hitting maximum target mileage would cause it to fall short and I would need to tow or trailer it the rest of the way home. That would be a drag (haha, I made a pun). Adding the ability to run from an external battery would be a huge plus since that would eliminate range issues.

I wonder how difficult it would be to add connections and charge circuitry for an EcoFlow or Jackery battery bank so that it could be carried in the cargo compartment and serve as a backup.

I would also probably use solar panels to keep it topped off while in my driveway. I think the existing EV chargers manage that well today.

codingrightnow• 28 days ago

Its size and range are too low for the price. End of story on this one.

tzs2• 28 days ago

The range is fine. Did you overlook that it has an LFP battery? LFP batteries do not suffer increased degradation at either end of their charge range. You can charge to 100% daily and run them down to 0% (although if you leave them at 0% parasitic drain could drain them below the built in below-0% buffer which can be bad).

The other common EV batteries suffer increased degradation at the high and low ends and it is generally recommended to stay in the 20-80% range except on road trips. Then charging to 100% just before you start and driving down to 10% if you are going to recharge soon after back to above 20% is OK.

Let's first consider non-road trips. With level 2 home charging and a 200 mile range LFP EV like the Slate, I could actually get 200 miles between charges. I'd be cautious though and try not to let it go below 10%.

That's 180 miles of usable range.

On a non-LFP where I only get to use 60% between charges (80-20%) I'd need a 300 mile range EV. That's more than the 262 mile range of the 2027 Chevy Bolt which is doing fine and costs more than Slate. That's also better than or close to the most popular non-Tesla EVs in recent sales, namely the Chevy Equinox, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

For road trips it is a little different because even though LFP won't be harmed going to 100% it, like non-LFP, slows down when you are trying to charge with high power DC chargers, so it is almost always faster to just charge to 80 and get back on the road than charge to 100 to get maximum distance before the next stop. The LFP still punches above its weight on road trips, but not by as large an amount as it does for around town use.

On a road trip, past the initial segment when running on home charge, if we assume the Slate will be going from 80 to 5% and the non-LFP is doing 80-10%, the Slate would be equivalent to a non-LFP with around 215 miles of range.

For people who won't want to use it for long road trips (road trips long enough that you would have to charge before reaching your destination) it should be fine.

BTW, for long road trips charging speed is generally quite a bit more important than range as long as you have enough range to cross the gaps between charging stations. The Ioniq 5 is widely considered to be one of the best long road trip EVs because of its fast charging even though its range is smaller than many competitors. It is 800 V so can accept very high power without excessive heating, and its charging curve stays high for longer than most others. (But you need a trip that has high power chargers, which most Tesla Supercharger stations lack).

tzs2• 27 days ago

On a non-LFP where I only get to use 60% between charges (80-20%) I'd need a 300 mile range EV. That's more than the 262 mile range of the 2027 Chevy Bolt which is doing fine and costs more than Slate. That's also better than or close to the most popular non-Tesla EVs in recent sales, namely the Chevy Equinox, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Correction: 2027 Bolt is also LFP.

gigel82• 28 days ago

This was posted about a year ago and it was complete vaporware, all pictures and videos were digital art.

And looking at their website now, I see the same thing unfortunately. Why would someone "preorder" a car that only exists as a prototype and digital art? What proven track record do they have of actually being able to manufacture these, and what independent outlets reviewed it?

I'm sorry, but a lot of red flags immediately pop up for me, I'm confident this is 99% a scam.

tencentshill2• 28 days ago

You get to give Bezos a $300 loan, with the opportunity to upgrade to $25k later.

nunez• 28 days ago

Here's to hoping that they don't pull a CyberTruck and decide "you know what? $79000 US seems like the right price."

beezle• 28 days ago

Like for car EVs, I'd like ot know what those range numbers are when tested in the real world - like with two or three passengers or in the case of this small truck, a few hundred pounds of tools and/or supplies (and better yet, hills and cold weather). I'm skeptical that that 200 mile estimate range doesn't drop quite a lot and heaven forbid you get a load of gravel in the back.

grep_name• 28 days ago

If they just had a back option that was a foot higher, I'd seriously consider buying one of these to use as a mini camper. I feel like they were so close!

Edit: damn, bed length: 5 feet. Wonder if they could get an extra foot in the other direction as well, although I'm guessing all that would eat into range.

zakkl• 28 days ago

If this actually ships this year, at this price, it will be an incredible accomplishment.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets delayed and inflation pushes that MSRP up.

rayiner• 28 days ago

How can they make any money on this?

eclectric• 28 days ago

Slate Auto filed patented its electric pickup in India. https://www.team-bhp.com/news/slate-auto-patents-its-electri...

Hope they can enter India in the next 5-10 years.

burnerthrow008• 28 days ago

Is that not just a standard design patent (which is different from a utility patent, but nobody understands that), like the infamous first iPhone?

numpad03• 28 days ago

What I find appalling about Slate is that it's already more expensive than actual low end EVs. All the supposedly radical cost saving measures don't seem to be doing anything. I guess it was just Amazon trying to undercut Rivian EDV, in the end.

jccalhoun• 28 days ago

This is microtransactions in real life. The upsell on these will be crazy.

a_shovel• 27 days ago

the sun seeker wrap is a cool retro look. can anybody place what it's based on / inspired by?

JSR_FDED• 27 days ago

Easiest decision ever to skip the infotainment system - your phone is better at that anyway.

The Slate is like the original Nintendo Wii - swapping sophistication for fun.

dtagames4• 27 days ago

Many people will be pleased to have a vehicle with no communication, sensor, or surveillance systems.

It's hard to estimate how important that might be now that all other cars force them on everyone.

brookst2• 27 days ago

It’s going to be very interesting. Has Slate identified an under-served market? Will they see mainstream success?

Or is this another iPhone Mini / Framework / sports wagon where a small, passionate minority ends up disappointed and angry that their priorities are not shared by the mainstream?

I sincerely hope for the former. We need lower-cost vehicles, I like diverse product offerings, and this is a purist’s take on a small truck. But then I like small phones, (the idea of) repairable laptops, and sports wagons.

monkaiju3• 26 days ago

Strange to put Framework in this category... They seem reasonably successful and even the company I work at is switching to them.

wiml• 27 days ago

a vehicle with no communication, sensor, or surveillance systems

Do we know that? The website seems silent on the topic, unless I've missed something.

dtagames4• 27 days ago

As we used to say in the car business, "it comes with a heater and paint."

In this case, not even paint, but you can buy decals and wraps.

dzhiurgis4• 27 days ago

It's most likely will have comms. And it will make 0 difference for most people. Having your most expensive asset NOT have basic tracking is insanity. That said I'm all in for all of this to be easily disabled even tho I struggle to find a valid reason (in actual dictatorships you are fucked multiple ways anyway and in democratic ones you are about to do crime).

monkaiju3• 26 days ago

Gotta get a GPS for my house lol

qsxfthnkp23222• 27 days ago

You must be very naive to think that this app that you would need for this vehicle won’t do all that.

monkaiju3• 26 days ago

It doesn't require an app, hell if you even want a modem in it you need to pay extra.

Edit: it only needs an app for updates, which isn't notably different than taking you older pre-modem cars into the dealer for updates. Also I can't find any evidence that the base model even has a GPS built in.

mc32• 27 days ago

Price is nice to see. The cab design is from before the '90s though. That's to say, not much space and rather plain.

Also, like many contemporary vehicles it still has that snubbed nose design that limits vision of low profile objects in front of the vehicle. It's a design choice, not a necessity. Wonder why given it was a blank slate design,

WheelsAtLarge• 27 days ago

This truck is remining me of the Yugo. When the Yugos were announced people were thrilled about the price. Unfortunately after they were in use people understood why they were so cheap, quality suffered and they were basically disposable cars. Cheap is nice in theory but eventually you wish for something a bit better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo

bicx• 27 days ago

I also wonder if it will develop a negative stigma as a cheap beater truck used in company fleets and such.

germinalphrase• 27 days ago

I actually think it is not cheap enough. Start adding basic, standard features and the price doesn’t look as competitive against legacy manufacturers. Do those manufacturers offer an equivalently cheap EV today? Maybe, but probably not. Though they could, and if they did, Slate is probably toast.

dtagames4• 27 days ago

It seems unlikely they'll be like the Yugo. That car was produced in a low quality factory. This is a modern product from Jeff Bezos that has fewer parts, not just cheap, poorly made parts. Yugo was Yugoslavia's only car manufacturer. Slate competes with all the other US brands so it can't just be total garbage going in. That wouldn't make sense.

otterley2• 27 days ago

Bezos is just an investor; he played little part in its design or engineering.

Waterluvian2• 27 days ago

Does it fit a standard 4x8 sheet flat with the tailgate down?

(Anyone seen detailed dimensions specs?)

gnabgib2• 27 days ago

Easily found: https://www.slate.auto/en/specs

Waterluvian2• 27 days ago

None of that seems to answer my question.

cherry_tree2• 27 days ago

It seems like not quite.

The width is 50 some inches but the wheel wells are there so you may need some 2x4 or something to keep plywood from flexing over them. And the length of the bed isn’t near 8 feet so you’d need the bed open and the boards strapped in.

This jalopnik article had some helpful measurements: https://www.jalopnik.com/1845231/slate-pickup-bed-fit-every-...

pulvinar• 27 days ago

Not flat between the wheel wells (42.9"), but on top of them. There's a photo (don't know if it's real though).

https://www.slateforums.com/forum/threads/slate-truck-dimens...

sidewndr46• 27 days ago

is this vehicle actually available for purchase at $24,950?

jer0me• 27 days ago

Preorder shipping late 2026

al_borland• 27 days ago

I’ve never been a truck person, if I hadn’t just bought a car 3 years ago, I’d be eyeing this. If it’s still around and remaining true to form when I’m ready for my next vehicle it will be a serious contender.

Working from home, I don’t drive much. If I could not have a car at all, I would. Having a no frills truck, that’s isn’t an old beater in constant need of repair and maintenance, sounds really nice.

metalman• 27 days ago

Single pedal is a non starter. I know from experience when trying to run single pedal machines that I make "mistakes", instinctivly reaching for the brake pedal, that isn't there. And further, anyone who breaks with a convention used by billions, without a very very good plan and rationalisation and explanation, is an asshole, or a genius, and I am the asshole, but not I think, this time.

Friedduck• 26 days ago

As much as I’m on-board with EVs this isn’t as compelling as the Ford Maverick at the price point. As you add features they’re at price parity and you arguably get much more for your money with the Ford.

Slate EV truck starts at $24,950

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