In an era of massive, tech-laden pickups, a Michigan startup is betting there's a market for the opposite: a tiny electric truck with crank windows and no radio. Slate Auto, backed by Jeff Bezos and led by former Amazon executive Peter Faricy, plans to start building its two-seat EV pickup this year with a starting price of $24,950—making it one of the few new vehicles under $25,000. It's certainly "the most affordable EV truck in the US," per Wired. The company is cutting costs by skipping a paint shop in favor of $500 vinyl wraps and avoiding built-in navigation in favor of drivers' smartphones, while offering upgrades like a bolt-on kit that can turn the truck into a five-seat SUV, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The minimalist but highly customizable truck, shorter than a Toyota Corolla but with a bed longer than Ford's Maverick, will offer 205 miles of range with the base 65-kWh battery pack, a 37% bump from the initial estimated range, per Wired. It will also gain access to Tesla's Supercharger network. Analysts say the bare-bones, two-door design may limit appeal beyond a niche, but Slate—armed with $1.3 billion in funding and 160,000 reservations—argues that stripped-down and affordable is exactly what some buyers want. You can pre-order the truck today for $300, with the first deliveries expected at the year's end. The company says it expects to earn a profit off every sale, aiding its goal of becoming cash-flow positive by 2027, per CNBC.
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