Slate Auto, the electric vehicle startup with backing from billionaire Jeff Bezos, has disclosed the starting price for its electric truck, which is set at $24,950.
This price does not include taxes, title, license, registration, governmental fees, destination charges, documentation fees, or any optional equipment. The company began accepting pre-orders for the truck on Wednesday.
Importantly, Slate announced an increase in the estimated range of its base model, from 150 miles to approximately 205 miles.
This competitive pricing, which is about half the average cost of a new car in the United States, positions Slate to capture a portion of the lower end of the new car market, where options, especially for electric vehicles, are limited. Among its closest competitors, the Chevrolet Bolt starts at around $29,000, and the Nissan Leaf begins at about $32,000. Ford has hinted at a $30,000 electric truck expected in 2027.
The price announcement comes over a year after Slate Auto emerged from stealth mode. Since then, the company has been detailing its versatile electric vehicle, which initially functions as a two-seater pickup truck but can be converted into a five-seater SUV. The SUV version will start at $29,950, according to the company.
Slate has indicated that this conversion can be performed by professionals or by the vehicle owners themselves. On Wednesday, it unveiled some of its first “Slate University” how-to videos, instructing users on processes ranging from the SUV conversion to adding headlight covers.
The truck itself is minimalistic but customizable. It features hand-crank windows, lacks an infotainment system, and all orders use the same gray composite material, with no available paint options. Instead, Slate plans to offer customizable wraps for the vehicle. This likely reduces costs significantly, as factory paint shops can be extremely expensive.
The company has not provided further details about the buying process. However, Slate has stated that it will not use traditional dealerships and intends to sell directly to consumers, similar to other EV companies like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid Motors.
Earlier this month, JS reported that Slate Auto has granted Carvana, the online used car giant, a warrant to purchase its shares, hinting at a potential collaboration to sell the affordable truck. Carvana recently announced plans to sell new cars, marking a shift in its business model. Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, and a prominent investor in Slate, is also a significant shareholder in Carvana.
Slate has long intended to price the vehicle in the mid-$20,000 range, as first reported by JS last year. The company’s ambition is to create a vehicle akin to Ford’s Model T or Volkswagen’s Beetle, maintaining a starting price around $25,000.
However, the journey toward these goals has been complicated by the second Trump administration and Republican control of Congress. Changes in policy have relaxed emissions standards and eliminated a $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Consequently, many major automakers have postponed or canceled plans for new EVs in the U.S.
The startup has secured substantial investment while pursuing its ambitious objectives. To date, approximately $1.4 billion has been invested in Slate across three major funding rounds. The company has been discreet about its backers, but it is known that along with Walter’s firm TWG Global, the investor list includes General Catalyst, Jeff Bezos’ family office, VC firm Slauson & Co., and Diego Piacentini, as JS first reported last year.
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