Slate Auto Unveils Refreshingly Easy And Small Two-Seat Electrical Truck Designed To Be Personalized, Beginning Beneath $27,500

After a quick however very buzzy teaser marketing campaign, Jeff Bezos–backed startup Slate Auto simply revealed its electrical pickup at an occasion in Lengthy Seashore, California. The very simple, refreshingly small truck is designed to be a clean slate for house owners to simply customise how they need — therefore the Slate title — with all kinds of greater than 100 equipment out there at launch. You will even be capable to rework the two-seat truck right into a five-seat SUV, and the rear-wheel-drive Slate may have a spread of as much as 240 miles. Slate says the truck will proudly be made within the U.S. “as a part of a dedication to re-industrializing America,” and it will price lower than $20,000 with federal incentives factored in when it begins manufacturing late subsequent 12 months.

There’s nonetheless so much we do not learn about Slate, like precisely the place the truck shall be constructed and what different companies it has partnered with. But when the corporate is ready to pull this factor off, it might actually make a distinction within the American market — not simply by way of EV adoption, however for the trade as a complete. Alright, there’s so much to cowl right here, so let’s dive in.

I will get the powertrain specs out of the way in which first. You may select from a 52.7-kWh battery pack that provides 150 miles of vary or an 84.3-kWh pack that goals to get 240 miles of vary. No matter battery dimension, the Slate has a single electrical motor placing out 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque to the rear axle, with a MacPherson strut entrance suspension and De Dion rear axle with coil springs. It will have a 0-to-60-mph time of 8 seconds and a prime pace of 90 mph. The Slate will be capable to tow 1,000 kilos, and it will have a 1,433-pound payload. There’s an NACS cost port on the driving force’s facet rear fender, with DC quick charging of as much as 120 kW that may get you from 20 to 80% in half an hour, or a full cost in 4-8 hours with the 11-kW AC charger.

Slate quotes a curb weight of three,602 kilos, which is about the identical as a Ford Maverick. It can have traction management and digital stability management, and whereas ABS is not talked about on the spec sheet I am certain it is included. Slate says it is aiming for (and at present assembly or exceeding in testing) a five-star NCAP security score, and to that finish it has automated emergency braking, ahead collision warning with pedestrian detection, and as much as 8 airbags.

At 174.6 inches lengthy the two-door Slate truck is greater than two ft shorter than a Ford Maverick and virtually 5 inches shorter than a Honda Civic Hatchback; Slate makes the comparability that it is sized carefully to a 1985 Toyota pickup. The Slate is 69.3 inches excessive, a bit taller than a Maverick, and its 5-foot mattress is half a foot longer than the Ford. That is the tiny truck y’all have been begging automakers to construct. Slate wished the design to tug at your coronary heart and be fascinating for everybody, plus have the truck be simple to drive and get out and in of. Regardless of the Slate’s diminutive dimension, it may match quite a lot of stuff. There is a drainable frunk that matches 7 cubic ft value of stuff, with the hood extending to a part of the nostril to present you a greater opening, and the mattress has 35.1 cubic ft of quantity, with a width between the wheel wells of 42.9 inches and a max width of 54.9 inches.

Whereas I want the truck had much more character and aptitude to its design —think about if the French had designed one thing with the Slate’s dimension and different parameters — there’s sufficient element in its easy styling to make it attention-grabbing, just like the flared fenders and chamfered surfaces. The spherical headlights and plastic bumper give it a cute face, and I like how squared-off and upright it’s. A rear window that flips open is a pleasant contact. The shoulders are robust, the overhangs are quick. It is only a great-looking ‘lil truck. And the chances for personalisation assist add a few of that character I am wanting.

If you’d like your Slate to return in something however plain grey, you may must do it your self. The corporate says it is the primary new car that’s designed to be wrapped — vinyl wrap kits already minimize shall be out there from the manufacturing unit, and the truck’s cutlines make it simple to use the wrap with out taking off physique panels. Slate will even wrap it for you, and it will take mere hours. There shall be partial wraps too, from doing simply the roof or rear finish to chill two-tones that appear to be vans from the Seventies. Slate has all kinds of decal and stripe units, too, and it says the wrap kits will begin at round $500.

The equipment prolong to physique elements and different elements as properly, with greater than 100 Slate Connect factors all through the automobile. There’s gear racks, a spare tire service, beefier bumpers, fender flares, upgraded headlights and taillights, completely different grille designs, working boards, and all kinds of different stuff. Slate will even supply a 2.0-inch carry package and a 1.0-inch decreasing package, and some completely different 17-inch (normal) or 20-inch wheels with both street or all-terrain tires — plus decals to make the wheels look even cooler. If it is all an excessive amount of so that you can determine on by your self, Slate already has over two dozen “Starter Packs” to select from that bundle collectively all kinds of equipment, just like the one pictured above. You can purchase equipment individually or in bundles, and both at time of buy or later.

Although the Slate leaves the manufacturing unit in a singular physique fashion, it would not have to remain that approach. Slate will supply a flat-pack accent package that turns the truck right into a five-seat SUV, full with a roll cage, extra airbags and a bench seat. (No phrase on if the seats could be added to the truck mattress Subaru BRAT–fashion.) There are two completely different SUV rear ends to select from, a conventional squared-off tailgate or a slanted fastback one. You may also select to drive the Slate with out doorways on irrespective of which physique fashion is on.

Now, Slate would not say how simply this may be carried out, however given the truck’s design I doubt it’s going to be that dangerous. The corporate does say there is not any mechanics certification required. For each the SUV transformation and all the opposite equipment, there shall be a Slate U platform (I am assuming an app) with step-by-step video tutorials to indicate you the right way to put every part collectively. With electrical automobiles requiring a lot much less upkeep than inner combustion automobiles, the Slate will allow you to get your wrenching repair in.

The inside is the place I feel the Slate will get a bit too easy. Do not get me improper, the oblong design is nice, with a flat dashboard that opens into an enormous glovebox and an general look harking back to the actually cool stuff IKEA made again in the midst of final century, simply with so much much less coloration. The door panels have cool cloth armrests, and the air vents, steering wheel, local weather controls and column stalks have an excellent ’80s vibe. You can purchase all kinds of inside equipment too, like decal kits, completely different metallic or wooden accents, and different colours for the inside panels and seat covers. There are additionally issues referred to as Slatelets, cute little badges that clip onto the air vent that runs throughout the sprint. 

As you may discover, there is a small show in entrance of the driving force, however no infotainment display screen in any respect. Slate is as an alternative making you get a cellphone or pill mount and utilizing your most popular tech. Downside is, you may’t simply get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto as an app in your cellphone, so both you are simply driving with maps up the entire time, otherwise you’re swiping by way of your precise cellphone to alter the track or reply to a textual content. There shall be a Slate app that works as an infotainment system and is how the automobile will get over-the-air updates, however once more, you’ve got gotta work together along with your cellphone on the sprint.

It additionally would not include audio system as normal, providing them as equipment or providing you with a mount to your personal Bluetooth speaker. A set of Bluetooth controls for the steering wheel and an additional row of auxiliary buttons are discovered within the accent catalog, as are a middle console with an armrest, door pockets, energy home windows — it is obtained cranks as normal.

Already constructing and testing prototypes, and a manufacturing unit in Indiana is tooling up now in anticipation of vans reaching the primary clients in This autumn of 2026. The vans shall be purchased on-line in a direct-to-consumer mannequin, however the firm may have a nationwide lineup of service facilities and locations that may assist with all of the equipment. Precise value hasn’t been introduced but, however Slate says it is going to begin at underneath $20,000 with incentives included, which suggests it’s going to carry an MSRP of lower than $27,500. I’ve a sense there shall be quite a lot of sticker shock when equipment get piled on, particularly if you’ll want so as to add so much to get the Slate feeling prefer it’s a automobile from 2026 with options aggressive to a Nissan Versa.

The Slate is accessible to order proper now for $50; the corporate says the sooner you reserve one the sooner you may get one, and the deposit is “refundable in case you rooster out.” Slate’s web site is fairly wonderful, and there is already a incredible configurator that may allow you to undergo each single accent that’ll be on supply at launch. I can not consider a greater solution to waste your Friday.