Orders Open for Slate Truck, a $25,000 Electric Pickup

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The electric vehicle startup Slate Auto has begun taking orders from U.S. consumers for its 2027 Slate Truck, a subcompact single-cab pickup with a starting price of $25,000.

At a time when the average price of a car in the United States exceeds $50,000, the launch of the configurator generated significant interest among enthusiasts and the general public

The Troy, Michigan-based company had promised a starting price of $20,000 when it unveiled the first prototypes a little over a year ago.

However, the elimination of U.S. tax incentives for electric vehicle sales, coupled with design improvements, led to an adjustment in the price tag—but also in the vehicle’s features.

Thanks to its ingenious design, the pickup truck can also be converted into a five-seat SUV, with a good range for an electric model of its size and price—which starts at $30,000.

These adjustments will also give Slate an advantage that none of its competitors has achieved: ensuring that every vehicle rolling off the production line from the moment it officially begins will have a positive gross profit margin.

“No other automaker has ever done this before. So it’s ambitious. It will require a lot of work. Nothing is guaranteed in life, but you have to set ambitious goals if you want to achieve great things. That’s the big goal we’ve set for ourselves,” CEO Peter Faricy told the U.S. press.

The executive of the startup—backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the majority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Walter—estimates that the break-even point is selling 80,000 vehicles per year.

That figure is just over half of the planned total production capacity of 150,000 units at its assembly plant in Warsaw, Indiana.

The vehicle is powered by a 65-kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium iron phosphate battery that provides a range of approximately 330 kilometers (205 miles) in the pickup version.

Its only available powertrain consists of a 181-horsepower (hp) motor on the rear axle, with a payload capacity of 907 kilograms (2,000 pounds), while the SUV has a towing capacity of 827 kilograms (1,824 pounds).

It accelerates from 0 to 96.6 kilometers per hour (60 mph) in 8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 145 k/h (90 mph).

To order one of these vehicles, a non-refundable deposit of $300 is required, from which $50 is deducted—the amount early adopters paid to reserve a spot in the configurator queue.

Although these reservations are refundable and in many cases were made by speculators, Slate revealed that the number of such reservations totals more than 180,000.

The pickup’s design is so basic that speakers are optional and its windows are cranked open by hand.

It also lacks connectivity features, such as a modem or large screens; it has only a small information display for the driver that shows range, speed, and other standard indicators and warnings.

Instead of a central infotainment system, it has an adjustable bay where drivers can use their own devices, such as a smartphone or tablet, for navigation and music.

The exterior stands out for its unpainted body, with panels designed to be covered in vinyl wraps, thereby eliminating the need for a paint shop—which typically represents a significant investment for traditional automakers.

This strategy will not only lead to savings but also open the door to a wide range of accessories for customizing vehicles.

Slate promises that at launch, more than 100 standard vinyl colors will be available for less than $500, and consumers will also be able to create their own designs for an additional fee.

The company also plans to offer more than 175 initial accessories, ranging from roof racks to sound systems, about half of which will cost less than $500.