New American EV Company Is Taking on Elon Musk With a $20,000 Truck

A caller electrical conveyance startup called Slate Auto unveiled its archetypal conveyance astatine a splashy lawsuit connected Thursday, and the institution is coming retired of the gates with a pickup motortruck that is everything Tesla’s Cybertruck is not. The Slate Truck, arsenic it is called, promises to beryllium a tiny electrical pickup motortruck with 150 miles of scope connected a azygous complaint and a assortment of customization options. But the astir notable item is the car’s price, starting astatine conscionable $20,000 with national taxation incentives.

If the Cybertruck is the astir eye-catching yet polarizing motortruck connected the market, the Slate Truck is everything but. The small, two-door conveyance features a accepted pickup plan with nary frills oregon fancy features similar an infotainment strategy oregon autonomous driving.

The Slate Truck is small, with model cranks and nary built-in infotainment system. Credit: Slate

In fact, the Slate Truck has does not person an infotainment strategy astatine all—drivers link their telephone implicit Bluetooth for entertainment—and uses crank windows arsenic good arsenic alloy wheels and HVAC knobs. Some of those volition beryllium bully to drivers who loathe the modulation distant from carnal knobs and buttons successful cars, and are good relying connected Bluetooth to play euphony alternatively than forgoing immoderate privateness to usage a analyzable infotainment system.

The stand-out diagnostic of the conveyance is suggested successful the “Slate” itself: the Slate Truck tin beryllium customizable to each buyer’s needs. Every conveyance comes disconnected the enactment the same, and flat-pack kits volition let owners to rapidly person the two-seat pickup motortruck into a five-seat SUV successful lawsuit they bash not request the bed. Buyers are expected to retrofit the car themselves oregon done yet-to-be-announced nationwide partners who volition enactment work and installation. The Slate Truck is thing akin to the Framework laptop but for cars, oregon possibly a Pebble, with its simplistic plan appealing to customers who conscionable privation the basics.

Slate has reportedly raised implicit $100 cardinal from investors, including Jeff Bezos, who antecedently plowed billions into different electrical motortruck maker, Rivian, portion inactive astatine the helm of Amazon. Being backed by Bezos whitethorn beryllium a turn-off to immoderate who person soured connected his governmental ideology, but ultimately, car buyers often attraction astir worth the most, and it mightiness not matter. And car manufacturing profitability requires standard and years of upfront losses, truthful large backers are indispensable for a institution similar Slate to survive.

Detractors of the Cybertruck accidental CEO Elon Musk ne'er followed done with his promises for the vehicle, namely connected price—the archetypal starting terms of $39,000 ne'er came to fruition, and the conveyance alternatively starts astatine $62,000 for a pared-down version. Even astatine that price, the conveyance does not entreaty to galore buyers who simply privation a regular enactment conveyance for hauling dirt. Tesla sold just implicit 6,000 Cybertrucks successful the archetypal 3 months of the year, a steep driblet from the 12,000 units it sold astatine the extremity of 2024.

The popularity of the Ford Maverick and cult pursuing of Japan’s Kei trucks suggests determination could beryllium request for a small, affordable, lightweight pickup. That being said, Americans are addicted to ample vehicles, which is wherefore astir automakers successful the state person mostly abandoned tiny sedans successful caller years for compact SUVs. The Ford F-150 is the astir fashionable motortruck successful America, too. Other electrical enactment vehicles similar the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Ford E-Transit Cargo, which starts astatine $51,000 with a scope comparable to the Slate Truck, are inactive rather costly for what they offer.

The Slate Truck relies connected a idiosyncratic connecting their smartphone implicit Bluetooth for infotainment. Credit: Slate Auto

To springiness Tesla a tiny magnitude of credit, the Slate Truck is 2 years from rolling disconnected mill lines, and whether the institution tin fulfill its committedness of a $20,000 terms tag volition stay a large question. For one, that terms includes national taxation incentives for EVs that could beryllium eliminated by the existent administration. And the astir costly constituent of an EV is the battery, often making up astir 40% of the car’s price. The artillery successful a Tesla Model Y, for instance, is estimated to outgo between $10,000-$11,000. With China restricting entree to uncommon world metals recovered successful galore batteries, U.S. automakers whitethorn request to find alternate sources oregon plan batteries with caller materials. The Slate’s debased terms besides raises questions astir whether that artillery volition see heating and cooling indispensable to forestall it from overheating.

Another interest is that with Rivian and others readying much affordable EVs successful the adjacent 2 years, volition the Slate Truck beryllium competitory astatine launch?

The Slate Truck successful SUV form. Credit: Slate Auto

Still, for galore people, the Slate Truck represents precisely what they person asked for successful an electrical workaday car. Truck designs person evolved implicit galore years to scope their existent state. Why not instrumentality a plan that already works and modernize it for the EV age? That is what galore radical wanted retired of the Cybertruck, and a tendency that Slate appears to beryllium capturing. Its horsepower lone allows for O to 60mph successful 8 seconds, and a apical velocity of 90mph, but the Slate Truck is intelligibly targeted arsenic a regular operator oregon fleet conveyance for applicable use, wherever nightly charging is to beryllium expected.

We volition soon beryllium capable to spot whether those clamoring for a inexpensive EV with nary bells oregon whistles are consenting to enactment their wealth wherever their rima is.

ok this happening is beauteous awesome pic.twitter.com/U4moQqAiaI

— gaut (@0xgaut) April 25, 2025