By Jeff Glucker
The idea of a brand new, affordable car seems impossible these days. It seems even less likely to be affordable if they make it electric. However, there’s a new automaker that aims to do just that, and the product is certainly intriguing. This is Slate. Their new product is called the Truck, and it’s a customizable electric pickup that aims to arrive with a starting price under $20,000 once you factor in incentives.
All of that sounds pretty impossible. But Slate has created something that is both simple and potentially highly customizable. The base vehicle is a two-seat pickup truck riding on 17″ steel wheels. Power is delivered to the rear wheels via a single electric motor, which delivers 201 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. The standard battery is a 52.7-kWh unit, and the total driving range is estimated at 150 miles. Keeping this extra simple, you’ll notice the windows are hand-crank operated and there’s no infotainment screen. You can use your device for tunes and directions, and your arm muscles to let in a breeze.
That all sounds very simple. The customizable side comes into play with how you can change up this Truck. First, you can order a flat-packed accessories kit that transforms it into a five-passenger SUV. You put on the body parts, add a rollbar, extra airbags, and the rear seat. Slate will ship you this kit and let you install it yourself, or you can get a pro to install it all. Slate plans to offer vehicle wraps, which again you can install or hire someone to do it.
On the powertrain side, there’s an optional larger battery pack to boost driving range. It’s an 84.3-kWh unit, pushing range up to 240 miles. The Truck wears a NACS charger, which means you have lots of options concerning charging stations. It only charges at speeds up to 120 kW, but having all of those options helps cut down on potential range anxiety.
The real party trick here, though, relates to that starting price. Slate will use a factory in the U.S., which means the Truck should qualify for any available incentives, assuming these are still a thing. The projected sub-$20,000 starting price (factoring in the incentives) is pretty compelling, especially if you could use this as your daily commuter or around-town machine.
I’d love the pickup to use as an MTB shuttle and grocery getter. Toss a pair of bikes in the bike and head to my local trails, or run errands and other daily tasks.
Slate says the curb weight sits at 3,602 lbs. The Truck can haul 1,433 lbs or tow up to 1,000 pounds, and it tops out at 90 mph. Which, honestly, is plenty in a vehicle like this. You’ve got a MacPherson setup up front, while the rear actually gets a De Dion setup with coil springs. That’s just fun to say… that you have a vehicle with a “Duuuuh Djon”.
The production timeline, final costs, and where you’ll get these serviced are all important questions to answer—there are plenty more questions, in fact. Jeff Bezos backs this, so I assume the many bits of real estate owned by Amazon will factor into the vehicle distribution plans. But the initial specs, styling, and price have me intrigued.
Now, if I can get one with a rear locker, some knobby tires, and that bigger battery for a still reasonable price, that would make for a fun little daily driver.
Kamil Kaluski
The Slate definitely has my attention. A new electric vehicle, capable and adaptable for all types of use, with a warranty, for not much more money than asking price for a lot of used gassers that I’ve seen lately, some with 100K or more on the clock. And, at least on paper, its minimalism, relative mechanical simplicity and the lack of a complex hybrid drivetrain appeal to me, especially in terms of longevity and future maintenance and repair costs. Crank windows warm my cranky heart.
I’ve been nursing along a pair of ancient vehicles for quite a while now, both of which I love, but my luck can’t hold out forever using them as daily drivers, and I’m actively trying to figure out what’s next. What I’ve seen used has been pretty discouraging, especially in terms of value compared to what I already have. Something like the Slate at $20K starts to make sense, and really checks a lot of boxes for me.
Can you see a removable camper back, big enough to sleep in comfortably? I can. Aussie-style field kitchen trailer out back, and Bob’s your uncle. Drive it back home, convert it back to being a runabout. Cool.
If it had a 4-cyl ICE, I’d be dead-center of the target demographic for this. Given that it’s an EV, I’m not the slightest bit interested.
takes me back to the earliest, pre-Tesla EVs, which were mostly barebones garbage to keep the prices down. the aesthetics of a Toyota Echo knockoff with a 50-mile range didn’t work very well, but an EV drivetrain sounds like a perfect match here.
the add-on features also sound like a great concept. maybe not the best marketing comparison, but a friend described the Slate as the Spirit Airlines of cars. fundamentally you are offered the absolute cheapest flight there is. you can pay for the exact flight you want with the add-ons, which really makes you evaluate every decision.
sure, once you add the power windows and the king cab and the locking diff and blah blah blah you’re paying just as much as you would have for a Maverick. but *you got to choose* and i think that’s great. i’m sick of having heated seats bundled with the 99999-inch screen and self-pleasuring seat massager sensor package. in the age of hyper-optimized production lines, this is as close as we’re gonna get to ordering your 68 Mustang at the dealer, with the exact options you want.