- Slate Auto is a forthcoming automotive brand that’s backed by, among others, Jeff Bezos.
- With its round headlights and straight-cut body lines, Slate’s battery-powered pickup truck looks to avoid any frippery in its design.
- Slate is reportedly looking to bring the vehicle to market with a price tag of less than $25,000, and it’ll be revealed on April 24.
We know little about nascent Slate Auto, an up-and-coming automotive company that’s reportedly working on a low-priced battery-powered compact pickup for the American market and has financial backing from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. What we do know, though, is that the automaker seems quite serious about its efforts, going so far as to develop camouflage for its vehicle bearing Newsweek’s logo as part of a teaser campaign the upcoming brand is doing with the news publication. Based on various reports, as well as a picture of the truck taken by a Reddit user, Slate is, well, slated to debut an electric compact pickup truck with a starting price of less than $25,000. A single-cab option is all but confirmed thanks to the aforementioned Reddit image. We wager Slate plans to offer the truck with the ability to seat additional passengers too. Whether this comes courtesy of other cab options or first-gen Toyota 4Runner-like seats in the bed complemented by a removable roof panel remains to be seen. Likewise, we’re left to guess the truck’s powertrain options. Given the reported aggressive pricing of the electric truck, as well as its workman-like looks, we guess entry-level Slates will appeal largely to the last-mile delivery cohort by pairing a relatively small-capacity battery pack with a single electric motor to net around 100 miles of driving range. To get a footing outside of the commercial space, though, Slate will probably offer larger-capacity battery pack options that afford north of 200 miles of range on a full charge.Given the success of the compact Ford Maverick, it seems the market is hungry for a pickup truck with compact dimensions and a low starting price. Whether that hunger carries over to a single-cab battery-electric pickup is TBD.Related StoriesDespite their shared last name, Greg Fink is not related to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s infamous Rat Fink. Both Finks, however, are known for their love of cars, car culture, and—strangely—monogrammed one-piece bathing suits. Greg’s career in the media industry goes back more than a decade. His previous experience includes stints as an editor at publications such as U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Motor1.com, and MotorTrend.
Source: caranddriver.com
