- Slate, the EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, has come out of stealth, introducing its first electric vehicle. Pricing will start at $20,000 after tax credits.
Slate Auto, the Jeff Bezos–backed electric-vehicle company, has unveiled its first vehicle, which will sell for as low as $20,000 after the U.S. tax credit (its actual price will be $27,500). That would make it, by far, the least expensive EV available to American drivers.
“The definition of what’s affordable is broken,” said Slate CEO Chris Barman in a statement. “Slate exists to put the power back in the hands of customers who have been ignored by the auto industry. Slate is a radical truck platform so customizable that it can transform from a two-seat pickup to a five-seat SUV.”
The vehicle is priced considerably less than Tesla’s Cybertruck, which starts at $82,235. It also costs less than the Ford F-150 Lightning (which starts at $62,995), the Chevy Silverado EV ($87,300), GMC’s Hummer EV ($98,845), and the Rivian R1T ($69,900).
While inexpensive, the pickup doesn’t have many features American buyers are used to being standard in vehicles, such as a stereo, paint jobs, power windows, or touchscreens. (The vehicles do have air conditioning included, though, as well as federally mandated features, such as automatic emergency braking and a backup camera (which shows on the dash).
The vehicle also has only a 150-mile range, making it more suited for errands around town than a long trip.
Features can be added to the vehicle, of course, for an extra charge, including the one that converts it into an SUV. More than 100 accessories are available, including wraps and decals, running boards, power windows, and a spare-tire carrier. Many of those are designed to be user-installed.
Reservations for the vehicles are being taken now for $50.
