Slate Auto is ready to take your money. The startup’s stripped-down Slate truck opens pre-orders on June 24, and that same day it finally reveals a price. Until then, the exact cost stays a mystery.
The deposit structure splits two ways. New buyers can place a $300 non-refundable pre-order on June 24. Existing reservation holders, who already paid a $50 refundable fee, instead lock in with a $250 non-refundable deposit and pick a delivery window within 30 days.
What the Slate truck actually is
This is radical simplicity on wheels. The base “Blank Slate” ships with heat and AC and little else — even crank windows instead of power ones. From there, buyers add what they want. Slate offers 100-plus accessories, from power windows to roof racks to a stereo.
There is even a roughly $5,000 kit that converts the pickup into an SUV. So the pitch is one cheap platform you personalize over time, rather than a loaded truck you overpay for up front.
Price is the open question. Slate first floated a sub-$20,000 sticker with the federal EV tax credit. But that credit is gone now, so the starting figure likely lands in the mid-$20,000s. We will know for sure on June 24.
The timing is tricky, too. Slate now has to name a price the same week buyers commit real money. Reveal a number people love, and those 160,000 reservations could convert into firm orders fast. Miss the mark, though, and the early buzz could fade just as quickly. So June 24 is a genuine test of whether cheap-and-simple still sells.
Interest is already huge. More than 160,000 people have reserved at the $50 level, and Jeff Bezos counts among the backers. If the final price stays low, the Slate truck could shake up the budget EV space far more than a six-figure rival like the AMG GT EV. See the latest on Slate’s official site.
