Electric Truck Backed by Jeff Bezos? Game Changer Coming!

It is official—Slate Auto has stepped into the electric vehicle arena with its first model simply named the Truck. Revealed during a Thursday event in Los Angeles, this compact electric pickup comes with an ambitious pitch: a starting price of $20,000 after federal tax incentives. The company, backed in part by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is promising to challenge the industry by delivering simplicity, affordability, and customization like never before.

Slate’s approach is refreshingly straightforward. The Truck comes in one trim—a two-door, two-seat layout painted in, naturally, slate gray. It is built with a minimalist mindset, inside and out. There is no touchscreen. Instead, there is a universal phone or tablet mount for your personal device, with the option of built-in speakers. Crank windows, simple HVAC controls, and a no-nonsense design philosophy run through the entire cabin. And yes, you can toss a Bluetooth speaker on the dash if you want.

Under the body, things remain practical. The Truck features a single rear-mounted electric motor generating 201 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Buyers have two battery options: a base 52.7 kilowatt-hour pack for 150 miles of range or an 84.3 kilowatt-hour pack that boosts the range to 240 miles. It sprints from zero to sixty in 8 seconds and tops out at 90 miles per hour. The suspension setup includes MacPherson struts in the front and a De Dion layout in the rear—yes, just like in a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. Wheels are steel, tires measure 245/65R17, and it comes standard with autonomous emergency braking and forward collision warning.

Customization is where things get creative. Slate will offer a variety of DIY or installable accessories, including wraps, custom parts, and even kits that can transform the Truck into a five-passenger sport utility vehicle. Want it to look like a fastback Range Rover? There is a cap for that.

Despite its functionality, the Truck is tiny by pickup standards. It measures 174.6 inches long—shorter than a Honda Civic Hatchback—and still manages to squeeze in a 5-foot bed plus a front trunk offering 7 cubic feet of storage. Curb weight sits at 3,602 pounds, with a payload of 1,433 pounds and a tow rating of 1,000 pounds. Not groundbreaking numbers, but respectable for its size and mission.

Slate aims to sell directly to consumers, skipping dealerships and opening local service centers instead. The road to production is going to be tough, even with deep-pocketed support. That attractive price point may face challenges as tax credits shift and production costs fluctuate. But the goal remains clear—make owning a useful, electric vehicle more affordable than ever.

If Slate can stick the landing, this might just be the simple, smart, and budget-friendly truck that urban drivers and weekend adventurers have been waiting for.