Meet Slate’s $20,000 electric...

Many individuals like the concept of switching to an

electric vehicle
(EV), however they’re much less enthusiastic

about its price
. That is the place the EV startup Slate Auto comes into play. The American automaker just lately unveiled its new Slate Truck, a customizable, bare-bones EV with a price ticket of beneath $20,000 after federal tax incentives are factored in.

You could be instantly considering, how on earth is that this truck going to value that little? Nicely, the bottom mannequin is, as its title suggests, a Clean Slate. To attain its reasonably priced value, Slate has primarily eliminated something from the EV that it would not must drive reliably.

What does that imply precisely? We’re speaking a couple of two-seat pickup truck that is available in one grey coloration, has a single electrical motor, contains no stereo or infotainment system, and options crank home windows. That is proper, bodily rolling down your automobile home windows is again. All these parts mixed allow Slate to supply one of many

most affordable EVs
within the American market, and its specs aren’t that shabby both.

The Slate Truck’s normal vary is 150 miles

The compact electrical pickup truck has a NACS connector with DC quick charging

Slate

Slate is concentrating on a price ticket of round $25,000 for its Slate Truck ($20,000 after the federal tax incentive), and for that, you obtain a surprisingly stylish-looking compact electrical pickup truck.

Trying on the numbers, the truck’s mattress is 5 ft lengthy, with a quantity of 35.1 cubic ft. From bumper to bumper, the truck measures 174.6 inches in size, boasting a wheelbase of 108.9 inches. It has a most payload of roughly 1400 lbs and a towing capability of round 1000 lbs.

Slate

The truck encompasses a single rear-mounted 150 kW motor, and its normal battery offers a projected vary of 150 miles. Slate may even provide an prolonged battery at a further value, which has a projected vary of 240 miles. What’s even higher is that the Slate Truck is supplied with an NACS connector for DC quick charging. Because of this at a Tesla Supercharger, the truck can cost from 20 to 80 p.c in “beneath half-hour.”

In contrast to many different EVs, the Slate Truck’s physique is not comprised of metal or aluminum; it is constructed from a rugged plastic materials that Slate refers to as an “injection molded polypropylene composite materials,” which is sturdy and scratch-resistant.

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Personalization is on the middle of the Slate Truck

The truck can adapt to your wants additional time, together with reworking into an SUV

Slate

What units the Slate Truck other than its opponents is its in depth customization choices. At launch, Slate goals to supply over 100 completely different equipment for the truck, permitting homeowners to customise their Slate EV to their liking. This implies you should purchase the Slate Truck in its fundamental type at first, with solely the necessities, and improve it over time.

“Most automobiles are constructed for what you want as we speak. A Slate is made for what you want now, and sooner or later. So, when life will get larger or busier, all of it nonetheless suits. It is the primary automobile of its variety designed to remodel simply from a two-seat truck to a five-seat SUV, and again. And that is simply one of many numerous methods you’ll be able to adapt your Slate to no matter you want, even when you do not know you want it but,” Slate says on their website.

For instance, the truck solely comes with a common cellphone mount with USB energy to begin, since most individuals use their telephones for navigation anyway. Nevertheless, should you want a bigger, extra subtle infotainment system, you’ll be able to choose to have a devoted pill put in within the truck.

Slate

As a PC gamer at coronary heart, it jogs my memory of slowly upgrading your PC over time to satisfy your wants. Slate’s web site lists quite a few customizations if you wish to improve the truck, together with completely different physique kinds and wrap (coloration) choices, in addition to add-ons for the inside, like dashboard and audio/tech upgrades. You possibly can discover all of the choices on Slate’s website.

Remarkably, if you wish to flip your two-seat Slate pickup truck right into a five-seat SUV, you’ll be able to. The SUV package that may finally be obtainable for buy contains further seats, a roll cage, airbags, and extra to remodel the truck into an SUV. You possibly can select to put in them your self, or have a “Slate approved accomplice” come and do it for you.

Whereas Slate is an EV startup, it has vital backing behind it, together with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. When you’re taken with Slate’s electrical pickup truck, reservations are open now on Slate’s web site for $50 with deliveries anticipated in late 2026.

The Slate Truck is among the most intriguing EVs I’ve ever seen, and it is going to be fascinating to see how customers react to such a bare-bones EV, and the way the Slate Truck handles. It is vital to notice that Slate can also be an American automaker, with the truck designed in California and Michigan, and engineered solely in Michigan. Its precise meeting location hasn’t been shared but, however Slate says it is going to be assembled within the Midwest.

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