Obviously, I drove the new Slate EV, which is a big deal, but Slate also announced that its $24,950 electric pickup truck will not have a range of 150 miles, but rather 205. This bump, a result of a larger battery pack (and some small improvements in overall vehicle efficiency), leads me to a question: Does this change your opinion on whether the Slate truck — a regular cab, back-to-basics pickup truck with crank windows, no radio and no paint — is going to be competitive?
Two weeks ago The Autopian published exclusive photos of a prototype Ford Universal EV truck out testing in Long Beach. The images of the small four-door pickup that Ford claims will have a range of 300 miles and cost $30,000 got everyone talking about Slate, since it’s the other company with well-publicized plans to offer an inexpensive EV truck.
All this chatter led me to write the article “How Cheap Does The Slate Truck Have To Be To Be Competitive?” With that story having 249 comments and counting, it’s clear that people have opinions about the Jeff Bezos-backed (ish) EV startup, which is why it was such a big deal when, last week, The Autopian received a tip from someone who noticed an apparent error on Slate’s website. In the source code for the Slate’s “how to pre-order” page was this:
“26102SLATE_EXPLODED-HERO_v013_1400x800.mp4\”,\”contentType\”:\”video/mp4\”}}}]}},\”headline\”:\”THE MOST AFFORDABLE NEW \\\\nPICKUP TRUCK IN AMERICA.*\”,\”body\”:\”The Slate Truck has all the essentials for the CONFIDENTIAL price of $24,950 (reminder: we’re all still under NDA and prohibited from sharing this).**\”,\”cta\”:{\”metadata\”:
After giving Slate a courtesy heads-up, we wrote “The Slate Truck Will Cost $24,950 According To An Apparent Website Mistake.” In that story, we admitted that we had no clue if that leaked price was a legitimate mistake or Slate was playing some kind of game to perhaps surprise the world with a lower price later. It turns out, the answer appears to be “neither.”
Slate invited me to its headquarters on Monday, and though the company wouldn’t admit that it had something to do with that leak, I know a smirk when I see one. And what’s more, it turns out, the leaked price was real. Here’s a very cool display Slate had on hand at the Monday media event:
So yes, the $24,950 leaked price is legit, and while many of you likely already wrote your opinions of that price in the comments of our price-leak story, there was one crucial piece we were all missing: The actual range.
When Slate announced its truck about 15 months ago, it said the vehicle would come with a standard 52.7 kWh battery that would offer 150 miles of range or an upgraded 84.3 kWh battery, which would crank range up to 240 miles. Due largely to lopsided demand for the battery upgrade (which made justifying the added complexity of a two-battery option a challenge), Slate decided to offer a single, 65 kWh (63 kWh usable) LFP battery pack. Range for that pack? 205 miles. Top charging speed? 120 kW, or 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes.
Does this new range change the calculus for you?
On one hand, Slate initially promised this truck would be under $20,000. Then the tax credit went away, highlighting the risks of marketing around a volatile, highly political incentive. Still, even without the incentive, the truck was expected to be somewhere around $27,500. Now the price sans incentive is $24,950, and instead of the range being 150 miles, it’s expected to be 205. So, in a way, Slate is over-delivering.
But is it enough? If you compare it to other cars on the market, there are some vulnerabilities. The four-door, power window and radio-equipped Chevy Bolt costs $29,000, and it has the same battery size as the Slate. With its more efficient vehicle shape, it manages a range of 259 miles.
The Hyundai Venue is a gas car, but it’s got four doors, power windows, alloy wheels and standard wireless Apple Carplay/Android Auto — all for the low price of $22,650.
If you consider that, in order to seat more than two passengers, a Slate buyer has to choose the $29,950 SUV version (the hard top costs $5,000 on top of the base Slate truck), the financial cases become challenging to make. The Slate SUV costs about a grand more than the Bolt and $7,000 more than that Venue, and yet it’s not as well equipped as either.
But are these fair comparisons? The slate is a completely different animal than the Bolt and Hyundai Venue. Between its looks and its modularity, it’s just a much more fun proposition, and given how irrational car buying is, doesn’t that matter? Not to mention, for those who don’t need a second row or who need a 5ft truck bed, there’s no other game in town at this price point, gas or electric.
What do you think? Is the 205-mile, $24,950 Slate truck going to be competitive in the marketplace? What will be its biggest hurdles in reaching the company’s maximum production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year?
[Edit: I just learned that the $24,950 price does not include destination fees, which Slate has yet to announce. So keep that in mind. -DT].
Top graphic image: The Autopian
The lack of a 240 mile option is a negative IMHO. 250 miles has been my bare minimum to consider an EV for a while (based on the length of trips I take regularly), and 240 probably would have been close enough. Not enough to road trip, especially at 120 kW charge speeds, but enough for local trips.
That said, I have no interest in a small, single cab pickup with a tiny bed, so I’m also not the target market. I wasn’t going to buy one of these with 240 miles of range and I won’t buy one with 205. Maybe that means it was the right call?
IMHO 200 miles might be ok…but lots of ifs as others have posted. Realistically might you get 80% of that?? If Ford can do 300 miles it will eat the Slates lunch.
The fact that it was a four door pickup truck with power windows, an infotainment system/ radio and more as standard will eat the slates lunch even before the range discussion. The only advantage of the slate would be that it is more modular, but that’s also a disadvantage for most especially as how stripped down it is for the same price range
200 miles is the minimum range, IMO, for an EV sold in America. That is the range that makes it possible to road trip. Not ideal, but possible, and while you don’t road trip every day, you do need to be able to do it if necessary.
For me, this truck would 95% for local errand-running. We have a 2024 Trax LS that we bought primarily for road trips. Between the two vehicles, we’re covered. The truck for truck stuff, and the Trax for road trips. And the cost of both vehicles combined would still be around or even less than what people spend on a single vehicle.
Unless you get the Slate as vehicle #2
“What do you think? Is the 205-mile, $24,950 Slate truck going to be competitive in the marketplace? What will be its biggest hurdles in reaching the company’s maximum production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year?”
I asked Google about state-specific EV incentives and it spit out the following:
“Yes, multiple states still offer electric vehicle (EV) purchase incentives, tax credits, or rebates. While the federal EV purchase tax credits are no longer available for most new purchases, several states have implemented their own programs. [1, 2, 3]
Examples of states that continue to offer EV purchase incentives include:
So in certain states, you’re going to be able to get one of these for even less than $25K.
Honestly the base range going up to 200 miles puts it back in contention to me. Honestly the lack of extra junk is a selling point to me not a detractor.
It’s all in the “ifs”..
I just configured a simple color SUV prepped for audio and it’s over $30k.
For ~$35K I get an Uncharted with all mod cons, colors and almost 100 miles more range. For under $35K a myriad of used options.
Yep. The one I built was $32k. At that price, if I want a BEV, I will go get a Bolt. I already had to get the SUV body add-on since I can’t legally throw my kids into the truck bed.
I can’t legally throw my kids into the truck bed.
Yet….
True!
There is a market for these. Like many have said, these will make great fleet vehicles. If the EV tax credit was still around, these would fly off the shelf.
I think what they’re doing is pretty exciting, but I’m concerned they’re making a product that might meet the needs of the very few people who might want a small truck as a second or third vehicle, who would want to, and can afford to buy such a product new, and are mostly interested in a truck for running around town.
How big is that market, and how many of them will pick this over something similar that can haul kids and do road trips?
Then does this turn into “we offered a cheap EV and no one wanted on, so no one wants cheap EVs.” kinda like the no one wants wagons, because we made a crap wagon and no one bought it.
But for example that is true of hatchbacks. There were good ones, but still nobody bought them.
I did. Still driving my 2015 Impreza and I’m not seeing a lot of EV hatchback options in the US to buy new. I’d buy an Inster, EV4 hatch, or Renault 5 if we had them.
the range makes this a legit contender for “cheap single person long distance commuter”
don’t count that group out
very curious as to how many people would want one
That may be the case but is a pickup really the right body style for that buyer? They’re going to be facing steep competition from Ford for that segment.
Agreed
Creeping closer to consideration – I said on one of the other posts that if they could get the 240-mile battery in at the $25k price point I might be able to overlook the other shortcomings, this ain’t that but it’s at least enough to get me through a long day or 2-3 short ones. If California or my local utility can bring any kind of new EV credits to the table (right now they seem to only apply to used vehicles) I might be in.
That said, I’m the rare user that sees the lack of fancy crap that’ll inevitably break when I beat on a truck as if it’s a truck as a feature rather than a bug. Most people who are primarily buying a transportation appliance are going to want those bells and whistles and probably won’t pay a similar price for a stripped down model if something better is available…
I want Slate to succeed, but having just bought my first EV, a lightly used one, a few weeks ago, the Slate is a bit of a challenge for me. New-for-new, the Slate has merit. However, with all the used EVs coming off of lease, it is in for a lot of competition at that price. For example, for $30k I bought an EV with more range, AWD, 0-60mph in a little over 3-seconds, five seats, a hatchback, real paint, and an actual dealer network. New it was $65k, but at $30k I can’t see choosing the Slate over it, especially without back doors (my kids complain about my Jeep TJ enough as it is).
All that said, in a few years when the Slate support network is flushed out, perhaps it makes more sense. I can say that I do admire the simplicity of it in a way that my EV6 absolutely cannot match.
What did you get? Not a lot of hatchback EVs if you’re stateside.
Kia EV6.
I want one of those! Have they fixed the ICCU issue?
Supposedly, though time will tell. Mine got a new one along with a new 12V battery right before I bought it. Luckily, the car only had 12k miles on it, so it is still under the (abbreviated, since I’m not the first owner) factory warranty.
Do I need a Slate? No. I own a Ranger paid off with a longer bed. Do I make car purchases based on logic? No, I own a Honda Insight but also a Mercury Grand Marquis, and a Blazer EV, and others like a Miata. My car mix is like different toppings on ice cream that doesnt make sense.
Do I want a Slate? Hell yeah. Its the equivalent of the Kei truck made in the US.
yes – if they establish themselves as a “cool” and desirable brand none of this analysis by the commentariat matters – like a motorcycle, except anyone can drive it, etc…
The 1 and only problem with the Slate for normal people is the price. Crank windows, resistive heat, 205 mile range, all non-issues. At 25k there are too many other transportation options. 15-18k, people are going to wait in line to buy it and they wont be able to make enough of them.
You need to specifically want a small pickup (30k if you pick SUV) with 2 doors, no features and require something NEW. A vaguely used Bolt EUV is what 20-25k? It’ll do Home Depot trips for a normal person and it’ll have tons of creature comforts.
Exactly. I’d have to get the SUV body right off the bat since I have 2 kids, so why wouldn’t I just save money and go get a used Bolt?
In my area I see a ton of old Rangers and S10s and Frontiers and Tacos running around, something like this for the EV curious drivers of those I think really hits the spot. 200 miles of all usable range with the LFP, nacs connector for dc fast charging so they can charge at superchargers and most other dc fast chargers so range anxiety really shouldn’t be an issue.
I think they’ve got a shot, it’s hard to believe at $25k it will be the cheapest new EV on the market, if regular consumers don’t get enough fleets sure will, and then in the used market they’ll be an even better deal and still fully costumizable.
Here’s another point I don’t see discussed much…
I read in some posts that the SLATE’s low mileage may be okay as long as your SLATE is your 2nd or 3rd car, or a great 1st car for a single or 2-person family on a budget.
Maybe, but I think there’s only a very very small subset of buyers that would consider it as a 2nd or 3rd car and can only afford it at $25K.
EVs aren’t a 2nd or 3rd choice. They’re a 1st choice:
Once you get any EV, IMHO you’ll find it very quickly becomes your 1st choice for any drive within the round-trip range. Once you charge up (at home) and have the gas guzzler vs the EV, the EV will win. Every time. If your EV is your first choice to drive every time, you’ll probably want something more than a penalty box like a base model SLATE. We went from a perfectly fine 23 Bolt EUV premier to a much nicer, much faster, ’24 AWD Ioniq 6 Limited for that exact reason. We wanted a step up in our daily driver. Nothing wrong with the Bolt; just wanted more.Corollary: You’ll ‘get it’ the first time you drive your new EV past your favorite gas station.. That’s when you get your epiphany and realize EVs are the first choice for a daily.
If it’s your first choice, you probably want something nicer (Ford trucklet?) if you can afford it:
If you’re single, or a young couple just starting up, you may not own a home.If you don’t own a home, you probably don’t have a low cost option for daily charging ANY EV at those sweet low residential utility rates.If you can’t charge a home, apartment, or condo every night, and you can only have ONE car, I’d suggest a Hybrid would be a better choice. The EV proposition looses a lot of luster if you have to deal with expensive, inconvenient level-3 public charging for your daily needs. Not saying it’s impossible, but it’s not preferred.So IF you own a home or have a condo/apt or a job you plan on keeping where you can charge every day, an EV can be a great choice, but if it’s your only car, you probably don’t want it to be stripped down like a SLATE.
If you can afford 2 or 3 cars, you might consider a SLATE, but you probably have enough of a budget to afford something nicer than a SLATE if you’re lucky enough to have a fleet.
So the low price for the blank SLATE is appealing, but like all EVs, works best if you have a level-2 charger in your home garage. If you’re a homeowner with that garage, you can probably figure out a way to afford something nicer for a little more $.
I think the Venn diagram showing to overlap between single/couples looking for a budget EV and homeowners with a level-2 charging option also looking for a penalty box EV isn’t that big.
We’re renters, but have had access to a Level 1 or 2 plug for the last 3 years, but that’s certainly not the case for everyone. If we didn’t though, I’d probably just charge while grocery shopping and still get an EV for our next car. I’m still slumming it in my gas car, but my wife’s commuter is an Ioniq 6. I’m definitely not getting an ICE when I replace mine.
At my age and stage of life, I’m not the target market. To get an idea of what this would have meant for a younger me I have to use the WayBack Machine, i.e. CPI inflation calculator. Back in 1986 I was single and renting an apartment. My MR2 cost $11,700 (crank windows and a manual transmission). This corresponds to about $36,000 in today’s money. For someone who has a decent job and could get by with a bare-bones vehicle, it could be an option. The problem would be apartment living and no easy overnight charging. That’s my 2 cents and worth about that much.
For areas of the country that experience winter, 205 miles isn’t enough. I would have preferred it had closer to 280. It’s probably going to drop to 120 miles of range in the winter. That’s 2nd car or commuter only territory. The 27 Bolt is a lot more car for the money at $29,000. More range, more features, more seats, faster charging, and probably nearly as much cargo capacity with the rear seats down. But the State has more customization and more of a cool factor. I don’t know that I see a lot of people cross shopping a Bolt with a Slate though.
I was writing my comment when yours appeared. I have the ’27 Bolt and it works for me because I’m an old retired geezer and a local government entity gave me $10K to have my 2004 Acura TL dismantled (RIP).
120 miles of winter range would cover either of our commutes in the winter, and I would be OK with that. Dropping to / below 100 miles would cause some anxiety.
Don’t forget, the SUV option package for the Slate is 5 grand just by itself so if you need a car to carry people it costs more right out of the box.
I still think the base truck is a good deal and a great idea, but at $30k the SUV is a tough sell. But on the other hand I look at the slate SUV and I think it’s cool and interesting, while I look at the Bolt and the Venue up there and I feel kind of depressed. Car buying, as you said, is not rational.
Actually the only thing that really puts me off is that it’s RWD only. I’ve driven FWD cars all winter here in Colorado, even up in the mountains. I am a true spiral-eyed snow tire evangelist. But still, thinking about that is where it really starts to feel compromised to me. I’d pay $5000 for more power, range and AWD before I’d pay $5000 for the SUV kit.
I guess that’s always been the deal, though. As much as someone might love the idea of the cool, fun, barebones EV, as soon as you go down the list of features it’s missing and hit the one thing you can’t or won’t do without, the price is instantly too high.
Slate for Motion
(Apologies to Little Eva and Grand Funk Railroad)
Everybody’s thinking ‘bout taking a chance now
(Come on baby, choose the Slate for motion)
I know you’ll get to like it when you take it to dance now
(Come on baby choose the Slate for motion)
A little baby pickup you can mod with ease
Or keep it nice and simple just however you please
So come on, come on, choose the the Slate for motion with me
You gotta crank your windows
Come on, baby
Crank up
Crank back
Well now, I think you’ve got the knack
Whoa, whoa
Now let’s get right down to it ‘n make it rain now
(Come on, baby, choose the Slate for motion)
There’s so many options out there you could bruise your brain now
(Come on, baby, choose the Slate for motion)
Wrap it like a present ‘neath a Xmas tree
You can do it yourself or let the factory
So come on, come on, and choose the Slate for motion with me
When it comes to drivin’ yeah it’s all rock n’ roll now
(Come on baby choose the Slate for motion)
It’s the little ‘lectric pickup with a lot of soul now
(Come on baby choose the Slate for motion)
There’s never been an EV that’s so made just for you
It even makes you happy when you’re feeling blue
So come on, come on, and choose the Slate for motion with me
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You gotta crank your windows
(Come on, baby, choose the Slate for motion)
That’s right
It’s just so fine
(Come on, choose the Slate for motion)
come on, baby
(Come on, choose the Slate for motion)
Mmm, crank up
(Come on, baby, choose the Slate for motion)
Crank back
It’s looking good
(Come on, choose the Slate for motion)
Mmm, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
That range estimate is for an EMPTY truck. Load it down and watch what happens.
Cargo load doesn’t impact range much at all, trailer towing definitely does, but load up the bed with 1,000lbs of stuff an the range won’t suffer as much as you’d think. Cold weather and using the heater would actually be more of a hit.
For around town, these are great. I think these could be a great fit for larger cities, and especially for fleet vehicles. For a family? That’s a much harder sell.
EDIT: plus the fact that the SUV other configurations still only offer two doors makes this a no go for most families.
I’m very seriously considering making this a go for my family. I’ve already used a TJ Wrangler as a family car, this’ll be a breeze.
I guess it depends on ages. For me with a toddler, this would cause me more of a headache then getting something with 4 doors. That whole carseat thing is a pain. Even in my Volt it is a pain.
Toddlerdom is tough, but pretty short overall. Once the can amble around on their own things get a lot easier. My ex-wife and I did kind of fall for the trap of we need a giant SUV because we’ve got two kids, and had a CX9 for a few years, but once they were in boosters I drove them around in a Chevy Sonic for four years without issue. And yeah they are old enough now to scramble into the backseat of a two door no problem.
I’ve been keeping an eye on these for parts delivery, and yes the longer range changes the equation dramatically. Some of our vehicles go 1000 miles a week so that would have been tough on only 150 miles range, especially in the winter. Comparing the Slate to a Bolt or a Venue is a little tougher in our use case, what with bulk items being a frequent thing.
These could find a real niche in light delivery.
I really hope it succeeds – $24,950 could be the ticket if gas prices stay where they’re at. However, after my Volt experience I’m not sure that 97% of my neighbors will ever understand what a kWh is, what it costs, or how to compute that into overall savings of gas v. electric.
For me personally, I only want two options on this thing – the fastback roof (don’t even need the interior seats) and the lowering kit. Those two options and a wrap turn it into something quite appealing looks-wise for me, but then the price jumps well past $32K according to their website (no actual pricing on that lowering kit yet). At that point I feel like going the other direction and picking up a used Cadillac Lyriq. Or just getting a used Bolt and banking the other $12-15K as gas/parts/tires money for my Fleetwood.
The problem is that the truck is useless unless you’re using it for work. If anybody wants to carry more than one other person, and I assume most potential buyers do, they have to get the SUV kit. $30,000 for a four seat, two door SUV you have to put together yourself, with the aerodynamic properties of a brick won’t cut it. They have to up the battery capacity to make up for the poor aero.
Used EV’s may really be the true competition. It’s amazing some of the stuff you can get used for $15-25,000.
I would like to see Slate offer a fastback or SUV kit without the seats. I think a 2 seat SUV has a lot more utility than a 2 seat truck. A covered and lockable cargo area that isn’t a truck cap is pretty darn useful.
A fastback two-seat version is just what I want to replace my 2012 Volt, which has spent a good chunk of its time with the rear seats folded down for more hatch-storage to throw in stuff from Lowe’s and Menard’s as well as transport tools and materials between rental property projects.
As to the Slate, the range is more-than-enough, two seats is fine for this soon-to-be empty nester, the bare-bones build is something of a feature-not-a-bug, and it would at least make the short-list if I could configure it the way I actually would like for $25K. At $32K+ though… not happening.
So close. Maybe some economy of scale will bring the prices down eventually, but I’m not holding my breath.
Way too expensive for what it is, too new for fleet operators to trust it even if it would be more ideal for them than the average consumer. No established service network, spare parts availability etc. As much as the commentariat here seem to be all in favor of low tech solutions and single cab trucks they just don’t sell anymore in the volumes they used to. Modularity is cool and all but when it costs this much money and there are either already better options or soon to be better ones available then it’s looking dead on arrival with only ~180k hand raisers vs the million plus on the cybertruck and look how that turned out
I think of this vehicle as an around-town runabout or as some sort of light duty work vehicle. For that use case, assuming one has the charger where the vehicle spends the night, that range is more than adequate.
If one is looking at this as an only vehicle that needs to make frequent long trips, and/or will need to be exclusively charged at public chargers, then no.
Makes a lot of sense as a tradesman’s vehicle or fleet vehicle for, say, cable installers. But they should really make a standup-height box for that application.