As gearheads, I think we all appreciate the concept of looking under the hood. One of our readers does, too, except he likes looking under the hood of websites. Websites for, say, small EV pickup trucks that everyone desperately wants to know the price of . Yes, I’m talking about Slate, and yes, if you look under the hood of the company’s website, it appears that the price of the entry-level truck has been leaked.
I’m not entirely sure if “leaked” is the right word here; it’s in the source code to the web page on Slate Auto’s site titled How To Preorder, and the pricing information in the source code was spotted by a pleasingly nosy Autopian named Dave.
It’s clear that, based on the 236 comments on our article ‘How Cheap Does The Slate Truck Have To Be To Be Competitive?“ the world has opinions on what the “budget” EV truck should cost given its lack of options and two-door configuration, and up until now Slate has kept that a secret, with an event announcing price coming up next week. The secret appears broken thanks to the strange decision of a web developer who included this comment in the page’s code (emphasis mine):
“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\”:
This is all in the metadata, so it would not normally be seen by a casual web browser, which makes me wonder if this is considered a “leak” or not. I think it’s more just a very questionable decision by the coder to include it, or, possibly, a deliberate plant by Slate themselves to drum up excitement? I mean, who is that “reminder” for, exactly?
If so, it did work, as I am excited. Both from the lurid thrill of potentially finding something that should have been hidden, and the price itself, which is pretty damn good. Is it enough to be a viable competitor with Ford’s upcoming $30,000 EV pickup? Maybe?
Further evidence that $24,950 seems to be the actual price is that there was yet another apparent web-related mishap when a now-deleted page on Slate’s site listed the price. This page, no deleted, was sent in to us via a different tipster:
I think if Slate wasn’t planning on $24,950, they pretty much are stuck with it now. Good!
[Editor’s Note: Back before the Slate truck debuted, an anonymous source told me the truck was sitting on the side of the street in Venice, CA. The result? We were the first car website to show up-close photos of the truck prior to the reveal. This guerrilla marketing was just the beginning of Slate’s rather unique marketing strategy, and I do wonder if this “mistake” is part of their plan. It seems a bit obvious, and it aligns with their marketing team’s whole vibe. Still, why show a decoy price that seems pretty decent? –DT]
Remind Me What The Slate Truck Is, Again?
I suppose there’s those of you out there with lives so rich and full and fulfilling that you don’t fixate on the low-end electric truck market. If that’s the case, you may not be aware of what Slate is, exactly. Let’s take care of that now.
Slate is a company that operates by burning money from Jeff Bezos and converting that into an organization focused on creating a small, bare-bones, highly customizable electric pickup truck. It’s deliberately simple and basic, which is something I personally like a great deal. Some buyers, though, may find the idea of an unpainted (they offer wraps for color) single cab pickup truck with manual, crank-operated windows just a little too austere. I mean, look at this dash:
Of course, you can add in a stereo and center screen and all that, but you don’t have to. If you want a minimalistic tool of a truck, here you go.
Specs-wise, the Slate says the truck will have a rear-mounted 201 horsepower electric motor, a 52.7 kWh battery pack that combines with the vehicle’s light 3,600-pound curb weight and small overall dimensions to yield a range target of about 150 miles.
As for charging, there’s DC “Level 3” charging with speeds up to 120 kW (using the Tesla “NACS” plug), promising 20% to 80% state-of-charge in under half an hour. At-home charging is limited to 3.6kW with a regular “Level 1” plug (11 hours to charge 20-100%) or 11kW with Level 2 (under five hours from 20-100%). There is also an optional 84.3 kWh battery pack that Slate says will offer a targeted 240 miles of range, though, unlike other accessories, this is something an upfitter would have to install if a customer wanted a range upgrade.
As for dimensions and capacities, the 3,602-pound vehicle is rated to tow 1,000 pounds and to carry a payload of up to 1,433 pounds. It’ll do 0-60 mph in around 8 seconds, get up to a maximum speed of 90 mph, and carry up to 37 cubic feet of cargo in its bed (34 behind the front seats of the SUV). There’s also a frunk at the nose that holds 7 cubic feet.
It seems like a pretty useful vehicle, and there are plans to be able to outfit the basic truck design to become a two-door SUV with a roof cap and bulkhead delete. Will people be interested in a single-cab truck still? Will it find success as a fleet vehicle? Is 150 miles of range enough for most people? Will the official number be more? I guess we’ll find out.
Is It Cheap Enough?
Last week The Autopian published the world’s first spy photos of Ford’s $30,000 EV pickup, and this got everyone wondering: What about Slate, the Jeff Bezos-funded EV startup that hopes to revolutionize the EV world with a back-to-basics truck with crank windows and an optional radio? The Ford is expected to be well-equipped with things like power windows, an infotainment system, and — crucially — four doors. If the Ford is $30 grand, then how deep into the “mid $20s” price that Slate promised does the two-door startup truck need to be?
Does it even matter? Is the Slate actually competing with the Ford given that one is a two-door and one is a four-door? Or are they both vying for a different customer base? How much volume is Slate gunning for? It seems it’s set up to crank out 150,000 vehicles a year, but is that even possible with any two-door vehicle these days, much less one that is just $5 grand cheaper than a four-door that may have more range?
The truth is, we won’t know until we learn more about both the production Slate and Ford’s Universal EV truck. All I know is that we’ve got two automakers playing ball in the economical EV space, and, no matter how you slice that, that’s worth celebrating.
We’ve reached out to Slate PR but haven’t received a comment yet.
The small frunk does solve a few storage problems with a two door regular cab.
Will it fit a baby seat? 🙂
25k does not include doc fees or destination. Wonder what Slate will charge for those.
Also, I wonder if in a year or so if SLATE will pull a Tesla and drop the price by a couple of grand. With no dealers they set the price, and if the slate flops ( I think very likely at this price point), then will they drop the base price to $22k and piss off all those faithful early adopters?
If I was shopping for the ford EV I’d just order exactly what I wanted from Grainger Ford in IA for 3% below MSRP and wait patiently for it to arrive.
or do they pull a maverick and jack up the price?
So…the price of a compact from a legacy automaker at a fraction of the build quality?
Umm, two weird things stick out to me in this article:
I wondered the same. Efficiency was a low priority in the design. Cheap came first ( hence no heat pump either).
The lack of heat pump is a bummer, but I can kind of understand it due to cost. It would be nice if it was an option, or do like Hyundai and make it standard only with AWD vehicles.
However that level of efficiency on such a small vehicle is embarrassing, imho.
Yeah as for point #1 they’re definitely not. I get 3.8kW from my 240 volt 16 amp Turbocord.
Yeah, maybe it’s one of those combined L1/L2 EVSEs that can work with a NEMA 14-30 outlet, although if that was the case the max output should be around 5.7 kW, not 3.6.
My guess is that if you are in a country with 240 mains voltage, you would be able to get 3.6kw over a single hot wire.
This is going to be a smash hit at that price. That’s assuming there aren’t a ton of hidden costs or other bullshit games.
The Ford Maverick’s original MSRP was $19k but you couldn’t really find one for that cheap. Ford, and it’s dealers, quickly bumped that starting MSRP every year. In its first full year, Ford sold 75,000 Mavericks, but they could have sold a lot more. Now they are selling 2x as many.
This is going to be many people’s first EV.
Two errors:
1) Pretty sure AC is standard (though unfortunately not a heat pump)
2) The extended range battery is the only accessory installed at the factory. There is no option to have an upfitter install one after the fact at this time.
Price is what I expected. These things were going to be a smoking hot deal at $18,000 with the EV rebate.
the A/C thing was a mistake, I fixed that, so thank you. The battery upfitter thing we were told by Slate reps at the event, so we’ll leave that for the moment. Unless you work for Slate and I can change that right now?
Just a lurker on the SlateForums so if you heard it from them then roll with it! The impression I’ve always had is you need to commit to the big battery at time of order so interesting there is an upgrade path.
Interesting. Up to now the public word from slate was you had to order it with the larger battery and it could not be upgraded later.
Oooooo that’s… right on the fence.
I know people want this to be 20k, but that was never really going to happen. I was hoping it was going to land more in the 23k range though; that would still make it roughly the cheapest new car on sale.
Again, I remind everyone that we’re comparing this to a Ford that hasn’t even been seen without camouflage, by a company who’s known for the bait and switch when it comes to pricing.
$25k is a good price for what it is. The problem will be whatever they end up charging 2 years from now, once they’re sick of losing money on every Blank Slate, and whatever it takes to get the eventual AWD package
Yeah we’re about to find out how serious all the people online begging for manufacturers to build more short cab/short bed trucks are. I would want the big battery and need the back seats/suv conversion. So probably $35k minimum, and at that point it’s a much more questionable deal.
I can live without the big battery, but will need the SUV conversion.
I don’t know. If they can really release this thing for 35k with better range, the cap and a back seat? Is there anything else on the market that versatile and interesting for 35k?
It’s not a bad deal or anything, but not a great one either, and makes it a lot harder to take the risk on a start up, vs a Bolt or whatever Ford is cooking up. Or heck, a Prius.
I mean, if this was yet another EV crossover blob a la Bolt, Leaf, id4, I’d agree. But this design, the usability and cool factor are leagues different than basic electric hatchback.
I agree there’s headwinds, but their best bet is to offer something none of these other companies offer. Sure wouldn’t hurt if it was cheaper though.
Yeah I’m not writing it off, and I’d love to see them succeed, just saying it’s gonna be right on the edge of possibility. But if they make it through the first year or two without any catastrophes I’ll be seriously considering replacing the Element with one.
$25k is a good price. Doesn’t seem like a big dollar difference to the Ford, but the Ford is 20% more expensive.
I would be surprised if you can get a Slate wearing an actual color and a top for the price of the Ford.
If they’re not going to flex on pricing, they had better be ready with great finance rates.
You hit the nail on the head. Nissan and Chrysler dominate the lower dollar market not really because the cars themselves are cheap but because almost anyone can get approved.
Has there been any discussion about dealer networks? I would have a hard time buying anything if I gotta drive 4+ hours for service.
I get the impression that their intention is “we made it so simple you won’t need service”
With it being a barebones EV, it’s almost right. Not a ton to go wrong here based on reported Tesla ownership experience.
There was something mentioned at one point about Slate paying owners warranty labor to fix it themselves. IMHO, that would be great for me. I’ve never had a dealer service trip resolved in less than 4 hours. Four hours is my speediest visit, and that was for an oil change with an appointment.
If they send me the parts, there’s not much I couldn’t replace at home in that time. I would actually be much happier spending four hours in my garage than in a dealer waiting room, no mater how nice they have made them.
They partnered with RepairPal for service. So whatever local shop is in that network would theoretically handle it. Though I am sure much like electric motorcycles finding a shop that has the desire and knowledge to work on an electric vehicle will probably be hard to find.
Right on the edge. Not cheap enough I think it’ll be a slam dunk. Not expensive enough that I think it’ll be dead in the water.
I’m still a bit excited for it, just to see if it impacts the overall North American car market.
That’s $25k for the 150 mile range version too I would imagine. The bigger, 240 mile battery pack is probably at least $5k more?
If Ford offers a 4-door with 240+ mile range, for $30k, I don’t really see the path to big sales sadly. I really like Slate and what they’re doing. I’m just afraid the decision to go 2 door is going to make it a tough sell.
I doubt Ford is hitting that much range at $30k. Even with the smoother profile, it will be heavier with the extra doors, and Ford is going budget with the battery selection.
i expect it to fall somewhere under 200 miles.
The 2 door/4 door is a big differentiator, maybe it would’ve been more in Slate’s favor if they got the bed to 6 feet (vs Ford’s ~4).
But the whole sales segment is pretty small, and splitting it 2 ways is probably 1 too many for either of them long term.
My only problem with the range is winter, which will make that range 100 miles or less. I’ve had an EV for two years without range anxiety, but there is not much headroom in Slate’s range.
It would be the cheapest new EV on the market at that price. It’s $5,000 cheaper than a base Bolt.
I think for people that really buy into the basic, fixable, customizable philosophy that Slate is selling, it’s an appealing option. The ~$5k+ more expensive Ford mini truck will not have that same appeal. Whether that’s enough to carve out a profitable niche for Slate remains to be seen.
I still still think this is $5K too much. $20K is a magic number and at a price that might make people choose an EV over a cheap ICE crossover or used truck.
I also very much want it to be 20K.
And I want Anne Hathaway to return my phone calls.
I also want an ice cream cone, and a pony….
Or at least lift the restraining order.
And i also want hatsune miku to be real
My brother just another me
$20k would obviously be better, but that is about $2k less than the cheapest vehicle on sale here today. Of course, that competing vehicle does offer four doors, rear seats and a radio.
With a $25K base price, that undercuts the price of even a base non-hybrid Maverick by around $2000… and undercuts the hybrid by around $3000.
And it will be way more energy efficient than either of those.
I’m sure that $25K base price. If the extended range version is only a little more expensive than the Maverick hybrid, I could see it being decently successful honest work truck and/or 2nd vehicle for many people.
I am now officially worried for Slate. They’re (allegedly) only $5k less than Ford’s new platform, and the Ford will have (allegedly):
-More range
-4 doors
-at least 4 seats
-Power windows/locks
-Likely a full infotainment system
-A dealer network
I really like the concept of the Slate, I just think it’s going to price itself out of the market once you add more than 2 seats and a covering for them.
Unfortunately that last point means the Ford will be anywhere from $5K to $25K more than the Slate depending on how sleazy the dealer is.
That is a uniquely US issue, so I’m looking forward to them showing up on dealer lots in Canada.
I agree. But let’s give Slate some credit here, because Ford is also burdened with:
To be fair, both of those launched during the pandemic when the entire auto industry went for a ride in all directions.
Both vehicles were revealed ~1+ years into the pandemic, while both vehicles hit the market ~2 years into the pandemic.
They should not have been caught off guard about their ability to maintain pricing, given the timeline.
The pandemic didn’t seemingly impact GM’s pricing of the Hummer EV and it followed a similar timeline. (Dealers did though)
Shocker, the 100k vehicle was less affected by supply chain issues as the mass-market vehicle that was 1/5th of the price.
There’s margin that can be absorbed on the GM, that margin is MUCH smaller on the Mav, and can be eaten up by a single price change in the supply line.
Hyundai/Kia was able to maintain significantly more consistent pricing on their EVs since their launch in the pandemic. Same with GM. I don’t buy that argument.
Their EVs cost twice what the base Mav costed, and the Lightning, I believe, continued to be the lowest price in it’s class, even with the increases.
150k is probably feasible if Slate is banking on moving a lot of sales to fleets – auto parts delivery, landscaping/yard care services, pest exterminators, etc. Basically, the folks who bought a shitton of the old Rangers, and only very grudgingly replaced them with larger and more expensive vehicles after running them completely into the ground
“Is It Cheap Enough?”
No!
User name checks out…
This will be very interesting, but I think the deciding factor for many will be what the Ford truck comes with at that 30k price. It seems the Blake Slate (incredible name) has no radio or infotainment controls at all, no paint, crank windows, and not many if any other features. If the Ford is equally de-contented, I could see the Slate doing incredibly well, but if the Ford and Slate land at the same ~30k with the same equipment, I don’t see the Slate doing well. It’s hard to gamble on an upstart brand with a worse feature set and likely worse range for the same money.
I think Ford and Slate are after different types buyers. Slate is going for the “I want a basic analog vehicle” buyer and Ford is going after the “EVs need tech” crowd. We have no clue how much tech the Ford will have at the $30k price but I suspect it will have a lot more OEM features than the Slate ever will.
Do we actually know that yet? I can only assume Ford will strip a lot of content out of their truck to get it down to the 30k entry price. Sure it won’t likely be as barebones as a Slate, but I think there’s a number of people much like the Maverick that will be interested in either because of the price and a pickup bed more than the concept of a barebones vehicle. I know many enthusiasts say they want something stripped back, but they’re also allergic to depreciation and aren’t all that likely to buy them new, while the Ford being a 4-door and a better value proposition is doing to have much broader appeal. This is not to say nobody will buy Slates, but I’m not convinced they will sell enough to stay afloat if Ford can have something so close in price that will inevitably cannibalize sales.
Blankness is actually appealing to me.
I DO NOT WANT FULLTIME CONNECTIVITY TO MY VEHICLE CONTROLLED BY A THIRD PARTY.
I have the 2-wheeled version of the blank Slate, and it’s exactly what I wanted. That’s why I am here for the Slate, even though I’m sure it’s a pretty small club.
What are the chances they vibe-coded that website and the AI to blame for the slip?
Part 1, pretty high; part 2, 100%.
This was my immediate reaction.This 100% looks like prompt information being coded into the comments/metadata. Even if not fully vibe-coded, this had to be done with a agent in the development loop without good enough oversight.
100% chance, probably done by an off-shore team getting paid $5k a year, too.
Well, if the cat is out of the bag, now I gotta decide if I’m converting my reserve. If it was $23k, I’d just pull the trigger. $28k? No dice.
$25k…..hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Now I have to spend the afternoon defining the word NEED to myself.
If the price is a “no-brainer buy it” then it’s priced too cheaply… I bet the “hmmmmm” price is the pareto optimal.
A true compromise is when no leaves satisfied.
I’m right there with you. $25k is the maybe price.
I still really like it. I would genuinely want the Slate more than the Ford. I’m the opposite of an early adopter though, so the company is going to have to survive a few years for me to take the plunge anyways.