With average new-car prices now exceeding $50,000 and tariffs threatening to push them higher, now would seem to be an ideal time for the return of the simple car. A particularly intriguing example is a forthcoming compact truck by Slate Auto. This new venture has focused on making what amounts to a modern Model T or Volkswagen Beetle of electric vehicles.
Slate CEO Christine Barman (2025) summed up the rationale for the U.S.-based automaker: “The definition of what’s affordable is broken,” she said in a press release. “Slate exists to put the power back in the hands of customers who have been ignored by the auto industry.” Barman intends to do that by “simplifying the manufacturing process and removing unnecessary content to reduce cost and increase reliability.”
The auto industry “has been so focused on autonomy and technology in the vehicle, it’s driven prices to a place that most Americans simply can’t afford,” Slate chief commercial officer Jeremy Snyder said during a recent press event. “But we’re here to change that” (O’Kane, 2025).
That press event received widespread coverage in the American media, with headlines often noting that Jeff Bezos is an investor.
Radical simplicity of historic proportions
Has there ever been another postwar U.S. automaker that has focused so intently on simplifying the manufacturing process? Slate Auto is eschewing standard industry practices such as offering a broad lineup of models, lots of gizmos, gargantuan size and fancy styling.
For example, only one two-door body style will be produced. It is called simply the Slate Truck (no fancy nameplate like Silverado or Tundra). However, buyers can customize their truck in a variety of ways, such as by adding an SUV-style cab that offers five-passenger seating.
By the same token, Slate is unusually compact for a modern truck: 174.6 inches in length, 108.9-inch wheelbase, 70.6 inches in width and 69.3 inches in height.
A variety of safety features will be offered such as active emergency braking. However, the base interior looks rather spartan, the windows role down manually and there is no sound system — although the dashboard is designed to allow you to plug in your smart phone.
In addition, much like the Model T only came in the color black, the Slate Truck will sport an unpainted gray composite body — there is no factory paint shop (Fink, 2025). That said, you can dress up your truck with a variety of wraps.
Slate better reflects spirit of Scout than VW’s revival
The Slate Truck looks like a modern version of a 1970s International Scout. However, Slate is much closer to the original Scout’s footprint than Volkswagen’s forthcoming revival of that nameplate, which has bloated out to “full size.”
Exterior styling isn’t as crude as the ill-fated Bollinger B2, with its flat windshield glass and lack of complex sheetmetal curves. Even so, the Slate Truck is unusually boxy, business-like and unpretentious. Don’t look here for the overamped aggressiveness that pervades today’s truck and SUV market.
Is there a big enough market for the Slate Truck?
All this economizing is intended to give the Slate Truck the lowest priced EV sold in the U.S. The automaker’s website estimates that with federal tax credits one could get a base model for around $20,000. We will see if Slate Auto meets that price target once deliveries begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 (Golson, 2025a).
Daniel Golson (2025b) of Jalopnik noted that Slate’s online customizer has “at least 9 trillion different combinations,” so it took a while to build his own configuration. Golson (2025a) added, “I have a feeling there will be a lot of sticker shock when accessories get piled on, especially when you’ll need to add a lot to get the Slate feeling like it’s a car from 2026 with features competitive to a Nissan Versa.”
Meanwhile, Greg S. Fink (2025) of Car and Driver wondered whether the Slate Truck was “just a little too expensive for what it offers.” He added that “Slate’s barren standard equipment list will likely make it a hard sell for someone more interested in an EV than a pickup. Those in search of a compact pickup, meanwhile, may find more to like in the slightly pricier five-passenger Ford Maverick.”
That may well be the case for many consumers. However, I suspect that even if federal EV tax credits go away, the Slate Truck could appeal to folks like me who want a small, simple and versatile EV truck. And if President Trump’s trade wars throw the U.S. into a recession, our ranks could grow.
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RE:SOURCES
- Barman, Christine; 2025. “Radically Customizable and Affordable, Beautifully Simplified: The Slate Truck Redefines Personalized Transportation.” Press release posted April 24.
- Fink, Greg S.; 2025. “2027 Slate Truck EV Will Be Very Customizable, Priced Under $28,000.” Car and Driver. Posted April 24.
- Golson, Daniel; “Slate Auto Unveils Refreshingly Simple And Small Two-Seat Electric Truck Designed To Be Customized, Starting Under $27,500.” Jalopnik. Posted April 25.
- ——-; 2025b. “How We’d Spec It: Slate Auto’s Modular Electric Truck.” Jalopnik. Posted April 25.
- O’Kane, Sean; 2025. “Bezos-backed Slate Auto debuts analog EV pickup truck that is decidedly anti-Tesla.” TechCrunch. Posted April 24.
Greatest asset/liability.
#1 it’s electric
#2 it’s electric
#3 cargo bed is too small . I’m pretty sure electric vehicles aren’t mainstream practical.
At this point there are so many unknowns that it’s hard to do more than wildly speculate. That said, Slate’s strategy so far suggests that the automaker could potentially generate a profit with fairly modest production by U.S. auto-industry standards. If this proves to be correct, all they need to do is carve out a reasonably steady niche — and they may not need to be considered “mainstream” to do so. Indeed, sometimes being viewed as outside the mainstream can contribute to a brand’s cachet, as we saw with the early VW Beetle.
I would also suggest that there isn’t just one use case for a compact-sized truck. For example, my potential interest would be for the SUV cab, which I would primarily use for camping rather than hauling large cargo around.
What of EVs? If the Republicans kill the tax credits, that will obviously undercut sales in the U.S. However, if Slate can come close to meeting its price targets, it may be less impacted that higher-priced EV entries. In addition, as the technology advances, battery costs should come down and range increase, so what is considered impractical today by some folks may look different in a few years.
At any rate, EVs do have some practical advantages over ICE vehicles, such as fewer moving parts to maintain and fix. Again, it all depends on one’s specific needs. What may not work for you could work great for me.
Dollar for dollar, I would prefer a second-generation Ford Maverick with a proven powertrain and an established dealer network. The Slate is as yet a totally unproven vehicle. Yes, Ford has had vehicle recall issues as had many other auto makers, but a new manufacturer, even one offering a basic simple car / truck is fraught with potential likely difficulties. My second choice is a VW Scout. EVs aren’t for me until a charging network is as verdant as gasoline stations. Hybrids are an answer, too.
It’s too bad that the Maverick so big; the idea that this is Ford’s lowest-priced vehicle in the U.S. underlines how it has abandoned the bottom end of the market. So whatever else Slate accomplishes, I hope that it helps to spur more automakers into producing lower-priced and smaller trucks.
When I bought a car recently I went with a hybrid. By the time I buy my next car I suspect that I will get an EV. Charging networks have been growing nicely out here in my neck of the woods (the Pacific Northwest).
How is it going to be produced in the numbers to bring it in at the price? In China they are looking at 2M being the baseline for a competitive EV manufacturer. Not reading much about how it will cut production costs. But it’s a great piece of lateral thinking. Good article here on the engineering.https://www.theautopian.com/heres-the-engineering-behind-jeff-bezos-20k-slate-ev/
That’s an interesting Autopian story; thank you for linking to it. I haven’t seen details about the plant in Indiana where the truck will be produced; of course, the devil is inevitably in the details. This startup could go sideways for any number of reasons, including problems with scale.
However, so far it sounds like Slate is taking the minimalist approach of a classic independent automaker, where they try to achieve profitability at one plant. Given their streamlined manufacturing approach, at least in theory I would think it could be possible to make money with adequate volume. What is their break-even point — 100,000 units? From what I have read so far, Slate hasn’t made those kind of announcements.
My interest in Slate doesn’t come from the assumption that they will be successful, but rather than they are testing out a really interesting set of ideas.