Slate Auto prices basic EV pickup at US$24,950
Can a no-frills US$24,950 electric pickup succeed? Slate Auto is betting on low cost, customization and direct sales to drive demand.
- What is slate?
- Battery, charging and performance: Basic by design
- Slate’s competitive positioning
- A strategy built on accessories, direct sales and outsourced service
- Affordability gains achieved through feature and range tradeoffs
- High-volume ambitions collide with two-door and rear-wheel market realities
- Can Slate’s bold move deliver affordability and profitability?
Slate Auto has announced pricing for its new electric pickup and opened its order books. Deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, but buyers can already configure vehicles, place deposits and track estimated delivery windows. Mobility Global attended a Slate event at the company’s new California design studio to examine the product and the business logic behind it.
What is Slate?
Slate is a new two-door electric pickup starting at US$24,950. CEO Peter Faricy framed the vehicle as an unusually customizable, affordable offering, calling it “the most personalized vehicle ever.”
The pitch leans as much on emotion and identity as utility or affordability. The company’s bet is straightforward: a low entry price and blank-canvas approach to attract buyers priced out of new vehicles or tired of ever-larger screens and feature bundling. The question is whether there are enough of these buyers to sustain the company.
In standard form, Slate is a two-door, two-seat pickup. Body-style conversions can transform the same base vehicle into two-row SUV variations available from the factory or later as conversion kits. When factory installed, the Squareback SUV starts at US$29,950, and the Fastback SUV at US$31,950. Slate also previewed a body kit aimed at creating a five-seat, full-time open-air EV; pricing has not been announced.
Rather than choosing a paint color, buyers choose wraps from 100 standard colors or can have custom colors created. The wraps that can be replaced throughout the vehicle’s life. Wraps reinforce the “this is yours to build” narrative.
Battery, charging and performance: Basic by design
Slate uses a 65 kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery with an estimated 205-mile range. LFP aligns with the company’s cost-containment goals and broader industry trends toward LFP for lower-cost trims. An 11 kW onboard charger is standard. Slate estimates 30 minutes to charge from 20% to 80% on a DC fast charger and around four hours to charge from 20% to 100% on Level 2 AC.
A brief ride in a production-intent vehicle underscored the EV fundamentals: instant torque, quiet operation and a surprisingly smooth, rattle-free ride. Output is 135 kW (about 181 hp), 0–60 mph is estimated at 8.0 seconds and top speed is limited to 90 mph. Payload is rated at 1,550 pounds and towing at 2,000 pounds. In the SUV configuration, payload drops to 1,263 pounds and towing to 1,824 pounds. The message is consistent: this is transportation first, not a capability halo.
Slate is compact, with a 108.9-inch wheelbase, 174.6 inches overall length and a five-foot bed. That footprint and two-door configuration shapes cost, efficiency and parking/urban usability—but may reduce perceived value in a market where many buyers equate “more metal” with “more for the money.” Slate’s rear-seat package is thoughtfully designed for entry and exit, important for a two-door format.
Slate’s competitive positioning
Slate’s closest comparison is the Ford Maverick, though the vehicles are not truly apples-for-apples. The Maverick is larger, offered only as a four-door pickup, comes with more standard and optional equipment and costs more. It is also not a battery-electric vehicle, offering internal combustion and hybrid powertrains.
Slate’s low base price is achieved by stripping out many features that have become standard even in entry vehicles. Slate does not offer an in-car modem, embedded infotainment, navigation, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) or integrated connectivity at any price. Limited over-the-air updates are available through a US$275 accessory required for functions such as remote lock/unlock and battery preconditioning, though Slate does not charge ongoing connectivity fees.
Slate targets buyers who view screens and constant connectivity as intrusive and who would rather keep costs down and add only what they value.
A more direct competitive threat may come from Ford, whose upcoming compact EV truck will start below US$30,000, though specifications are not yet public. That product will arrive with more mainstream expectations—four doors and more standard safety and convenience tech. Slate’s differentiation may depend on whether “cheap and customizable” beats “still affordable but more complete.”
The Slate two-door SUV options—offered through a conversion kit rather than as a direct body style—increases sales opportunities outside the pickup truck market. But consumers largely abandoned two-door SUVs years ago.
A strategy built on accessories, direct sales and outsourced service
At launch, Slate will offer nearly 200 accessory options, most DIY-capable. The pricing is deliberately accessible: one-third of accessories cost under US$50, half under US$250 and 80% under US$500. Slate is relocating content from the base MSRP into an ecosystem in which customers buy what they want, when they want. That bare-bones approach also limits available tech upgrades.
Any new vehicle brand must solve the problem of service as well as distribution. Slate has contracted with a service network and will sell direct to consumers, limiting the US states it can enter because some still ban direct-to-consumer sales.
Slate’s partnership provides access to 3,000 service centers, about 100 of which can handle high-voltage battery issues. Those sites can install accessories for customers who prefer not to tackle DIY projects as well as perform maintenance, repair and warranty work. Accessory installation pricing remains an open variable that could affect real-world affordability.
Affordability gains achieved through feature and range tradeoffs
Slate’s starting price reinforces a central truth of the modern vehicle business: cars are expensive largely because of content. Removing content brings costs down. Slate has made design and manufacturing decisions that reduce material and manufacturing costs—and that achievement should not be underestimated. But Slate has not found a magic formula for offering more content for less money.
Items many consumers assume are standard—door armrests, a center console, speakers and phone/tablet holders (owners bring in their own devices)—appear on the accessories list. This flips typical expectations of what a new vehicle includes.
The range figure also matters. An estimated 205 miles will be sufficient for many commutes and local use cases, but it may not appeal to consumers seeking longer-range capability. Slate’s positioning depends on buyers accepting that less range is an acceptable tradeoff for a lower price.
Early order momentum suggests that pitch may resonate. Slate reports receiving roughly 10,000 orders in the first few hours after opening, each with a US$300 non-refundable deposit. That reflects strong curiosity and early-adopter energy, though it does not by itself guarantee durable demand.
High-volume ambitions collide with two-door and rear-wheel market realities
Slate is targeting an annual production capacity of 150,000 units, though it does not expect to reach that pace until the second half of 2027. It targets more than 100,000 units of sales in 2027. Those are ambitious goals for an EV with the least popular configuration: two doors and rear-wheel drive.
US consumers overwhelmingly prefer four doors, and the data is stark. Mobility Global retail registration data shows two-door vehicles of any type accounted for only 2.1% of retail registrations in 2025. Two-door trucks represented 2.3% of pickup retail registrations (around 56,000 units) and two-door SUVs were only 0.3% of SUV retail registrations (about 29,000 units).
Slate will need to conquer buyers outside the already-small two-door pool—either by pulling down-market from larger new vehicles, capturing buyers who would otherwise shop the used market or convincing affluent buyers to add to their personal fleets.
Drivetrain preference is another headwind. US buyers choose AWD/4WD more often than not in trucks and SUVs. In 2025, 72.6% of regular-cab (two-door) pickups registered by retail buyers were AWD/4WD. Across SUVs, AWD/4x4 represented about 74% of retail registrations, and even the Ford Maverick skewed heavily toward AWD.
Can Slate’s bold move deliver affordability and profitability?
Slate is trying to create a new sub-segment: an EV that is intentionally no-frills, priced low, and sold as a platform for personalization. The concept is credible and timely, and the early buzz is real. The harder question is whether that enthusiasm translates into sustainable volume—and whether Slate can expand configurations in the coming years without losing the cost discipline that makes the original product compelling.
Slate is also betting that demand for EV pickup trucks at this price point is larger than the industry expects. EV market share has declined since US policy changes under the current administration, though there remains underlying EV demand. Pricing is attractive, but the body style, drive type and propulsion system are all in the minority of buyer preferences today.
Even if the experiment does not reshape the market, it forces a useful conversation: consumers say they want affordable vehicles, but many still expect a long list of standard features. Slate’s presence in the market will test whether enough buyers will accept the tradeoff—and whether an accessories-led model can deliver both affordability and profitability at scale.