Bezos-Backed Slate Auto Tries to Recharge EV Sales With $24K Electric Truck

A Jeff Bezos-backed startup is wiping the slate clean on EVs, revealing that it’ll sell its first electric truck for just under $25,000. Slate Auto managed that bargain-bin price by making the vehicle radically simple — hand-crank windows, no radio, and a smartphone mount instead of a built-in navigation screen. 

The company, which came out of stealth more than a year ago, started taking preorders yesterday for the vehicle. While the truck’s initial sticker price is $24,950, shoppers can spruce up the base model with extras that might come standard in a competing car: exterior colors other than gray, speakers, floor mats, etc. For an additional $5,000, owners can turn their truck into an SUV.

Slate also said it won’t have dealerships, instead delivering models directly. The startup has racked up more than 160,000 reservations and plans to start deliveries in the fourth quarter.

Race to the Bottom

Slate Auto’s new truck undercuts the cost of a new car in the US by nearly half as its founders look to make its car this generation’s Ford Model T. A new car cost an average $49,000 last month, according to Kelley Blue Book, and a truck set shoppers back by about $66,000. 

Electric cars typically cost more:

• An EV last month ran up a bill of more than $54,000, and that’s down more than 4% since last year as automakers cut prices to cope with excess inventory. EV sales fell after customers lost a $7,500 tax credit that helped the cars compete with gas-powered options.
• Ford is working on a $30,000 electric truck that it plans to start selling next year. Tesla killed plans to produce a $25,000 EV in 2024, but Reuters reported in April that Elon Musk’s company is trying to make a smaller and cheaper vehicle soon. 

Cutting Out the Middle: Slate Auto’s simplified truck could fill a gap in the market. Data from Ford, Nissan and Hyundai shows shoppers gravitating toward bare-bones base models rather than cars with all the bells and whistles. This March, cars that retailed for less than $30,000 made up about 14% of US sales, Cox Automotive found. 

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