“Non-gearheads” now have the possibility to design their very own automobiles.
Final month, a picture appeared on Reddit of an unidentifiable small truck in a parking zone in Los Angeles. The sighting was first noted by Carscoops simply after TechCrunch reported that Jeff Bezos was making an “reasonably priced” car by means of a “secretive EV startup” known as Slate Auto.
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Web sleuths rapidly put collectively (and TechCrunch confirmed) that the truck within the Reddit picture was the precise Slate Auto idea automotive.
Now, the corporate is prepared for reservations, and personalization is essential. Every thing is customizable, from the outside look to the colour to the inside knobs.
“We expect everybody ought to be capable to personalize their automotive,” the web site says. “However automobiles aren’t constructed to be custom-made by non-gearheads (we love you, gearheads). So, we modified that.”
Offered by Slate Auto
In a video saying the brand new “radically easy, radically reasonably priced Slate truck” on X, CEO Chris Barman stated the worth begins within the “mid 20s,” although it is going to be nearer to $20,000 (after federal EV tax credit). The one-cab electrical truck is ready to be delivered to prospects in late 2026. The corporate is based in Troy, Michigan.
The individuals spoke. We constructed. Meet the radically easy, radically reasonably priced Slate. Reserve yours at https://t.co/Y5RkOIFCRo pic.twitter.com/uvSZVpdkWv
— Slate Auto (@slateauto) April 25, 2025
“There is a large inhabitants of individuals on the market relating to protected, dependable, reasonably priced transportation; there simply actually aren’t many alternate options for them,” CEO Chris Barman told Business Insider forward of the official unveiling.
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A technique the corporate is conserving it reasonably priced is thru its customization choices. For instance, the vans are wrapped, not painted, and may be modified at a buyer’s whim.
“With different automobiles, you choose your colour whenever you purchase it, and that is it,” the web site says. “With a Slate, you’ll be able to choose your colour at any time when—and alter it at any time when. It is the primary car of its type designed to be simply wrapped.”
Wrap kits will begin round $500, in accordance with the corporate. (Although conserving it the easy grey—as per the Reddit reveal—will nonetheless stand out.)
Amazon founder Bezos, Mark Walter (Los Angeles Dodgers majority proprietor and CEO of Guggenheim Companions), and investor Thomas Tull have helped the brand new automotive firm increase no less than $111 million, per TechCrunch.
NBC reports that, in accordance with a document filed with the Securities and Alternate Fee, Melinda Lewison, the pinnacle of Bezos’ household workplace, is the brand new Slate Auto director.
