New American EV Slate Unveils Affordable Pick-Up Truck Backed by Jeff Bezos
New American EV manufacturer Slate, supported by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has recently introduced a budget-friendly compact pick-up truck set to be priced at around £20,000. The company, which had kept its debut model under wraps until now, has named the vehicle simply Truck and is already accepting reservations for deliveries starting at the end of next year, with a base price target of $27,000 before incentives.
Designed specifically for the US market, the utilitarian two-seat pick-up aims to make electric motoring more accessible and attractive by keeping costs low. In a market dominated by combustion engines, Slate’s Truck offers a no-frills design with composite panels, manual windows, and a smartphone mount instead of a central touchscreen, similar to the Citroën Ami. Optional features include speakers, USB port, central locking, and cruise control.
The Truck is highly versatile, with a variety of colors, accessories, and kits available for customization. It can even be transformed into a five-seat SUV or a fastback crossover using bolt-on conversion kits for the spacious 1047-litre load bay provided by Slate.
Equipped with either a 52.7kWh or 84.3kWh battery, the Truck offers ranges of 150 or 240 miles respectively, with fast-charging capability from 20 to 100% in under 30 minutes. Powered by a single motor on the rear axle delivering 201bhp and 195lb ft, the Truck can accelerate from 0-60mph in 8.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 90mph.
Production of the Truck will take place in the Midwestern US to avoid the new 25% import tariffs on foreign-made vehicles imposed by President Trump. However, Slate has not disclosed the exact location of the manufacturing facility or whether it will handle production in-house.
