“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 famous by Carscoops simply after TechCrunch reported that Jeff Bezos was making an “inexpensive” car via a “secretive EV startup” referred to 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 vital. Every little thing is customizable, from the outside look to the colour to the inside knobs.
“We predict everybody ought to be capable of 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 asserting the brand new “radically easy, radically inexpensive Slate truck” on X, CEO Chris Barman stated the worth begins within the “mid 20s,” although it will likely be nearer to $20,000 (after federal EV tax credit). The only-cab electrical truck is ready to be delivered to clients in late 2026. The corporate is predicated in Troy, Michigan.
The individuals spoke. We constructed. Meet the radically easy, radically inexpensive Slate. Reserve yours at pic.twitter.com/uvSZVpdkWv
— Slate Auto (@slateauto) April 25, 2025
“There is a huge inhabitants of individuals on the market relating to secure, dependable, inexpensive transportation; there simply actually aren’t many alternate options for them,” CEO Chris Barman informed Enterprise Insider forward of the official unveiling.
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A method the corporate is conserving it inexpensive is thru its customization choices. For instance, the vehicles are wrapped, not painted, and might be modified at a buyer’s whim.
“With different automobiles, you decide your coloration if you purchase it, and that is it,” the web site says. “With a Slate, you’ll be able to decide your coloration each time—and alter it each time. 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.)
What is that this automotive?byu/discostranger09 inwhatisthiscar
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 studies that, in accordance with a doc filed with the Securities and Trade Fee, Melinda Lewison, the top of Bezos’ household workplace, is the brand new Slate Auto director.
