Most people still can’t afford electric vehicles because prices are high and subsidies are shrinking. No major carmaker has launched an electric vehicle under $25,000.
Slate Auto started in 2022 as a secret project inside Re:Build Manufacturing, led by Miles Arnone, Jeff Wilke, and Will Barker. In 2023, it became its own company with a simple goal: strip the vehicle down to basics and let buyers customise it after they buy.
The company recently raised $650 million in a Series C funding round led by TWG Global, run by Mark Walter and Thomas Tull. They also led the company’s earlier $590 million Series B round, reports Bloomberg. Other investors include Jeff Bezos’s family office, General Catalyst, and Slauson & Co. Altogether, Slate has raised about $1.4 billion.
The Slate Truck is a two-seat electric pickup that offers either 150 or 240 miles of range and comes in just one standard version. Trucks are delivered without any accessories, so buyers can add what they want later. This idea is based on how Amazon’s third-party marketplace works.
Slate will announce the final price in June 2026, when paid pre-orders open. Right now, they’re aiming for a price in the mid-$20,000s. The earlier goal of under $20,000 depended on a $7,500 federal tax credit that no longer exists.
The first trucks should be delivered in late 2026 from a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana.
If Slate hits its target price, it will cost less than the Ford Maverick hybrid and be cheaper than any other electric vehicle currently sold in the US. Its main rivals, such as Fisker, Lordstown, and Detroit Electric, never made it to production, even though they raised capital.
Slate hopes to avoid these problems by reusing old factories instead of building new ones. Its plan is to make money by selling accessories after customers buy the basic truck.
