9 hours ago
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After a guerrilla marketing campaign, Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Automotive has pulled the covers off the United States’ new cheapest electric vehicle.
Slate Automotive has officially launched in the United States with a cut-price, no frills electric-powered pick-up able to be converted into an SUV and back again when it hits the streets in late 2026.
The entry-level two-door, two-seat pick up – known as ‘Slate’ – starts at $US27,500 ($AU43,091) which the car maker says reduces to around $US20,000 ($AU31,339) after incentives.
This makes it the cheapest electric vehicle in showrooms in the United States (US), previously the Nissan Leaf priced at $US29,280 ($AU45,880) before incentives and on-road costs.
The price is unlikely to be impacted by import and automotive tariffs as the vehicles are ‘assembled’ in the ‘mid-west’ of the US, says the car maker, which aims to sell 150,000 per year.
Reservations of $US50 ($AU78) are now open via the Slate Automotive website, with the brand following the same direct-to-consumer model as brands such as Tesla and, in Australia, Honda and Mercedes-Benz.
Backers of Slate Automotive include Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who donated to US President Donald Trump’s successful re-election campaign in 2024.
The Slate has not been confirmed for Australia – or any other export market.
The name ‘Slate’ comes from the vehicle’s bare-bones ‘blank slate’ start – a two-door pick-up body style with 17-inch steel wheels, wrapped (non-painted exterior) and basic cabin skipping standard equipment such as an interior touchscreen.
The company says the vehicle is “engineered to be customized again and again to transform into whatever you need it to be, even an SUV”.
The car maker revealed a Land Rover Defender-type SUV body bringing a five-person capacity with second-row seating as one of a number of different design rear canopy add-ons.
The ‘SUV kits’ include a more angular hatch-type tailgate look as well as the boxier, more Land Rover-like flat-root and blunt rear-end design.
Pricing hasn’t been given for the various options including the array of cabin accessories to customise the interior.
While keyless entry is standard, the cabin includes a universal phone mount instead of a touchscreen but a tablet is offered as an extra.
In standard pick-up form, the Slate measures 4435mm long – making it longer than a Mazda CX-3 city SUV but a 25mm shorter than a Toyota Corolla Cross – 1793mm wide and 1760mm high to stand 100mm lower than larger utes such as the Ford Ranger.
The Slate’s wheelbase (the space between the front and rear axle) is 2766mm – substantially longer (76mm) than a Toyota RAV4 SUV– with a tray area of 994 litres around one-third of the space of a single-cab Toyota HiLux.
The tray is 1089mm wide between the wheel wells – around two-thirds the size of Ranger or HiLux single-cab tray – and is 1524mm long, extending to 2072mm with the tailgate open.
With its motor mounted on the rear axle, the Slate also has a 198-litre ‘frunk’ front trunk cargo area under its bonnet.
The standard Slate pick-up weights 1643kg while claimed payload is 650kg – using coil-spring rear suspension – with a towing capacity of 454kg.
The standard powertrain is a 150kW/264Nm single electric motor driving the rear wheels, enabling a 0-97km/h in around 8.0 seconds and a 145km/h top speed.
Two battery sizes are offered – a Standard 52.7kWh battery with 241km range and an Extended 84.3kWh battery with a claimed 386km between charges. The type of batteries, nor their country of origin, have been disclosed.
Rapid charging of up to 120kW sees a 20-80 per cent recharge in less than 30 minutes.
Despite the cost-conscious approach, the company said the Slate is designed “to achieve the highest safety ratings” and includes Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Forward Collision Warning and “up to eight airbags”.
