Slate Auto has set the price of its first electric pickup at $26,400, destination fee included, and plans to start deliveries in the fourth quarter of this year. The figure, announced at the company's design center in Gardena, California, undercuts every other new electric truck on the market by a wide margin.
The "Blank Slate" truck arrives as a single rear-wheel-drive configuration with a 63-kWh LFP battery rated for 205 miles of range. That's a notable jump from the 150 miles Slate originally promised, thanks to a newer battery chemistry. Charging runs through a NACS port on the left rear fender, so the truck plugs straight into Tesla's Supercharger network at up to 120 kW. Slate says its 11-kW onboard AC charger can take a depleted battery to full in about four hours on Level 2 equipment.
The timing matters because the average new vehicle in the US still sits above $48,000, and most electric pickups start north of $50,000. A truck under $27,000 changes the math for buyers who have been priced out of the new-vehicle market entirely. Whether those buyers actually convert is the open question: Slate says it holds 180,000 reservations, but the company acknowledges it doesn't know how many will become firm orders.
What You Get for $26,400
The base truck is deliberately bare. Slate paints every pickup the same color at the factory and applies finishes as wraps at the end of the production line, with 100 colors available at launch and 40 of them priced at $499. The single-cab body measures 174.6 inches long with a five-foot bed, and the rear-drive layout leaves room for a 7-cubic-foot front trunk that fits two small roller bags with space to spare. Maximum payload is 1550 pounds and towing capacity is 2000 pounds, though Slate's own engineers caution against anything beyond local towing.
The motor produces 181 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, good for a claimed 8.0-second sprint to 60 mph and a 90 mph top speed. During a brief ride in an office park near headquarters, the truck maneuvered through traffic without drama, aided by the instant torque of electric drive. The suspension pairs MacPherson struts up front with a De Dion axle out back, the same rear-axle arrangement used in the Mercedes-Benz electric G-wagen, and the 108.9-inch wheelbase helped it stay composed on rough pavement.
The Modular Bet
Slate's real wager is on modularity. Every option, including the wraps and an SUV conversion kit, is designed to be user-installable, so a buyer can purchase the Blank Slate now and upgrade when budget allows. The SUV version adds a back seat and lifts the price to $31,400, while a fastback variant runs $33,400. Of the roughly 100 options available at launch, 33 percent cost under $100, 50 percent under $250, and 80 percent under $500. The SUV version offers 34 cubic feet of cargo space behind the seats and 58 cubic feet with them folded.
There's no traditional dealership network. Slate sells directly to consumers, which cuts overhead but also means buyers in rural areas will depend on mobile service and delivery logistics the company hasn't fully detailed yet. It's not clear how well that model holds up once volume ramps beyond the early adopter crowd. The direct-sales approach also puts the burden of registration, financing, and trade-ins on the buyer, which may slow adoption among shoppers accustomed to a dealer handling paperwork.
Can Slate Actually Build It?
Manufacturing representatives say the company can produce 150,000 trucks per year at full production, a level it expects to reach late next year. That's a tight climb from a standing start in Q4, and the gap between 180,000 reservations and 150,000 units of annual capacity leaves little room for error if even half those reservations convert. A single supplier delay or quality issue in the first production batch could push deliveries into 2027 and burn through the goodwill that the low price has generated.
The $26,400 price also assumes the larger 63-kWh battery, which Slate quietly upgraded from its original plan. Whether that battery cost is baked into the price or subsidized by the reservation backlog is unclear, and Slate hasn't broken out its margin structure. The company is betting that simplicity and scale will do what premium features and marketing budgets did for earlier EV startups. That bet depends on keeping the accessory business profitable, since the base truck itself may be sold near cost.
Slate's direct-to-consumer model adds another variable. Without a dealership network, buyers in rural areas will depend on mobile service and delivery logistics the company hasn't fully detailed. Urban buyers near Gardena have an easier path, but national coverage takes time to build. The company will need to solve last-mile service before the reservation base starts demanding it.
The competitive backdrop is also shifting. Ford has signaled it is rethinking affordable electric pickups, and other startups are circling the same price band. If Slate stumbles, a rival with deeper pockets could capture the sub-$30,000 segment that Slate is trying to own. If Slate hits its Q4 delivery target and conversion rates hold, the Blank Slate could force a response from legacy automakers who have struggled to bring affordable EVs to market. The next six months of production ramp will tell which scenario plays out.
Reservation conversion deserves its own scrutiny. Industry experience suggests a meaningful share of refundable reservations never convert, especially when the final price lands above the headline figure once options and taxes are added. Slate's 180,000 reservations at $50 each represent a modest cash float, not guaranteed revenue, and the company will need to convert them into binding orders before it can plan production with confidence. Early buyers who lock in options early may also push the average transaction price well above the $26,400 base, which would test the affordability story Slate is selling.
For more on the EV market, see our EV coverage.
According to Car and Driver, the Slate truck's range jumped to 205 miles from a 63-kWh LFP battery, with NACS charging at up to 120 kW.