Slate Auto’s $25,000 electric pickups are here: price, specifications, range, release date
The blank board weighs 3600 pounds and has a payload capacity of 1,430 pounds. Rated towing capacity at 1,000 pounds, much less than the 4,000 pound maximum towing capacity in the new 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD, which has a smaller cargo compartment but four doors can accommodate a larger cab.
Visually, the slate follows the upright, horizontal, square profile of classic two-seater American pickup trucks, although nearly three million units sold per year compared to full-size American pickup trucks from Ford, General Motors and RAM. It looks like a retro Ford Ranger from the 1980s, while the Hyundai Santa Fe model is more like a car, the only small pickup truck in the United States that is available outside the Ford Maverick.
Size, the slate is smaller than the Mavericks: it is 175 inches long, 71 inches wide (without mirrors), and 69 inches tall. By comparison, the Mavericks have a 200-inch length, a 73-inch width (again no mirror) and a 68-inch or 69-inch height. The Slate offers a 60-inch (5-foot) bed, while the Mavericks’ 54-inch. (Both measurements are raised with the tailgate.) While the Mavericks don’t have a front trunk (replaced with an engine), the slate’s front trunk provides 7 cubic feet of storage at the top of the 37 cubic feet of cargo compartment (in the load compartment of the SUV or 34 cubic feet).
Customer Satisfaction
Barman said Slate will target retail buyers to build the brand and get as many personalized trucks as possible on the road to raise public awareness. Barman said Slate’s electric vehicles will also be sold to corporate customers who purchased fleet vehicles, although she refused to provide a percentage breakdown of the estimated sales slate.
We didn’t talk about this, either, but it’s worth mentioning: It’s conceivable that slate trucks are also sold to Amazon. The connection makes sense, as Slate Auto comes from a startup lab partially funded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Online retailers have deployed thousands of Rivian EV delivery vans, but smaller electric vehicles can also be used for specific purpose.
The echoes of the past
As Mark Twain once quipped, maybe it was the Pseudo-Scripture: History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Anyone who has been in the automotive business for about 20 years may have read the news of Slate and sensed a faint Echo, a long forgotten memory in their minds.
