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Would you pay less for an EV truck if it had hand-crank windows and no radio? Slate Auto is betting the answer is yes. The Michigan-based EV startup, backed by Jeff Bezos, announced Wednesday that its first vehicle — a bare-bones, two-seat electric pickup — will start at $24,950, making it the cheapest new truck in America, undercutting the Ford Maverick by $2,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The truck comes with hand-crank windows, no radio, no navigation system and no paint — buyers choose from $500 vinyl wraps instead. It does have air conditioning (that was non-negotiable) and 205 miles of range with access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. Slate sells directly to buyers, bypassing dealerships entirely.
Slate CEO Peter Faricy’s thesis is simple: strip away everything that drives up cost, keep what drivers actually need, and price it where most Americans can actually afford it. With 180,000 reservations already in hand, someone is listening.