- Slate announced the price of its no-frills electric pickup truck in June, but omitted the mandatory destination charge.
- A company spokesperson confirmed to InsideEVs that the freight charge will be $1,450, making the total price of the Slate $26,400 before you factor in your local sales tax.
- That makes it the cheapest EV and the cheapest truck in America. But will consumers go for a vehicle that comes with essentially no standard equipment?
It's been a slow drip with Slate pricing. First, it was supposed to be "under $20,000" with the tax credit. When the tax credit went away, we were told the price would be in the "mid twenties," but not exactly what. Then, when the company finally revealed the $24,950 starting price in late June, we didn't know what the destination charge would be. Since every vehicle in the U.S. has a mandatory destination charge in its price, that left us guessing what the final number would be.
Now, we know: $26,400 all-in. Slate's head of public relations and communications, Jeff Jablansky, confirmed to me over the phone that the destination charge will be $1,450. He noted that makes it the lowest destination charge of any pickup in the U.S., which he said is in keeping with the company's mission to deliver affordability on all fronts.
To do that, Slate has stripped the $26,400 truck of pretty much every standard feature you'd expect in a modern car. There are no power windows or power mirrors in the base model, nor is there a radio or a central screen. There's not even paint; if you want color, you'll have to get it wrapped. There's a federally required backup camera that feeds into the small driver display, but just about everything else is going to come as a paid add-on from a Slate or from third-party aftermarket sellers, which Slate says the truck is designed to support.
Gallery: Slate Truck LA Event
It comes from the factory as a two-door, single-cab pickup truck with a five-foot bet. Customers can add the "Squareback SUV Kit" for an extra $5,000, or a fast-back SUV body for another $7,000. Both kits include roll protection and airbags for the rear seats, while maintaining the two-door design. Together with the new destination charge news, it means that if you want a two-door SUV version of the Slate, you'll be spending at least $31,400.
That'll get you 205 miles of EPA range and 181 horsepower, routed exclusively to the rear wheels. Those are hardly banner specs, but the point of the Slate is to keep things simple to keep the price low.
Will it work? That's hard to say. There's no electric pickup truck that is remotely comparable in price to the Slate, at least right now. The next-cheapest option is the Chevy Silverado EV, which starts at around $58,000 for the retail model, the Custom. The Tesla Cybertruck kicks off around $70,000. But Slate won't own the cheap EV truck market for long; a sub-$30,000 electric Ford truck is supposed to arrive in 2027, and should come standard with four-doors, speakers, and a screen.
In the SUV arena, Slate already faces tough competition. The new Chevy Bolt EV and Nissan Leaf are both ostensibly "SUVs," though I'd dispute the characterization. But I can't deny that they both offer more range, four doors, way more standard equipment, and similar charging speeds to the Slate. Still, they scan as compacts, not as true SUVs, and certainly don't offer the sort of customizations that Slate does.
That's why I think the Slate will be something of a lifestyle vehicle. On value alone, it's up against models that offer far more features for similar prices. But the increasing focus on in-car technology has led to a backlash from many voices online, who clamor for back-to-basics cars that are simple to maintain and easy to customize to their own desires. Those people are the target buyers for the Slate.
Are there enough of them? Will they actually show up to buy it, or linger in the forums without plunking down the cash? It's too early to say. We'll learn more when the Slate arrives at the end of this year.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com
