“We built it, you make it.”
That’s the motto for Slate, a new American EV company, which just revealed its launch model and is backed by ex-Amazon execs including, reportedly, Jeff Bezos’ family office
Slate says its EV pickup —a bare-bones truck with a footprint smaller than a Ford Maverick — will cost somewhere in the mid-$20K range, and it will come in any color you want — as long as it’s slate grey, that is. The option-challenged vehicle offers a choice of two battery sizes for the rear-wheel-drive truck: a 52.7-kWh battery pack targeting 150 miles of range and an 84.3-kWh pack with 240 miles of range.
However, the Michigan company will offer a massive number of custom parts, vinyl skins, and even a roof to make it an SUV if the customer desires. This is where the “make it” part comes in, because the customers will install these items themselves.
Buyers can also choose to do none of these things and have a cheap, utilitarian pickup.
“The auto industry has abandoned the working class in America. And what I think is so exciting and different about Slate is that we have taken this stance that we’re going to build cars for working-class America, in America, for Americans,” Jeremy Snyder, Slate’s chief commercial officer, told Yahoo Finance. “It’s just something that’s been lost.”
Slate’s founders, former Amazon Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke and MIT classmate Miles Arnone, aimed to make this vehicle so American workers of all stripes could have cheap, reliable, and efficient transportation.
As previously reported by TechCrunch, there are several former Amazon execs involved with Slate and one big investor: Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos.
Bezos, through his family office, reportedly holds a passive stake and is not directly involved in the day-to-day business. Snyder said Slate wouldn’t comment on Bezos’s involvement.
Nevertheless, unlike Amazon’s other EV investment, Rivian, Snyder says Slate will be cash flow positive shortly after production, which will begin in late 2026.
Hitting that metric is tough ask in the current automotive environment, where the industry has seen EV sales growth slow after massive gains earlier in the decade. The prospect of the federal EV tax credit going away is a threat as well, in addition to the negative effects of President Trump’s tariffs on critical supply chains.
Synder says the company is able to hit its profitability goals because all its parts are made in America (save items like tires), and vehicle parts are not stamped. The exterior parts are composite pieces that are easier to make and avoid Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum.
