Bezos-Backed Startup Debuts Pickup Truck Reminiscent Of 1980s Toyota Hilux

rietrot

rietrot

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Jeff Bezos-backed startup unveiled on X a cheap electric truck priced at roughly half the cost of the average new American pickup. The catch: it lacks power windows, infotainment screens, and self-driving features

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Interesting but fail

I don't see the resemblances to a hilux.
How do you build an electric car without electric windows or a cheap tablet as a infotainment system.
 
rietrot said:
Interesting but fail

I don't see the resemblances to a hilux.
How do you build an electric car without electric windows or a cheap tablet as a infotainment system.
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The whole idea of their company is that it's a "blank slate" (see where the name comes from?) and you can choose to buy something like up to 100 different accessories at launch to customise it, which likely includes power windows and some form of infotainment..
 

Meet the Slate Truck: A $20K, 2-Door Electric Pickup With Crank Windows and No Touchscreen - The Drive​

In the Slate Truck, you bring the screen—a phone or tablet. And if you need an SUV instead, you can install the rear seats, roof, and airbags.

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Five years ago, Ford promised America its cheapest new offering: a pickup truck under $20,000. And not just any pickup, but a hybrid. We scoffed, but then it happened. Unfortunately for Ford, it happened at the worst possible time, and today it’ll cost you 33% more to get the same basic pickup without the fancy hybrid powertrain.

Given that, you can imagine our skepticism for Slate—the new EV startup supposedly backed by Jeff Bezos—and its Truck. That’s literally the model name—”Truck”—and it’s a modular, all-electric pickup that the company intends to sell for less than $20,000 after federal incentives.

Slate’s ambition doesn’t end there. Not only is it aiming to launch what would become one of the cheapest vehicles on the market, but it’s also claiming that this truck will incorporate a degree of modularity that is unheard of in the modern auto industry.

Effectively, Slate intends to let its customers convert the pickup to an SUV with what amounts to an accessory kit that includes the rear bench seat, a roll cage, and plug-and-play airbags.

Slate says the installation can be DIYed (the jury’s out on how easily), but you can also have the dealer do it for you. You can just hear NHTSA’s crash test gurus sweating.
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Read the full article here:

www.thedrive.com

Meet the Slate Truck: A $20K, 2-Door Electric Pickup With Crank Windows and No Touchscreen

In the Slate Truck, you bring the screen—a phone or tablet. And if you need an SUV instead, you can install the rear seats, roof, and airbags.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com

Link to the SLATE online configurator here.
 
Love the idea behind this, but it will likely still be more than R 500k if it ever gets here.... so I don't see this making any real waves in SA.
 
die_koos said:
Love the idea behind this, but it will likely still be more than R 500k if it ever gets here.... so I don't see this making any real waves in SA.
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yeah the idea is really cool
 
rietrot said:
Jeff Bezos-backed startup unveiled on X a cheap electric truck priced at roughly half the cost of the average new American pickup. The catch: it lacks power windows, infotainment screens, and self-driving features

View attachment 1816606
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The side view reminds me of one of the older LR discovery models.
 

Slate's Cheap $25K EV Truck Can Transform Into An SUV - InsideEVs​

Following several teases, Slate's EV Truck has finally been unveiled. With backing from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Slate hopes to poise itself as a disruptor in the EV space.

The "Blank Slate" base truck is set to retail for somewhere in the mid-$20,000 range, and the company says it will cost less than $20k after federal incentives. It will be highly modular with over 100 accessories set to be available from the automaker.

Production is expected to begin in late 2026.

Will Slate succeed in making a cheap, fun EV for the masses? Stay tuned to InsideEVs to find out.
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