New American EV Company takes over Elon Musk with a $ 20,000 truck

A new startup of an electric vehicle called Slate Auto introduced its first vehicle to scattered event on Thursday, and the company exits the gates with a pickup, which is all that Tesla Cybertruck is not. The shale truck, as it is called, promises to be a small electric pickup with 150 miles of loading with a diversified one -diversified. But the most remarkable detail is the price of a car, starting with only $ 20,000 with federal tax incentives.

If Cybertruck is the most attractive still polarizing truck on the market, the slate truck is anything else. The small two -door vehicle has a traditional pickup design with no unnecessary or fantastic features such as an entertainment system or autonomous driving.

In fact, the slate truck has no entertainment system at all – executives connect their phone through Bluetooth for fun – and use the crank windows as well as steel wheels and HVAC buttons. Some of them will be enjoyable for drivers who hate the transition away from physical buttons and buttons in cars and are good to rely on Bluetooth to play music rather than give up some confidentiality to use a complex entertainment system.

The distinguishing characteristic of the vehicle is proposed in the “slate” itself: the slate truck can be adaptive to the needs of each buyer. Each vehicle descends from the line equally, and the flat pack kits will allow the owners to quickly convert the two -seater pickup to SUV with five places if they do not need bed. Buyers are expected to retrofit the vehicle themselves or through national partners to maintain the service and installation. A slate truck is something similar to Frame laptop but for cars or maybe PebbleWith its simplified design, attractive to customers who just want the basics.

Slate has been reported to have raised over $ 100 million from investors, including Jeff Bezos, who has previously disappointed billions at another electric truck manufacturer, while Rivian is still at the helm of Amazon. Being supported by Bezos may be the exclusion of some who have broken down his political ideology, but in the end, car buyers are often interested in the most value and that may not matter.

The Detractors of the Cybertruck claim that CEO Elon Musk has never kept its promises of the vehicle, namely at a price-starting starting price of $ 39,000 has never been realized, and the vehicle instead starts at $ 62,000 for a transfer version. Even at this price, the vehicle does not like many buyers who just want a daily working vehicle for drawing dirt. Tesla sold Just over 6000 cyber During the first three months of the year, a steep drop in 12,000 units, which he sold at the end of 2024.

Ford Maverick and Cult’s popularity following Japanese trucks kei It suggests that there may be a search for a small, affordable, light pickup. Given the Americans are addicted to large vehicles, which is why most car manufacturers in the country have largely abandoned small sedans in recent years for compact SUVs. The Ford F-150 is also the most popular truck in America. Other electric workers such as the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning and Ford E-Transit Cargo, which starts at $ 51,000 with a scope, compare the Slate truck, are still quite expensive for what they offer.

To give Tesla a small amount of loan, the slate truck is two years since the deployment of the factory lines and whether the company can fulfill its promise for a price of $ 20,000 will remain a big question. On the one hand, this price includes federal tax incentives for EVS which can be eliminated by the present administration. And the most expensive EV component is the battery, often representing about 40% of the price of the car. Battery in Tesla Model Y, for example, is evaluated at a worth Between $ 10,000-11,000S With China Limiting access to rare earth metals Found in many batteries, US manufacturers may need to find alternative sources or design batteries with new materials. The low cost of Slate also raises questions about whether this battery will include heating and cooling needed to prevent overheating.

Another concern is that with Rivian and others they plan more accessible EVS over the next two years, will the shale truck be competitive at the start?

Still, for many people, the slate truck is exactly what they asked for in an electric car Workaday. The truck design has been developing for many years to reach its current condition. Why not pick up a design that already works and upgrade it for the EV era? This is what many people wanted from Cyberk and it seems that Slate Slate is caught. Its horsepower allow O up to 60mph for 8 seconds and a top speed of 90MP, but the shale truck is clearly directed as a daily driver of a driver or fleet for practical use where night charging should be expected.

We will soon be able to see if those who strive for cheap EV, without bells or whistles, are ready to put their money where their mouth is.

Ok this thing is pretty great Pic.twitter.com/u4moqqaiai

– Gaut (@0xgaut) April 25, 2025