I’d come to accept that there was nothing on the market either now or in the near future that could tempt me to replace my beloved ’05 xB. I love its roomy boxiness, its simplicity, its practicality, its efficiency, its ruggedness…I could go on. Everything new is either too big, expensive, complex, ugly, pretentious…until suddenly the Slate magically appeared. It’s a format I’ve long espoused: an extremely basic two door pickup starting at under $20k (with EV incentives) with a choice of several rear toppers to turn it into an SUV or such. And with a wide range of customizations, which is where Slate (as in “blank slate”) will make their money. Yes, I’ve just put down my (refundable) $50 deposit. I love it.
For the moment, I’m going with the boxy version of the rear topper, as it reminds me of the original Isuzu Trooper II and Scout.
Here’s the basic (blank) Slate, a compact (108″ wb, 176″ overall length) pickup. Yes, a conventional cab 2-door pickup, just like we’ve all been pining for, although realistically I’m guessing that most personal buyers will go for one of the optional toppers. But for some fleets, this could be a huge boon.
Here’s the other topper, with a sloping rear. I like it too, but I’m a hard core box lover.
Take off the doors and the topper, and it’s a…(sort-of) off-roader. No, it doesn’t have 4WD, but who needs 4WD anyway? I’ve taken my xB all sorts of remote places and only had to be pulled out once. Of course this is an EV, so long offroad trips may not be its forte. The base 52.7 kWh battery gives a projected range of 150 miles, the optional 84.3 kWh battery should be good for 240 miles. Plan the trip carefully and maybe throw a portable generator in the back?
Realistically, the Slate would fit my typical use perfectly, which is running local errands and taking us to nearby trailheads. The base battery might be adequate, given what a minimalist I am.
The Slate is like a Lego toy; turn it into almost anything. A pop-up-and-out camper is inevitable.
So is this for real? Yes, very much so; Slate is backed by Jeff Bezos, among others. And you know how Bezos is so competitive with Elon Musk. Well, this is the ultimate anti-Cybertruck. And it’s exactly what Tesla should have made instead. Tesla reinvented the EV, but they failed to take its potential to the next level of affordability and flexibility. Sorry, Elon, but I don’t see myself taking a robotaxi to my favorite trailhead or to the hardware store. That’s not to say there won’t be a growing business case for that in many big cities, but the question as to whether Americans are going to be willing to give up their cars is a huge question, especially if options like the Slate exist.
How about a hearse option to go along with this flower car?
All of this reminds me so much of the original xB, in terms of flying against the automotive norms of the time. The xB was and still is a favorite for all kind of customization, although nowadays it’s mostly in doing what I did, in lifting them and making them the butch off-road look, for looks or for real.
The slate’s body is made of plastic panels, and comes in gray. But it’s been designed to wrap very easily, even DIY. Or maybe just do a rattle can paint job?
Check out the interior: roll-up windows! Simple rotary controls for the heating/ac system. No screen (use your phone, or add the optional screen). The audio system is modular and optional.
Even the window cranks can be customized, as with this orange trim. Hopefully folks haven’t forgotten how they work.
I don’t need to show you all the other customization options, just head to the slate website. But I’m in line ahead of you!
Update: theautopian has a good post that covers the development and engineering of the Slate:
I just went to the website, and I’m impressed. This is just what a large part of the market is looking for. A low priced minimal model without all the high tech driving aids really appeals to me. I know that Chinese EV makers have a slew of models already available, and will be selling them in Mexico soon. They have even started battery switch out stations to get their drivers back on the road quicker. This concept was actually started by an EV manufacturer back in the Teens, when many houses didn’t have, or only had minimal electricity service. Keep us appraised of the progress on your purchase.
Just what is needed, a cheap EV. Unfortunately Washington is doing it’s best to keep cheap Chinese EVs out of America.
Wow, this is for real! I thought at first it might be a spoof. Looks like it could be a real contender to replace my basic 1998 Nissan Frontier regular cab, which I use now primarily to transport my bike to places for riding it safely. This appears have a 4-ft long or so bed which means I need one of those padded covers for the tailgate so the front wheel of my bike can hang off the back. I don’t need power windows or even an audio system so this would be an ideal vehicle.
It is reported to be a 5′ bed 1/2′ longer than the much longer overall Maverick and 1/2′ shorter than the common 1/2 ton crew cabs that of course are much much longer overall.
I put my reservation in this morning too. This is the 2026 equivalent of the brown diesel stick shift wagon. Everyone says they want a small simple pickup truck, let’s see who steps up to buy one. Steel wheels and roll-up windows, even real knobs for the HVAC controls … what’s not for a CC’er to like?
what’s not for a CC’er to like?
The fact that it’s an EV? I do read endless comments here about wanting a simpler, cheaper basic vehicle, but for some of these folks, this being an EV might be an interesting hurdle. But it just might tip some into a more realistic appraisal of them. We shall see.
It could even be like the original xB: it was intended and marketed for young buyers but a lot of older ones ended up buying them.
This is what people have been clamoring for (at least they say they have been)! Now, will people put their money where their mouths are?
It has all the makings of a winner: a cute, cheap commuter. It’s kind of like the original Beetle but more practical.
I was just thinking that this would be a perfect vehicle for you, Paul. If you squint your eyes, it looks a bit like the xB (especially post-mod).
I didn’t expect you to actually pull the trigger on one! What are they promising for delivery? I assume sales and service will be similar to Tesla (bypassing dealerships and selling direct out of factory-owned sales and service centers).
As it stands, there won’t even be sales and service centers. Any necessary service would likely be done at contracted facilities. Contrary to current trends, they will be encouraging DIY service, including much of the customization.They’re going to create a “Slate University” with lots of videos and such. This really appeals to me!
Realistically, given its profound simplicity, I doubt there’s going to be much service needed.
I saw one video today that claimed their app will have a diagnostic function that will confirm and tell you what any trouble codes are. Apparently, this is to somewhat mitigate the lack of service centers. They also said you will be able to download updates to your phone and then upload them to the car.
Also apparently most things can be unbolted and replaced with a couple of different-sized allen keys and that’s it.
It’s only a refundable $50 deposit it isn’t like he has signed a contract to buy…yet, and they do plan to have vehicles available for those with reservation to do test drives of as well as see at least some of the accessories in person. So yeah I see no significant risk in throwing down a $50 deposit and I’m not surprised in the least that Paul put in a reservation.
Seems like a great replacement for the xB considering Paul’s typical usage. He can probably get away with only charging it with 120v too as that should be able to more than replenish the typical around town driving overnight.
As I never even heard of these, look forward to reading more about yours
There is very little information about the company Slate. For sure we may need to have a affordable and simple vehicle these days. But in US affordable offers translates into cheaply made for US based manufacturing sectors. But little information available says it has 54 KWH batteries with range around 150 miles, and power output is 150 KW. This is no very impressive for a vehicle costing $20k after government rebate. It is made in US even with the foreign components, it will not be successful soon.
Years of outsourcing in US has experienced a deep decline of skills of producing industrial products, no matter how much money has invested in the company. Tesla, a real bad boy now, has been struggling to make cars until it opened its factory in Shanghai.
Your comment has lots to disagree with and some basic untruths. The battery size and range is excellent for its price; there’s no vehicle sold in the US that can touch those numbers. It is very impressive indeed.
The cars that Tesla builds in China are exactly like the ones that they were already building in the US. And these were engineered 100% in the US. As a matter of fact, Tesla’s China factory is struggling somewhat because EV prices are so low there; none of the Chinese pure EV makers can make a profit there because of the relentless price war. That’s why they’re so desperate to export, where they can charge prices that will generate a profit.
@Tygerleo, I share your skepticism. Time will tell. For my pretty much my entire life (since the mid-1960s), Americans have come to take much for granted in their cars, like usually no water leaks, car usually starts in all kinds of weather, car can be driven from Michigan or NY to Florida, brakes and steering work.
The 1970s saw a regression, but even they were decent cars. 1990s even better. 2010s even better.
I’ve heard from GMers who worked or work at Tesla that Tesla had to learn some of these lessons the hard way, in the earlier days. And Tesla is a LUXURY car to boot.
So we will see.
It’s nice for EV buyers that EV purchases are subsidized by those of us who don’t buy a new one but pay taxes. More importantly for the buyers of these vehicles, how long will the battery pack last? How much will it cost to replace? TBD, I’m sure.
On the other hand, if this vehicle has an honest 150-range,
IF this car gets off the ground, it will be interesting to see how service plays out. Is it using tried and true HVAC and brake parts and systems in production in at some volume automaker? Like Toyota, or GM/Ford, or VAG, or Wuhan Motors/Chinese firm? If not (and chances are, many of these parts will be new), then the odds of a good, trouble-free car diminish–take 0.98 (or 0.75 to 0.99, depending on system) and take it to the nth power for every new system, say 20 systems, and you get 66.7% chance of no defects.
IF this IS a hit, like the original Honda Accord or Datsun 240Z, you will drive for free, since today’s $20k Slate will probably cost $30k in 18 months and $45k in five years. IF it’s a hit. If not, well, you can’t really buy a new ICE vehicle for $20 that is not loaded with stuff that won’t hold up, like CVTs or direct injection or a stop-start, or a turbo (the Versa 5-speed is very viable, except they don’t exist at your local dealer. Can’t buy a car you can’t test drive…)
It will be interesting to see how the story goes, I look forward to hearing about it.
150 kW is about 200 hp, nearly double my ’87 Ram 50 pickup, and that’s plenty adequate for my usage. It may not be highly competitive with other EVs on the market, but it’s in the ballpark; the Chevy Bolt had about the same power, and with electric motors full torque is instantly available across the full RPM range.
As for HVAC and other subassemblies like @TomLU86 mentioned here, those are often produced by third-party suppliers rather than the automakers themselves these days, so I don’t see why Slate couldn’t just contract those same suppliers for known-good components.
”Automatic Emergency Braking” : standard . They could have waited until 2029 . There are so many stories of people being rear-ended on the highway because of this nuisance that you have to unplug every time you start the car to have peace of mind. The biggest shortcoming for me here in the north is that it is built in the U.S….good for you ,maybe to reconsider in 4 years or maybe in 3 months or maybe in…
I see a modern successor to the once popular, at least in my area, of a non a/c, 2wd drive, stick shift, and four cylinder Bronco II and two door Cherokee. Almost pulled the trigger on such a new Cherokee that would have cost just slightly more than a new base Civic. It would have worked out cheaper than the ten year old BMW that cost me more in the long run, and been more suitable for my life style.
There are some comments on it being made in America and cost. We do still make alot of things in the US and can be cost competitive. But we tend to need high volumes and automation to do it. These seem to be designed for ease of assembly and standardization above all else. which should help a lot It says the panels are composite it will be interesting to see what process they use for that. Some of the design choices like lot’s of exposed fasteners, is for DIY modules but I wonder if a lot of it is also to make them as easy as possible for robots to build?
I hope these will be approved for sale, passing the safety checks and all that, in Canada. I can see these being a real winner.
From what I’ve read they are only going to be sold in the US, at least initially.
I have my doubts that Slate can profitably build these things for the prices they’re floating. Sure, they’ll save some money by not including needless gadgets or power window winders and such, but even so based on the prices of other inexpensive cars and trucks this will likely need to cost over $25K to make a profit (Slate is including a $7500 EV tax credit in the $20K estimate, an incentive I don’t expect to still be there by the time these go on sale). Many amenities expected in modern cars will be optional on this one, like any sort of audio system. The only vehicle selling for under $20,000 in the US is a stripped-down Nissan Versa, and it’s about to be discontinued. If a major manufacturer that’s been around for 75+ years can’t figure out how to make a profitable sub-$20K car, I doubt a newcomer with no experience will be able to pull it off. I wish them well, but EV startups selling in the US don’t have a great track record (only Rivian and Lucid look like they’ll make it. Vinfast is barely getting noticed; I don’t consider 22-year-old Tesla to be a startup anymore). In any case, if the Slate does become a hit, legacy manufacturers will move in quickly to compete and with their larger size and greater economy of scale will be able to build similar trucks for less.
This does remind me of the late-’80s Nissan Pulsar with its interchangeable rear bodywork. Those weren’t as practical as they should have been though – the wagon configuration had a fixed bulkhead where the tailgate should have been.
Interesting that Slate compares their truck with a 1985 Toyota HiLux SR5 on their website. I’ve long clamored for a return of Japanese mini-trucks (or something like them) to the US market. I knew many people who bought those not just for their practicality and reliability, but because they were the least expensive new vehicles available at the time (in part because of lax light-truck safety standards of the day – even the rear bumper was optional). It’s in some ways reminiscent of the first-gen 4Runner too, with its removable cap (a popular feature back then that often went unused by owners). People also seem willing to take their chances with new auto manufacturers in a way they were reluctant to in the days of Bricklin and DeLorean, which should work in Slate’s favor.
I see gimmickry and short-cuts disguised as innovation and efficiency.
I’m very skeptical that a start-up can build a vehicle that complies with the maze of Federal standards, in a facility the complies with US (or Canadian or EU) federal requirements, in addition to state/local requirements, pay people $18 hour or more, and profitably sell a product that is half-decent and works.
Ironically, in Mexico, with its much lower labor rates, and even lower supplier labor rates, that would be more viable.
Many Mexican plants are state-of-the-art, and have VERY motivated, young (not kids) workforces. I’ve worked in one of them. BMW builds 3-series in Mexico and sells them in the US, and a relatively new (circa 2020-21) plant.
Tesla has been successful because it is LUXURY vehicle, priced accordingly (the cost difference to produce a Chevy Chevelle in the 1970s and a Cadillac DeVille, or a Toyota Camry AWD and a 4Runner today, is rather minor, but the prices manufacturers can charge on the more expensive product are considerably more–one reason sedans have been replaced by cross-overs). The longest range and excellent performance allowed Tesla to price their vehicles as LUXURY cars.
And, the regular automakers paid Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars, annually for fuel credits.
Will Slate get those?
American workers and plant engineers can do as well as anyone (not necessarily better, but certainly not worse), given a well-laid out assembly plant, good assembly processes, and good training. But you can’t really live a middle class life on $18 an hour, can you?
In Mexico or China, you can live a good life for half of that.
Still the Bezos/Musk ego trip makes for competition and could make this interesting. The Slate truck makes a LOT more sense (to me) than the Tesla Cybertruck. We will see.
As a frame of reference, there’s those Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), aka Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs) which are essentially Chinese electric golf cars with an ersatz car body. The Wink is one of the more well-known with pricing now at ~$15k. So, the Slate’s target price of $27.5k might have been plausible, say, four months ago.
Call me cynical, but I’m not feeling this being anything more than vaporware and can’t quite fathom all the attention. Maybe it might have had a shot before Trump, but there’s just no way, now.
I don’t want to see what the console mounted shifter will look like, based on the fact that Jeff Bezos is backing this Slate enterprise. After all, just look at his Blue Origin rocket? baddabing
Wow I was hyped reading this then I read it was an EV with no range
Worthless lol
I m waiting for the HotWheels version to appear at Walmart
Kinda like my ’88 Ranger. Delete the power locks and add a foot to the bed and I’m in!
The Slate kind of reminds me of our C$10k econoboxes of a few years ago. The car makers got an earful about how Canadians missed cheapo little cars like the Firefly and would eagerly snap up a modern equivalent. The problem was the market had moved on. Canadian buyers no longer wanted no a/c cars with cranker windows.
This could be a real issue for Slate. Perhaps commercial users will snap them up.
a/c is standard.
I wanted a Maverick Hybrid when they were offered for $19,999. Turned out to be impossible to buy one for that price.
For certain buyers, this will be ideal. I expect to see them, waiting to perform a delivery, in every NAPA and O’Reilly parking lot.
Yup I expect them to eventually take over those O’Reilly and NAPA fleets, perfect for their use.
I do agree that what comes up as the “SUV kit” does remind me of the Trooper II, and is therefore rather attractive to me.
I might be more attracted to the whole thing if they weren’t restricted to renderings that make me wonder how come none are “purple cars”. But maybe that will improve over time.
As far as the backed by Bezos versus Tesla thing; well, to me that’s kind of like the Penguin vs. the Joker. So, I’ll just sit that one out.
There are genuine prototypes out there, like this one parked in Venice with a silly wrap:
Those street parked ones, at least some of them anyway, were just push mobile styling bucks. They do have a number of actual pre-production prototypes, that want keep in-use for development purposes.
A few weeks ago there was a sighting of a Slate somewhere in or near San Jose. It may have been anon-running dummy, but it’s a lot more than a rendering. Several reputable YouTube video’s have aired today showing full-sized examples with opening doors and YouTubers climbing in and out.
The Ford Maverick is also a (not as) small truck. More equipment, but nice if you can find one.
I don’t support Amazon, and I wouldn’t support this company because of the association to Bezos. He is very strongly anti-union. And would likely pay slave wages to workers, to keep costs down.
Trillions, upon trillions, upon trillions, upon trillions, upon trillions of dollars have been transferred upwards in your country for decades. Because of robber barons like Bezos.
Could never in good conscience support either Musk or Bezos. Both robber baron oligarchs. Unfortunate, as the market could use an affordable EV.