EXCLUSIVE Bezos-backed company promises to build America's cheapest car… but it cuts some corners
Slate, a startup with billionaire backing, plans to build America's most affordable pickup truck with a $25,000 starting price.
If federal $7,500 EV incentives remain in place, the Slate could become the only car in the US market under $20,000.
To keep costs low, the company tells DailyMail.com they've axed standard tech found in most cars — and returned to some automotive basics.
Slate's pickup features crank windows, physical buttons and dials, and no speakers or digital screens on base models. Instead, it has a phone holder and charging point next to the steering wheel.
All trucks come in a single gray metal finish, reminiscent of the Ford Model T. Drivers can customize the truck with manufacturer-supplied wraps to cover the grey exoskeleton.
The company's vision is to offer an alternative for Americans fed up with sky-high prices and screen-saturated driving experiences.
'The definition of what's affordable is broken,' the company's CEO, Chris Barman, said.
'Slate exists to put the power back in the hands of customers who have been ignored by the auto industry.'
The company's trucks will use either a 52.7-kWh or 84.3-kWh battery pack, giving the truck an estimated ranges of 150 or 240 miles.
It'll also come with a NACS port, meaning it can plug into Tesla's Supercharger network — the widest EV charging web in the country.
Base models include two front seats and a pickup bed.
For more space, drivers can opt for a three-seat bench in the rear and add an SUV-style cap — available in either fastback, wagon, or Jeep-like rollbar form.
But it'll be half the price of other open-air SUVs: the Bronco starts at $38,000, the Jeep Wrangler starts at $32,000, and the GMC Hummer starts at $96,000.
The average price of a new car in the US now hovers around $48,000 — up nearly $11,000 since 2018. That's a 23 percent spike in just six years.
Part of the reason for this price spike: low-cost cars are quickly fading from the US market.
The EV is built with fewer panels than most other cars on the US market
Drivers can also opt for the sport-back SUV top
For example, the Nissan Versa is the only car with a sub-$20,000 base price.
It's been discontinued for 2026, and will soon become more expensive.
The Versa is built in Mexico and remains largely susceptible to the 25 percent tariffs slapped on auto imports by President Donald Trump.
Slate thinks its well positioned to take advantage of the lack of products at the bottom of the market.
The car's US production helps dodge percent tariff, giving the company more cost-cutting flexibility.
But there is one tariff soft spot for the car.
It's still an electric vehicle, which relies on rare earth materials for its batteries — a supply chain that remains largely dependent on imports.
Still, Slate's entry into the market is supported by deep-pocketed backers.
Drivers can also opt for a rear-mounted spare tire kit
Backed by Jeff Bezos, LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter, and Guggenheim CEO Thomas Tull, the company quietly banked $111 million in 2023.
Its rare for a startup car company to survive in the US.
Before Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid, no American auto startup had achieved prolongued success since Chrysler, which began production in 1925.
Deep-pocketed automakers have attempted to make similar, customizable vehicle platforms in the US market.
Toyota launched Scion in 2003 and GM built Saturn in 1985. Both low-cost, easily customizable car brands are now defunct.
But Slate thinks these types of cars are perfect to meet the high-priced moment in the automotive industry.
Sources inside the company also tell DailyMail.com that they believe small businesses will scoop up their no-frills cars.
Slate's wild debut
Slate revealed its SUVs in Los Angeles with a wild marketing blitz
Reddit gearheads spotted the cars wrapped in advertisements from fake companies
Slate's trucks have already been spotted in the wild.
Hawk-eyed internet users have been able to piece together some of the details about the car's release.
Reddit sleuths traced a mysterious flatbed hauler to Slate, and DailyMail.com can confirm they're authenticity.
Others clocked it parked in LA with fake business decals — one, a fictional 'Rare and Raw Catering Company,' came complete with roof-mounted coolers, supposedly labeled with puma and a goblin shark meat.
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We produce four per month and plan to increase that number.' In addition to the 300 plant employees, inspectors working for the Ukrainian defence ministry, minutely scrutinise each component produced there. The concealed sites are protected by air defences to counter Russian missiles and drones. Such secret weapons production sites are keenly sought out by Russian spies and informers on the ground and by satellite surveillance, and Andriy has security guards and equipment watching the perimeter of the plant. 'But mostly we rely on trust,' he explained. 'That people who live in the same community and know each other will not betray each other or their country.'
