SUMMARYSlate Auto emerged from a secretive Re:Car project within Re:Build Manufacturing, backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, to develop a barebones electric pickup. The Slate Truck starts at $24,950 in base form and is designed to be highly customizable with 3D-printed accessories and colored wraps. The company says the vehicle will be engineered and manufactured in America, and it has already attracted major investment and 100,000 reservations.

Slate Truck

Slate Auto is a new startup that emerged out of a secretive project called “Re:Car” within Re:Build Manufacturing, a domestic manufacturing project backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The company’s first electric vehicle is a barebones electric pickup that’s roughly a third of the size of your typical gas-powered truck. And the proposal is pretty radical: Would you trade all the bells and whistles of a modern car for a more affordable price?

The Slate Truck has unquestionably been one of the most talked about new EVs in a long time. Slate says the base version will start at a little under $25,000, but customers can add a bevy of 3D-printed accessories, as well as a galaxy of different colored wraps, to personalize their trucks.

The ultra-minimal design also enables a low-cost approach to manufacturing that has caught the eye of major investors. It’s been engineered and will be manufactured in America, but is this extreme simplification too much for American consumers?