Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto unveils EV pickup truck

For the startup of electric vehicles backed by Jeff Bezos, Slate Auto, it is that “base”.

The company presented on Thursday its truck that minimalists and negotiation buyers could gravitate.

The base model, Bare-Bones EV presents a simple board with knobs to control heating and air conditioning, crank windows and a phone support to play music. The vehicle is not equipped with an information and entertainment system, although the latter can be added as an accessory, one of the many offered by Slate.

The interior of the Slate Auto electric truck. (Slate Auto)

The base vehicle is not painted, but buyers have the option to wrap it in different colors. Customers can also transform the two standard seat truck model into a five -seat SUV with a special kit.

The EV of Slate comes with two battery options, a battery pack of 52.7 kilowatts-hora that is directed to a range of 150 miles and a package of 84.3 kWh with an objective range of 240 miles. The loading bed has 35.1 cubic feet and 5 feet long. The front load area, the “Frunek”, is 7 cubic feet.

The company is accepting reservations for the vehicle, which is scheduled to be delivered to buyers at the end of 2026, for a reimbursement of $ 50. It hopes to set the price of the blank in less than $ 20,000 after the federal tax credit of clean vehicles of $ 7,500.

Slate was born from Re: Build Manufacturing, a company founded by Jeff Wilke, former CEO of Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer Business. Slate received $ 111 million in Funds from Serie A in 2023 (under the name of CAR), according to a Regulatory presentation. Melinda Lewison, who manages the family office of Jeff Bezos, appears as director in the presentation.

Techcrunch, citing Fuentes, reported The company told the employees that it closed a round of B series funds last year, but has not yet submitted documents for that round before the stock exchange and values.

While the vehicle does not look like a Cybertruck tesla and it is expected to be sold for much, it can create another rivalry lane between Elon Musk and Bezos. The two already compete with their own space companies, Spacex and Blue Origin, respectively.