Slate has revealed its first production EV. It's a -
wait for it -
A pickup truck.
Only in America. :-\.
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Seating: 2
Battery: 52.7kWh or 84.3kWh, cells by SK On
Range: 150mi or 240mi
Power: 150kW / 201hp
Torque: 264nm / 196lb-ft
Charging: NACS
AC charging: 11kW
DC charging: 120kW
Drive: rear wheel
Length: 174.6"
Width: 70.6" (not including mirrors)
Height: 69.3"
Wheelbase: 108.9"
Curb weight: 3502lb / 1588kg
Top speed: 90mph
Payload: 1433lb
Towing: 1000lb
Bed length: 60" (81.6" with tailgate down)
Bed width: 42.9" between wheelwells; 50.0" otherwise
Bed volume: 37 ft^3
Instead of starting with a $100k luxury EV and oh-so-gradually introducing
more affordable models, Slate starts at the bottom and lets the customer
work up at his own pace.
The base list price is - depending on what source you read - either $25k or
"under $20k after the US $7500 tax credit," a credit whose future is in
doubt.
At that price, what you get is about as stripped as a 1966 Plymouth Valiant
100, which, coincidentally, rode on nearly the same wheelbase. It's grey,
period. It has plain black steel wheels, a minimal instrument panel, and
roll-up windows. There's no aircon. It doesn't even include a radio, much
less "infotainment."
Slate has a long list of add-ons, some (all?) of which can be fitted either
at purchase or later. There's even supposed to be a kit to make it into a
Bronco-like 2-door SUV.
I've read no word about whether you can switch to the larger battery after
purchase, but they claim everything is end-user-swappable, so maybe.
I'm really glad to see someone offer more affordable EVs for the US market.
And for once the size is actually reasonable. It's similar in length to the
Toyota and Datsun pickups of the early 1970s, but wider, and with a shorter
bed.
On the downside, the 150mi (240km) range is disappointing. From a 52kWh
battery it suggests less than stellar efficiency. That's 347Wh/mi, or
21.5kWh/100km.
For comparison, the consumption display on our Renault Zoe currently reads
12.0kWh/100km (195wh/mi). At 1502kg, the Zoe doesn't weigh much less than
the Slate, but it has to be more aerodynamic than that brick on wheels.
Weird and maybe inconsequential Slate details:
- Oligarch backing by Jeff Bezos.
- Slate is an anagram of Tesla.
Details and photos:
https://insideevs.com/news/757649/slate-auto-truck-suv-revealed/
https://electrek.co/2025/04/24/slate-emerges-modular-2-seat-ev-pickup-
available-under-20k-video/
or https://cntp.me/a6YKMsy
Anyone interested?
David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey
To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my
offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt
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Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes, everybody knows
-- Leonard Cohen
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