The $27,000 Pickup Ready for DIY Dreams

It’s news to no one that new cars are expensive. Years of rival automakers locked in tit-for-tat battles for higher power, longer range, bigger screens, and just more has led to a steady rise in prices. Even new cars with a low starting MSRP can be hard to find as those that arrive at dealer lots are often stuffed with cost-adding options and accessories.

Slate is here to kick that trend. Its first product will be a small truck that’s shockingly bare-bones. Among the few features within its plastic body are manually adjustable cloth seats, a tiny screen, and—get this—crank windows. Designed and built in the United States with a focus on American-sourced parts, Slate is targeting a starting price of under $20,000 after federal incentives.

Too literally and figuratively cheap for you? The company’s name makes sense when you realize its truck is a blank slate on which to custom-build your own small car for your exact needs—nothing more, nothing less.

The Blank Slate Starting Point

Officially known as the Slate Truck, the vehicle will leave its maker’s Michigan factory in only one ultra-basic configuration. That’s a two-door single-cab with a 4-by-5-foot bed. Its overall length is longer than the tiny Telo MT1 but shorter than the Ford Maverick.

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Most of its body panels are made of a molded-in-color Slate Gray (of course) dent-resistant composite. The black-painted steel wheels are perhaps the simplest design imaginable. Still, Slate provides safety basics including front automatic emergency braking and multiple airbags.

Not since cars from the 1990s has there been an interior so barren as the Slate Truck’s. Physical switchgear is used throughout, including the climate control knobs and crank windows. Touchscreens are conspicuously absent.

The sole display is behind the unvarnished steering wheel, measuring approximately 4.0 inches across and there mainly to satisfy legal requirements for a backup camera. A dashboard-mounted smartphone holder is included so drivers can use their device for Slate’s app or others.

Two covered storage cubbies are shaped into the dashboard, and a plastic console runs between the seats. Materials throughout are intended to be hard-wearing and inexpensive.

Cost reduction is a priority in Slate’s design and engineering. For example, the exterior and interior door handles are identical, as are the taillights, just flipped over on different sides. By producing the Truck in only one color, Slate eliminates an expensive paint shop in its manufacturing facility.

The Slate Truck is all electric, carrying a 52.7-kWh battery that powers a single rear motor producing 201 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. Acceleration from a stop to 60 mph should take about 8.0 seconds.

Driving range is estimated at 150 miles, while an optional 84.3-kWh battery will increase range to 240 miles. A dual-motor AWD powertrain is also potentially in the works. It charges via a Tesla-style NACS port, the expanding industry standard. Payload tops out at 1,433 pounds and towing at 1,000 pounds.

A Canvas on Four Wheels

In a world where electric trucks have more than 400 miles of range or 1,000-plus horsepower, the Slate Truck’s specs barely register. That’s intentional. When Slate looks at the new-car market, it sees vehicles overbuilt and excessively equipped for many drivers’ needs.

Instead of filling its Truck with options and packages, Slate is developing an extensive personalization ecosystem so customers can equip their vehicle exactly how they like.

If you see an aspect you want to change, there’s a good chance you can. Slate will provide a catalog of accessories and upgrades that fit into the Truck’s hardware and software structures. Crank windows too rudimentary? Swap in power window modules. Prefer touchscreen connectivity? Get the mounting bracket for a tablet computer. Heated seats? Zip on a fitted cover that wires into the electrical system. Nicer interior trim? That’s available, too, in a variety of colors and finishes. Likewise, Slate will sell wrap kits of precut decals sized exactly to the truck’s dimensions for easy installation.

The customization potential extends beyond aesthetics and amenities. Buyers could choose the lift kit and wheels with all-terrain tires for more rugged potential, or the lowering kit and larger wheels for a sporty vibe.

Notably, the firewall and glass that separate the cab from the bed can be removed. By doing so, customers can install rear seats, which are covered by a squared-off or fastback bed cap supported by an integral roll hoop, turning the Truck into a small five-seat SUV.

Pop a roof rack on top to expand its cargo carrying capability. Use the Slate Maker, a hyper-detailed online configurator tool, to ideate a build.

What you see in our photos is the same vehicle—during the lunch break at our preview, a team converted the gray Truck into the tan SUV. You need not be a trained professional to modify your Slate. Factory support will be available, but those with a DIY bent can access the Slate University online library of step-by-step tutorials showing how to change anything about the vehicle.

Well, almost anything. The battery and powertrain will remain generally inaccessible. But Slate’s guiding principle for personalization is if a change wouldn’t harm the Truck or people, it’s fair game. That’ll even extend to warranty repairs that can be completed by an owner.

This principle is also key to Slate’s intent to open-source much of its ecosystem, allowing handy creatives to design and fabricate their own accessories. Slate draws inspiration from online marketplaces in the crafts and 3D-printing spaces for building a community around this vast potential.

Why Bother?

Slate’s team is formed of people with deep experience in the automotive and powersports industries, so there’s an enthusiast skew in imagining what the Truck could become. Drivers already keen on personalizing their car—whether that’s by adding a colorful wrap or building a full custom rig—will find access and support for their dreams in a way most automakers shy away from.

But car lovers willing to turn a wrench are a niche segment of the market. Slate also envisions its success supported by small businesses, local service providers, and municipal fleets.

These buyers could equip their Truck with, say, hardware to hold equipment or goods to get the job done, along with distinctive wraps and branded grille inserts to promote marketing visibility.

With its targeted price of less than $20,000 after federal EV incentives, Slate may earn other customers looking for a cheap, simple, low-maintenance car. This hinges on those federal incentives remaining available, no certain thing in today’s political climate; if eliminated, the Truck’s price would be some $7,500 higher.

Furthermore, we’re skeptical that entry-level car buyers are the type willing to choose a blank Slate instead of a basic yet vetted—and at least power window- and touchscreen-equipped—subcompact sedan or crossover.

However, Slate indicated that spending even half of the base price on add-ons would result in a highly equipped Truck, so it’s reasonable to think that buying a few bits to bring it to feature parity would be within reach.

Slate: More Than a Clever Idea?

At this point, Slate is in its early stages; the vehicle we viewed was clearly a rough prototype, far from roadworthy. Promises of the Truck’s active and passive safety capabilities remain to be proven. Then there are questions of how this personalization ecosystem would work beyond distribution and logistics.

Modern cars are what they are because corporations full of professional designers and engineers work out minute details of user experience and functional integrity. Putting those opportunities in the hands of inexperienced tinkerers might create liabilities for Slate that established automakers insulate themselves from.

But established automakers’ always-additive, profit-focused ways have created the environment for Slate to even become an idea—and it’s an idea that has our interest piqued.

We’re already thinking about how we’d build our perfect Slate Truck, and there’s time for us to figure it out as Slate gears up for production by the end of 2026.