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Last Updated on: 11th April 2025, 12:06 pm
TechCrunch reported this week that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is the financial force behind a new electric vehicle company based in Michigan known as Slate Auto. It apparently is an offshoot of another Bezos-funded company known as Re:Build Manufacturing that has been operating in stealth mode since it was founding in 2022. Since then the company has has hired hundreds of employees who previously worked at Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, and Harley-Davidson.
Slate Auto expects to start production as early as next year, according to multiple sources and documents that link Bezosβ family office to the startup. TechCrunch says documents it obtained from the Delaware Division of Corporations show some of the financial backers of the new company include Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the LA Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners, and Thomas Tull, who is a leading investor of Re:Build Manufacturing.
Getting a new manufacturing company started takes a lot of money and Slate Auto quietly raised $111 million in a Series A funding round in 2023, according to a public filing. Melinda Lewison, who manages Bezosβ family office, is listed as a director on paperwork Slate Auto has filed with various states and the federal government. The filing shows 16 people invested in that round, but it is is unclear how much Bezos himself invested in the company. The Delaware paperwork also lists Walter and Tull as board members. The manufacturing site is near Indianapolis, based on job listings and state lobbying records, although it is unknown at this time whether production will be at an existing facility or if the company plans to construct a new factory.
Slate Auto Business Plan
What kind of vehicle is Slate Auto going to start with? While it be a competitor to the mighty Hummer EV with 2000 horsepower that is more powerful than a locomotive and is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Will it be more like the Sony/Honda Afeela that features an array of screens for an immersive gaming experience while driving? The answer apparently is no. What Slate Auto has in mind is far more prosaic and much more attuned to what EV shoppers may actually want.
Call it the anti-Cybertruck if you will β a two door electric pickup truck that starts at around $25,000. Thatβs according to two sources who were granted anonymity to speak about the companyβs internal discussions. Leaders inside the company have mentioned the Ford Model T and the Volkswagen Beetle as being inspirations for the project, those sources say. The company apparently plans to source its battery pack, electric motors, and other related tech from outside suppliers, according to one job listing.
A photo of what may be a prototype of the Slate Auto pickup truck surfaced on the internet recently when Reddit user u/discostranger09 posted a photo to the r/whatisthiscar subreddit. A source has confirmed to TechCrunch the photo is in fact a vehicle Slate Auto has been working on and is likely being shown to investors. The styling of the truck is simple, with a grille similar to the Ford Bronco Sport. Some see hints of the Rivian R1T, which should come as no surprise as Slateβs head of exterior design worked at Rivian briefly before moving over to Slate. To my eye, the truck is reminiscent of the Jeep J10/Gladiator pickup truck of 40 years ago, which was a no nonsense work vehicle in the days before trucks became status symbols.
Apparently the marketing plan is to start with a basic vehicle that sells for an affordable price that customers can then upfit to meet their needs and desires. In fact, the entry level version of the truck may be known as the Blank Slate and be similar in concept to the Chevrolet W/T and Ford Custom pickup trucks that come with rubber floor mats and vinyl seats that are designed for those who wear work boots and jeans rather than Gucci loafers and Armani suits.
The company has filed for a trademark on the phrase βWE BUILT IT. YOU MAKE IT.β and has mentioned something that sounds like a customization program called βSlate Universityβ in job listings. TechCrunch says Slate plans to supplement the small margins of its low cost basic truck by offering a line of accessories and apparel that owners can use to customize their vehicles and their looks. It has filled its executive ranks with former Harley-Davidson and Stellantis employees. Those companies have historically built profitable ancillary businesses that feature apparel in the case of Harley-Davidson, and high performance aftermarket parts in the case of Stellantis with its MoPar division.
Automotive Veterans At The Helm
The executive chairman of Slate Auto is Rodney Copes, who spent 20 years at Harley-Davidson. Chief Financial Officer Ryan Green spent nearly a decade at Harley-Davidson as well. The heads of service, commercial, accessories product management, and growth marketing also are Harley-Davidson veterans., Slateβs CEO is Christine Barman, a longtime Chrysler veteran. For the past 10 years, she has been advising companies on emerging tech and teaching engineering before getting involved in 2022 with Re:Build Manufacturing.
Amazon veterans are found at every level of the new company. Slate Auto began as a project called Re:Car in early 2022 within Re:Build Manufacturing, a domestic manufacturing incubator of sorts co-founded by former Amazon Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke and his MIT Leaders for Global Operations classmate Miles Arnone. Several long time Amazon executives, including Wei Gao, who was a top VP and technical adviser to Bezos, are now at Re:Build Manufacturing. The heads ofΒ Slateβs digital, e-commerce, and automotive experience departments are also Amazon veterans.
Slate Auto is following the model that has proven so successful for many Japanese and Korean automakers by offering an affordable vehicle first and moving up market later. Who would have ever thought that the crap can cars that Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai started with would ever lead to those companies being some of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world? Slate Auto is going after what it hopes will be a buyerβs βfirst car,β according to the people who spoke with TechCrunch. The idea is to sell the truck at a price point of around $25,000, and have owners personalize or upgrade the car over time as they can afford to.
