- Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto plans to launch a $25,000 electric truck by late 2026.
- Slate Auto has hired former employees from Ford, GM, Fisker, Canoo, and Stellantis.
- Inspired by Ford’s classic Model T, the truck aims to bring EVs to the working class.
For years, the idea of an affordable, mass-market electric vehicle has hovered just out of reach—a promised revolution that never quite arrived. That could finally be changing, and not from where you might expect. Henry Ford is credited with making automobiles available to the masses at the beginning of the 20th century. Now, if the latest reports are accurate, Jeff Bezos wants to do the same with electric vehicles.
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The $25,000 EV has long been touted as the model that would finally convince buyers to go electric and ditch ICE-powered cars once and for all. Despite all the promises made by various brands, no such thing has materialized yet in the US. However, that may soon change.
Slate Auto: A New Player With Familiar Backing
According to a recent report by TechCrunch, Bezos is investing in Troy, Michigan-based EV startup Slate Auto, which plans to build a two-seat electric truck that will have a $25,000 starting price. The company was founded in 2022 out of the Amazon founder’s investment in another company called Re:Build Manufacturing, and is relatively unknown, especially compared to other high-profile start-ups.
Nevertheless, it has reportedly being hiring a number of employees in Detroit, among them from legacy automakers like GM, Ford, and Stellantis, as well as not-so-successful startups such as Fisker and Canoo. According to its LinkedIn page, as of April 8 it has between 201-500 employees and 334 associated members.
A Throwback-Inspired Future Vehicle
Details about the planned pickup truck understandably remain under wraps, although TechCrunch claims insiders told them it is inspired by affordable icons of the automotive industry like the Ford Model T and the VW Beetle.
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Elon Musk might have gotten there much earlier, but Bezos also became involved in the electric vehicle space, and Amazon is backing Rivian big time. In fact, it has so far invested more than $1.3 billion into the EV maker, which has signed a deal to supply the retail giant with delivery vans.
It’s not just Amazon that Slate Auto relies on, though, as it reportedly secured at least $111 million in a Series A funding round in 2023. More recently, it told its employees at the end of 2024 that it has also secured Series B investments, although this hasn’t been officially filed with the SEC yet.
Production Plans on the Horizon
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Slate Auto intends to commence production of its EV by late 2026. The new model will manufactured at a plant outside Indianapolis, Indiana, although it’s not clear whether it’s an all-new factory or if the brand has purchased an existing facility.