Slate EV Moves Past Reservations and Into Preorders: What That Means
What EV Shoppers Need to Know
- Slate Truck is an all-electric pickup with an expected base price of around $27,000.
- Single motor and rear-wheel drive is the only available configuration.
- A tremendous array of personalization options includes wraps, wheels and a kit to turn the pickup into a two-row SUV.
The Slate Truck will take a big step toward reality June 24, when the electric-vehicle startup begins taking preorders for its budget-priced two-seat electric pickup. Slate, in case you need a refresher, is an all-new company aiming to make EVs affordable by selling a basic pickup that can be personalized with a tremendous range of accessories designed to be installed before or after the buyer takes delivery.
Related: There’s a Lot to Love (and Worry) About Slate
Reservation to Preorder to Purchase
Slate was already accepting reservations, but it will begin taking preorders June 24. The brand says the $50 refundable reservations established priority for preordering. Once buyers submit their nonrefundable $300 preorder, their place in line for accepting delivery will be locked in.
As Slate has not yet revealed how much the truck or its vast catalog of accessories will cost — full pricing will also be announced June 24 — buyers do not need to know exactly how they will spec their vehicle to place a preorder. Slate says buyers will be able to finalize their configuration and purchase terms in “late 2026.”
When we say the Slate Truck has a vast catalog of accessories, we mean the basic pickup can be turned into a two-row SUV with a traditional square roofline, a fastback rear window or no roof at all over the rear passengers, just a rollbar. Every pickup leaves the factory painted gray, but the brand offers full and partial wraps in more than 100 colors, as well as two wheel sizes in multiple finishes each, and on and on.
Judgment Day Nears
The brand’s other main selling point has already taken a major hit. When the truck was announced, the company touted a starting price under $20,000, but that was with a huge asterisk: under $20,000 after the erstwhile federal EV tax credit. Now that the $7,500 tax credit is but a memory, Slate will have to start talking about the truck’s real price, which simple math places around $27,000.
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While that will still make the Slate Truck the most affordable EV, it won’t be by much. The reintroduced Chevrolet Bolt starts at $28,995 and the Nissan Leaf at $31,535 (prices include destination). And the Slate’s base price is with a 52.7-kilowatt-hour battery that nets a range of just 150 or so miles of range. The base Bolt can go up to 255 miles on a charge, and the Leaf ekes out another 4 miles from its 75-kWh pack. An entry-level Leaf with a smaller battery and a lower price (possibly lower than even the Slate’s) is coming.
Of course, no other affordable EV is a pickup, but in that arena, the Slate faces stiff gas-powered competition in the form of the crew-cab Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. The Maverick starts at just $28,840 — or $29,840 with its 38 mpg combined hybrid powertrain — and the Santa Cruz at $31,100. When Slate deliveries begin later in 2026, it will have to stare down the established competition on even footing — metallic purple wrap, lift kit and all.
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