No stereo, no screen, no electric windows, no paint. In a market where every carmaker tries to differentiate their EVs by offering more, the Slate Truck sets itself apart by offering almost nothing. With just one massive upside to justify the extensive compromises: a price tag under $20,000 for a basic truck made in the USA.

The Michigan-based startup Slate is betting that near-recession America is ready to scale back significantly on car payments, even if that also means scaling back on comfort. Despite lacking many standard features of modern cars, the Slate truck will, of course, be fully functional and road-ready.
Through a fully digital purchase experience, customers will be able to set up their truck modularly, customizing it as they see fit with modular upgrades, paint jobs, and even choosing the final look of the car. The basic slate of the Slate (hence the name) can be set up as a regular flatbed truck, an open-roof SUV, or a regular SUV.

The car's basic platform features a rear-axle-mounted 150 kW motor delivering 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque. Customers can choose between two battery options: a 52.7 kWh version with approximately 150 miles of range or a larger 84.3 kWh battery providing an estimated 240 miles of range.

Equipped with an NACS (Tesla) charging port, the Slate supports DC fast charging at up to 120 kW, allowing the battery to reach 80 percent capacity in roughly 30 minutes. Level two charging takes about 5 hours to go from 20 to 100 percent, while level one charging requires 11 hours. A distinguishing feature is that, unlike some competitors, SLATE's batteries are both sourced and manufactured within the United States.

The Slate's design vaguely reminds us of the post-Soviet boxiness of the Lada Niva, the infamous basic, no-frills Russian 4X4 that's still cheaply produced today. Unlike the Slate, the Niva can't be upgraded except by selecting pre-defined options, but the basic version has a vibe similar to the Slate Truck's uncustomized version. 

While big names in the industry (such as Jeff Bezos) have found the idea interesting enough to invest in Slate, it's unclear whether the American public will be ready to scale back from ultra-accessorized large trucks. There is a chance that, with tariffs threatening to make regular trucks even more expensive, it won't be a matter of choosing the Slate as much as making it one of the few cars that will still be affordable for a large chunk of the working US population.