Range
- Small battery range: 240km
- Big battery range: 385km
Motor
- Motor: Single motor, rear wheel drive
- Power: 150kW
- Torque: 264Nm
- 0-100km: 8s
- Top speed: 145km/h
Dimensions
- Bed length: 1.5m
- Vehicle length: 4.4m
- Vehicle height: 1.8m
- Vehicle width: 1.8m
Comparison
- 2025 Kia Niro length: 4.4m
- 2025 Ford Maverick length: 5.1m
- 1985 Toyota Pickup/Hilux length: 4.7m
Weights
- Curb weight 1634kg
- Max payload 650kg
- Max towing 454kg
Charging
- Port: NACS
- Onboard charger: 11kW
- Level 1 AC, 3.6kw, 20-100%: 11h
- Level 2 AC, 11kW, 20-100%: under 5h
- Level 3 DC, 120kW, 20-80%: under 30m
Safety
- Traction Control
- Electronic Stability Control
- Forward Collision Warning
- Automatic Emergency Braking
- 2-stage Driver/Passenger Airbags
- Full Length Side Curtain Airbags (Truck 2) (SUV 4)
- Seat Side Airbags (2)
- Backup Camera
- Pedestrian Identification
- Auto High Beam
More info
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Aside from being backed by Bezos, this seems like Lemmy the car. Under 20K, an EV, no stupid touch screen, designed to be repaired and modded, and even crank windows.
I bet the catch, aside from Bezos, is the range or charge speed.
I don’t think that it has a cell modem, either, because it sounds like it eschews a baked-in entertainment computer:
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64564869/2027-slate-truck-revealed/
Roll-down windows come standard, as do manually adjustable rearview mirrors. An audio or infotainment system is noticeably missing, too. Instead, your cellphone or tablet serves these functions, with a dock for the former included and one for the latter available as an optional accessory. Better like the sound coming out from your phone or tablet’s speakers, too, because the Slate lacks speakers, though the brand’s accessory division will gladly hook you up with a set.
Honestly, if you took my last year of comments complaining about privacy-infringing cars and those complaining about changes to what a truck is, this does kind of look to be addressing both. Gotta see what the actual production vehicle is like in real life, of course, but…
When I say the truck is small, I mean it. At 174.6 inches, it’s about 2 feet shorter in overall length than the 2025 Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. And to use the Wayback Machine to a time when compact pickups were actually compact, it’s roughly the same size as the compact pickups of 1980: the Toyota truck, Chevy LUV and Ford Courier. Notably, no other automakers have offered trucks of this size in America since the mid 1990s.
Yeah, like the “inexpensive, no-frills utility vehicle” that pickups originally were.
because the Slate lacks speakers,
I mean, I get they need to cut costs, but come on… a damn radio wouldnt have killed them
Honestly, as long as it’s easily DIY upgradable (accessible speaker mounting locations, standard DIN panels, etc) I am all for this. Most OEM audio systems are stupidly overpriced and suck complete donkey balls compared to what you can get for a few hundred bucks at Crutchfield and install in an afternoon.
For the last 20 years or so, most factory audio systems are so integrated into the rest of the electronics that they can be an absolute nightmare to upgrade unless you are a pro, which means you get the worst of both worlds: garbage audio, AND a steep upgrade path.
I agree, and everyone basically want Apple/Android CarPlay units anyway. The hard part will be getting a wiring harness installed, unless there is some space provided in the dash (putting speakers or anything else in a door is really annoying for the experienced, and too tall an order for the beginner.
Didn’t some Scions come with no radio? The idea being they were targeted at younger folks who were more likely to customize their stereo, so “no stereo, but all the speaker grilles and mount points for one” is a bit like the “no operating system -$211” option on a Laptop. Happy Linux user noises.
You can get them, but I kind of like the idea of just a Bluetooth third-party speaker
I don’t think that it has a cell modem, either
So it’s not coming to Europe then.
Is there a requirement for big brother data tracking over there?
Cars must be able to autonomously call emergency services. You don’t need a SIM for that, or for that matter have the modem switched on all the time.
I’m from the states, but what’s stopping one from removing the modem or snipping the antenna?
Possibly, technical inspections. I’m not sure whether it’s a requirement for cars to be street legal or just a requirement for cars to be sold on the market. The regulation only mentions that it’s about type approval but it’s not like modifying a car automatically nullifies its type approval.
Certainly would be hard to argue for authorities that snipping the eCall would endanger others, similar situation as with seat belts I don’t think legislation is unified there.
Why would you?
They sell emergency car lights that you pop up on top of the car ala secret police (but yellow). They have a modem that when activated automatically notifies the road services of you being there stopped.
…and that system is only activated in case of an accident. The spec explicitly states that there is no continuous tracking of vehicle position or other parameters.
No but the emergency assistant system is required, and for that you need a cell modem.
100% in agreement with all your points. Simplicity and modular! Look how well the original mustang did, because you could actually get what you wanted. That has disappeared completely now
Standard Range (52.7 kWh) (est.): 150 miles
seems like but manageable for most people
That’s not 150 miles of actual driving range, it’s more like 75-100miles of actual range.
They do say that they also offer a larger battery pack with a 240 mi range, but yeah, even so, it’s not gonna be a great vehicle for long-distance highway travel compared to a current ICE vehicle. Fine for a commuter, though.
Don’t buy a truck if you’re just a daily commuter, that’s just plain dumb. Get a BEV with much better efficiency and a tow hitch for the occasional needs.
A bacon egg vehicle?
Battery Electric Vehicle
But…it has a battery? What makes the difference?
Point me to an electric sedan I can buy for $20k and I will.
A GWM Ora is about the equivalent of US$20K in Australia (no subsidies). So its doable.
The truck form is just one of the body options for it. I mean, you can’t get it in sedan form, but the website configurator thing has options for small SUV and fastback.
All are tall models with shit efficiency.
I do have a concern about that; a lot of pickup truck missions are go-and-get-it. The best lumber yard in my area just happens to be about 75 miles away. Not a problem for my S10, right on the cusp of what this thing can do.
My car doesn’t even go >200mi but I’ve driven it on multi-thousand mile trips with no problem.
I very much doubt their target market is people commuting to the office.
I want it as a commuter because it’s cheap and can be used as a weekend project truck. The second part isn’t necessary, but it’s nice to not need to rent one.
It’s 150 miles of rated range, presumably according to the EPA standard, just like every other EV is rated. The EPA standards have recently been updated to reflect more accurately.
Yes, and yet it is still so very far from reality when it comes to BEVs. It’s fine when comparing cars because it’s a well defined standard, but it’s terrible at indicating actual range especially if you don’t live in dry warm climate.
It’s really not. You can’t account for climate with a single number. That’s why standards exist.
well its less it doesnt have a touch screen, the touch screen is an optional purchase.
the range iirc in some overview is 2 options, one was i think 150mi, the other was 240mi
From my other link, I don’t think that the touch screen is an optional purchase. I don’t think that they’re selling any entertainment computer to have a screen on. It says that they come standard with a smartphone mounting point or optionally with a tablet mounting point. But the car computer is bring-your-own, and not built into the car. Which…is what I’ve wanted, because computers age out a lot more quickly than cars do.
I assume that there’ll be an OBD-II slot that one can hook up to to feed data about the car to the phone/tablet. There’s software that can make use of that. Dunno if there’s any other data typically exposed to car computers other than what that provides.
No, there is no optional touch screen. The one featured in their media is a phone/iPad running the Slate app.
As long as it gets 50+ miles range reliably in winter, it’s perfect as a commuter/weekend project truck. I generally look for 150 miles range for this, since winter can cut effective range in half. I don’t care about charge speed since I’ll just plug it in at night.
Good news, its range is 150 miles.
I mean Bezos backed Rivian too. Or Amazon did, anyway.
It will need to have a screen to comply with safety standards. A back up camera is mandatory.
The Citroen Ami is a “cycle car” under French law and doesn’t have to meet the same standards.
It has a camera on the tailgate and the instrument cluster is a display.
Supposedly, there’s a display on the instrument cluster for the backup camera.
Cool but now I’m worried this is being spammed everywhere. New capitalism marketing at foot?
yea im already slightly tired of seeing this truck after the day(s) it’s been promoted.
Really? This is the first place I’ve seen it. Then again, I use an ad blocker everywhere.
Every news website is covering it. I think I’ve spotted most of 10 articles around the place.
The law of well-marketed unreleased goods dictates that this vehicle is not going to meet any of the promises mentioned in the articles. I hope to be proven wrong, but just like video games: don’t pre-order, wait for it to come out and be reviewed.
Yeah, the only thing I’ve pre-ordered in the last few years is my Steam Deck. I think it’s also generally a good idea to avoid gen 1 of pretty much everything.
I’ve seen it several times on Lemmy, Reddit, my news feed, my bloody RSS feed…etc
And I block ads., I don’t see ads, but now social media in general is just half astroturfed ads.
Under $20k after federal incentives*
Yeah, this is my issue with the government incentives for EVs, especially now that they are more common and can be deducted from the sale price. Most retailers are just jacking up the price to whatever the cap for the rebate is while pretending it’s still a good deal.
This is the same argument used for blaming the cost of college on government loans for education, for $$$ housing prices in cities that offer low income subsidies, for food prices due to food stamps…
Those programs do have an effect on pricing. Not 1 to 1 with the cost subsidization and even if it does there’s plenty of arguments to keep programs like that around.
However I’d rather see moves made to encourage positive behaviors, like purchasing an electric vehicle, that didn’t translate into a dealership subsidy.
I hardly think $27.5k could be considered “jacking up the price” but I also don’t appreciate advertising pricing that is dependent on a government incentive that may not even exist when the vehicles are actually delivered.
Whoa, now that raised an eyebrow. Doesn’t look like the truck bed is ridiculously high. This checks a lot of boxes, and my crap vertebrae agree.
Definitely following this company.
It’s smaller than the Hyundai Santa Cruz; my dad has one of those, and it’s not very big (smaller than a Ranger).
This truck is positively tiny.
I want one.
What if, and here me out here, what if, and that’s a crazy thought, what if cars don’t have be ridicules in size and battery capacity is actually used more efficiently rather than carrying dead weight.
But I need my land barge to potentially carry 9000 pounds and 6 people for at least 400 miles without a break, even if I can barely manage to satisfy one of those criteria once a year. Otherwise it’s a miserable failure that must be mocked.
Fuckin’ seriously. I’ve got friends who are like “I wouldn’t even consider an electric car until they have 1000 miles of range and can charge in fifteen minutes,” like bruh, you make two road trips a year and have four kids; even if we pretend you weren’t a two car family that takes the minivan anyway when you’re traveling, there’s no way your kids are making it a quarter of the range you “need” without stopping.
what if cars don’t have be ridicules in size
Then you may be interested in this vehicle. It’s about as long as the Kia Niro at 4.4m.
carrying dead weight
I mean, even in a 5 seater sedan, you’re gonna be carrying dead weight. Are you suggesting everyone ride bikes or motorcycles instead?
Car dependency is a dead end for humanity regardless of what shit-boxes they manufacture.
For urban environments I 100% agree, but e-bikes and public transport can’t help farmers* get their produce to market. I don’t know much about this truck, but if it can fill a similar niche as the Japanese kei truck, I think it’s great to provide people who actually need a pickup with an alternative to the F-150+ behemoths currently available stateside.
*Yes there are some urban farms that totally could operate via ebike/other form of micro mobility, however most farms, even small ones, are located >10 miles outside urban centers, usually in areas only accessible by roads and highways that are currently very dangerous for non-motorized transportation modes. Fixing this problem would take decades and hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars even if the government were fully on board with the transportation network and/or land use changes necessary to allow for a true car-free society (which of course they aren’t). I’m not such an idealist as to poo-poo a significant short-term improvement to the “oversized working vehicle” problem.
Agreed. Whether everyone should be driving everywhere is a completely separate problem. In the short term, people need replacements for current ICE vehicles, and an inexpensive truck that runs on electricity is fantastic while we figure out the rest of the issues.
I’m guessing eventually farmers won’t need trucks, they’ll need bots that fulfill that need instead.
I don’t think that tractors will ever go the way of the dodo and when you have proper logistics, say a reasonably dense S-Bahn type rail network that can also handle shipping individual containers, a tractor and a trailer is all you need as you only have to haul to the next logistics hub and there’s no truck load even 100 year old tractors can’t tow: When you can pull a plough through soil torque isn’t something you need to worry about, 20 horses at 5km/h go vroom. 20 horses! Do you know how much those eat.
It’s hard to guess the future, but I imagine once we have automated farming, things like tractors will look a lot different. Right now, farmers need versatile equipment for a variety of tasks (plow, till, plant, etc), whereas an automated farm would probably prefer dedicated machines for each. The farmer would become more of a mechanic/planner than the one directly running the equipment.
I don’t know how far out that is, but I imagine once we get reasonable self-driving cars, farming will be the next up.
Modern tractors already self-drive on the field, fertiliser is applied in tightly controlled doses based on aerial analysis, that future is already there. You don’t plant or fertilise at the same time as you plough so it makes sense for those things being attachments, not integrated machines. The reason combine harvesters are dedicated machines is because they do so much in one go it doesn’t fit into a (sensibly sized) attachment.
You could also have drones distribute that fertiliser but you can’t work the soil with them, and you already have a tractor to work the soil with so you can just as well use it to apply the fertiliser. There’s also tons of odd lifting and transporting jobs on farms, that’s why there’s forklift attachments. You’ll need something with torque, low ground pressure, PTO and attachment points and well that’s a tractor.
My understanding is that the current design is merely an evolution of regular human-controlled machines, and they still need to be able to operate w/ a human inside. Once you remove the human from the equation, the design space opens up quite a bit, and you optimize for different things. Since things would likely be battery powered, maybe you’d want more, smaller devices so they don’t take as long to charge.
I don’t know, I’m not a farmer. My point, however, is that once we trust machines to operate w/o humans in control, things are likely to change a lot.
fertiliser is applied in tightly controlled doses based on aerial analysis
Gotta say, this should be a huge red flag for everyone. Soil quality is declining sharply, and fertilizers simply aren’t making up the difference. Switching to robots farming will almost certainly accelerate this.
Under solutions, there, is written “compost” and “animal manure”. That’s fertiliser. Import-dependent agriculture is a whole another topic and I didn’t want to get into it, but long story short, no matter how good and natural your soil management is you can’t expect to export nutrients all the time and not develop a shortage. You can pull nitrogen out of the air, that’s nice, but you can’t do that with phosphate and minerals in general. Good news is that good water treatment plants will pull phosphate out of the waste water.
Some of us live in spread out communities or rural areas. You don’t expect all humans to live in a 2x2 ft cube in a 30 story tall building do you? Also, I guarantee not everyone else wants to live right next to other humans. I try to get as far as possible so I can do anything I want (be loud, be outside at any time, have parties etc). There is actually enough livable land on the planet for every single human to have 2 acres worth. Now, should people have children when there is already billions of us, that’s another question.
According to this guy, you are the reason humans will die
What’s the solution for transport around farms and factories and such then? Trucks will always be needed.
Or for people in rural areas? Its 10 miles to the grocery store for me, if there was a bike lane or something I’d love to ride an ebike when I have the time and in the summer. But certainly not in the winter, or when I’m short on time and don’t have 1+ hours to bike there.
Where’s the bullet point for Bezos? Hard pass if that shit bag is involved in anyway.
He’s a billionaire, and he’s a normal billionaire at that. Investing is literally the only thing they do.
239 miles / 150 miles for big/small battery in angry eagle units.
Tbh, I’m super into this. Especially if the range could be extended slightly or if the truck is somewhat hackable.
But then… Bezos. Ugh.
I struggle to understand the point of a truck that can only tow 500kg… that and such awful range. If the range were doubled this would be a great deal, but as is it’s just dead in the water.
That’s because you’re thinking of trucks used first and foremost for heavy duty “truck stuff.” That is not the only market for trucks, at least in the US: https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-size-pickup-truck-you-need-a-cowboy-costume
According to Edwards’ data, 75 percent of truck owners use their truck for towing one time a year or less (meaning, never). Nearly 70 percent of truck owners go off-road one time a year or less. And a full 35 percent of truck owners use their truck for hauling—putting something in the bed, its ostensible raison d’être—once a year or less.
$20k with some cargo for a car is pretty good. If you need a F150, then you’ll have to pay for one.
I mean, are there any cars available in the US for just $20k? I’m pretty sure a base Mazda 3 was more than that when we bought ours five years ago (before the pandemic, and ours is a higher trim model). I don’t think they’re making the really small cars any more (like the Toyota Yaris).
Short version, I’m skeptical of this price point for even a small pickup. Great if they can do it.
Electric? Nothing under 20k that’s new. We had a Chevy Bolt on the market at 28k, but it’s discontinued now.
I meant including gas.
Looks like there’s one, the Nissan Versa.
It can probably tow more, usually 500 kg is like the bare minimum for American cars. Also us towing standards are a bit more strict. A car in the EU is rated to tow more than a car in the US, even if it’s identical.
Even if it were 1000kg, that’s still way below what a truck would want to tow though.
Depends on the truck owner. It’s not going to haul a boat, but it can probably do lumber (though the bed is kinda short and narrow), gardening stuff, and camping gear. That’s basically what I’d want a truck for, plus the odd piece of furniture.
Treat it like a base Chevy S10.
Low towing capacity and an outrageously miserable bed size. Less than five feet? The powertrain of this should have been put in a station wagon, not a “truck.”
There used to be a market for small trucks which has all largely evaporated. I’m all in favour of a smaller utility truck with limited range. Something like this would be ideal for my business.
No mention of safety in the article. Does a manufacturer of this size have to do crash tests?
Also, this sounds like the Spirit/Ryanair of cars. Everything costs extra.
For years, I drove ~10-20 minutes to and from work. Mostly stroads and freeway. I could never justify buying an extra nice car because I didn’t use it that much. Same for a nice car stereo. I’d just listen to NPR and talk radio for news, traffic reports, and maybe a quirky story about some cultural oddity or eclectic artist. If I spend thousands on a sound system it goes in my house, where I live and vibe. Now I work from home, ride my bike everywhere, and a tank of gas can easily last me a month. My current car was purchased for about $20k. If my car died for some reason, I don’t even know if I’d be willing to part with 20k to replace it. I appreciate that these guys are building something for ordinary people and not another faux luxury lifted minivan the size of a garbage truck.
I can see a lot of retired people buying one of these to drive to their once a week bridge tournament or bingo night.
I can see a lot of retired people buying one of these to drive to their once a week bridge tournament or bingo night.
They would be far better served with a regular car instead of a pickup
If you need a car just once a week you shouldn’t own a car at all. Take the bus!
You are assuming everyone lives within a mile of a bus stop and has a safe road with sidewalks or bike lanes to get to that bus stop.
Indeed
The majority of people in the US don’t have access to busing.
Taxi
Luckily you can add a hardtop and seats (and airbags!) to the rear to make it into an SUV. Appears to be a modular design.
I would seriously consider this little thing if 1) it actually happens at that price point and 2) retains this modular design (lmao)
Though I would prefer an AWD option. I do like to take my vehicles off-road…
They say they’re shooting for a 5 star crash rating.
I believe so if they want to be highway legal.
I want this to be successful
Everyone seems to hate this thing based on marketing but I actually kind of liked the looks of it, sigh.
Yeah, what’s wrong with it? It looks like a simple truck for around town use, and it’s fairly cheap.
My only deal breaker is the lack of 4x4. I love this truck, but I will not buy a truck without 4 wheel drive.
What do you need 4x4 in a truck this small for?
Rwd is shit in the snow and other low traction environments. Also, just to take out in the woods and have fun beating it up overlanding.
Are you really going to take it into the woods with just two seats, mediocre suspension (likely, given the limited payload and towing), and limited range? Just get a Polaris side-by-side or something, they’re built for that.
I get it, a cheap truck is appealing, but at this price target, it’s going to make a lot of compromises. It should do fine in plowed roads (might need sandbags in the back though), so it’ll probably be fine for around town use, which seems to be its target.
With the motors and battery being on the backend of the truck, wouldn’t that give you better traction on the back wheels over the front wheels?
I’m not sure how the weight is distributed, so maybe? Maybe it needs sandbags in the front?
Either way, it sounds workable as an around town truck, even in snow, without 4WD.
Yeah, lol, I probably would. Unless they do something weird, suspension and wheels can be upgraded, and they have a battery/range upgrade that can anso preclude the need for sand bags. But yeah, I probably would.
Also, a sxs needs a trailer and a truck to get to the woods, and I have nowhere to store a trailer and a sxs.
Same. I would like to have a 4WD overland rig that doesn’t pollute the air while I enjoy nature. Don’t tell the guys over at !fuckcars@lemmy.world this but I kinda want a Rivian R1S but with a near $100K USD price tag, It’s probably never going to happen. I’ll just stick with eMTBs.
I love this thing too hell and back. This is exactly what I want in a car/truck.
Curb weight 1634kg
This was the standout spec that might make me consider one.
I’ve been looking mainly at small hatchbacks/SUVs, and they all seem to weigh in at over 1800kg. And many are over 2000kg. Excluding Aptera…
What makes that spec a priority for you?
Tires? General handling? Crash safety for others?
Weight affects basically everything. Less weight means less cost to buy, better range, better handling, less cost of maintenance (brakes, tires, etc), better safety, less getting stuck off-road, and so on…
Others have answered this well already 👍
After seeing announcements and headlines like this for over 10 years and just about nothing available for sale I just kind of yawn Now. Good way to raise some venture capital though. does it have AI? let’s do this
AI catalytic converter technology!
availability slated for Q4 2026
I see what you did there.
