Slate Auto has pulled a Disneyland move: set expectations low, then blow past them.
The startup originally promised 180 miles of range for its base battery. It’s now 205 miles. Tow rating was supposed to be 1,000 lbs — it’s 2,000 lbs. Load rating went from 1,400 lbs to 1,550 lbs. Every key spec improved before the truck even reached customers.
I rode shotgun in Slate’s preproduction electric pickup around Los Angeles, and the first surprise: this thing doesn’t feel cheap despite the aggressive $24,950 price point. The acceleration is smooth, the handling is composed over bumps, and there are no squeaks or rattles — impressive for a vehicle that isn’t in production yet.
The truck puts out 181 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. Zero to 60 takes a mild eight seconds, and top speed is 90 mph. Not fast by EV standards, but perfectly adequate for a small pickup. One-pedal driving with regenerative braking is standard, though there’s only one level of regen and traction control can be switched off.
The 65 kWh gross / 63 kWh usable LFP battery pack delivers about 3.3 miles per kWh — decent but not class-leading. DC fast charging tops out at 120 kW, with 20-80% charge taking about 30 minutes. The 11 kW AC charging rate will interest fleet managers.
Compared to the Chevy Bolt EV ($27,600, 262 miles of range, 150 kW fast charging), the Slate offers more utility as a pickup at a lower price, though the Bolt wins on outright efficiency and charging speed.
Was the spec improvement intentional from the start? Was last week’s leaked base price guerrilla marketing? Slate’s CEO isn’t saying, and the company’s marketing has been playfully evasive. Either way, the truck looks like a genuine value proposition in the EV pickup space.
