The Hottest New Car? The Customizable, Affordable Slate EV
The Slate Auto debut earlier this year introduced a brand new car concept.Slate AutomotiveEarlier this year a brand new car company burst onto the scene and caused a frenzy for its look, its premise and its mission: To provide a blank slate for buyers to create a customized, personalized vehicle. The company, naturally, called itself Slate.With funding led by Jeff Bezos, Slate Automotive is a novel ‘blank slate’ concept that brings the idea of delivering an affordable basic pickup truck to customers who can then personalize it as much or as little as they like. The base model Slate is as bare as it gets: No paint, no radio, no extras. And it’s electric to provide the lowest possible cost, both to purchase and to maintain. But that bare bones Slate is more than just a truck. It’s a palette for a buyer’s vision. “Blank Slate” Design Is The Heart Of The BrandDesign chief Tisha Johnson led us through the premise of Slate, a dream job for this seasoned designer who previously headed up interior design at Volvo and left her stamp at furniture maker Herman Miller and Whirlpool.Slate “is a platform for people’s creativity,” Johnson told us. From the interior spaces designed to be filled with items like screens and radios, to the flat exterior panels optimized to make applying a vinyl wrap easy, Johnson’s job is not to just design Slate’s vehicles and accessories, but to spark possibilities for its customers.Buyers can customize their Slate as much or as little as they like, from adding custom wheels, cladding and lighting to interior details like upholstery, screens, speakers and more. Slate will offer accessories but buyers can do their own customization, too, even using a 3-D printer to create designs; Slate will happily provide plans assist creators with their designs.Slate design chief Tisha Johnson with the Slate truck customized for Monterey Car WeekForbesDesigned For How Gen Z Wants To By A Car This do-it-yourself truck design was created with young car buyers and modern mores in mind. Seeing the trend toward personalization and crafting, and recognizing that younger buyers are drawn to more affordable models, Slate blended the two ideas.Buyers can customize the exterior with stickers and wraps, and change those colors and graphics as much as they like. They can add their own reflectors, customize light covers and add a their own front facia plates. Inside they can print arm rests, door panels, air vents and customize the seating. Slate comes standard with a phone holder, the only screen option other than the driver’s display, but a tablet holder can be added for a larger screen. Covered cubbies offer spaces to add other features such as a sound system, a more permanent multimedia system or an accessory panel for things like exterior lighting, outlets and more.The Slate pickup truck in Slate GraySlate AutomotiveStreet Style Adds To The Modern AppealThe basic Slate truck is a street-truck style truck with boxy proportions that ride low on monochromatic wheels. The charm of a street truck, however, is customization; buyers often lift or lower the chassis and customize the paint, wheels and other details. This idea makes the Slate truck a perfect jumping-off point for a brand launch.Adding to the appeal is the option of adding seats and a larger cabin to the existing truck platform; buyers can opt for a rear seat, a square back configuration, a fastback or open-air design that’s perfect for adding a soft top and surf boards. The interior of the Slate Truck allows for customizationSlateValue Is Core To The Slate ConceptInitial Slate trucks will be offered from about $25,000 and delivered in Slate Gray with a minimum of features. Basic features include two cloth-covered seats, a driver’s display behind the steering wheel, heating and air conditioning and hand-crank windows.Despite its bare-bones frame, Slate is loaded with standard safety features such as traction control, automatic emergency braking, airbags, remote keyless entry, a rear view camera, pedestrian detection, auto high beams, and forward collision warning.It’s powered by a single 150 kWh rear wheel drive motor with a 150 mile range and output of about 201 hp, though Slate will offer an extended range battery with a 240 mile range. And while all wheel drive isn’t an option yet, speculation is that it’ll be on the table at some point.The Open Air version of the Slate truck allows for even more customizationSlate AutomotiveExperience Is At The Core Of Slate OwnershipEven with 100,000 reservations for the first Slate production run, which starts in late 2026 at Slate’s assembly plant in Indiana, the company continues to court potential buyers. With an eye toward accessibility and affordability, the brand’s marketers love to surprise people at car enthusiast gatherings, cars and coffee events and other places where the prototype can show off its DIY potential. And it gets attention, especially when it’s dressed for the occasion, in colorful stripes and graphics that the truck’s handlers can easily swap out for the next outing. Just as Slate’s owners will soon be able to to do.
