Slate's electric pickup has spent months as an intriguing idea, and on the Waveform podcast the crew tries to work out whether it is finally turning into a real product. The concept is a stripped-down modular truck that starts just under $25,000 and lets buyers add back the features they want. In base form it is rear-wheel drive, uses a 65 kilowatt hour battery, makes around 180 horsepower, reaches sixty in roughly eight seconds, and tops out near 90 miles per hour. Range now sits at about 205 miles, up from the 160 or so Slate first floated after the company settled on a single drivetrain. There are no speakers, no power windows, and no paint. The hosts call it the Spirit Airlines of EVs, cheap up front with a long list of upcharges, and spend the episode weighing whether that math actually works for the people most likely to buy one.
The debate the hosts keep circling is value. If Slate holds the price, a base truck at just under $25,000 would be the cheapest new pickup sold in the US, and it would undercut every electric vehicle currently on the market, since batteries usually push EVs toward the expensive end of any segment. The counterexample they raise is the Ford Maverick, which starts higher but includes speakers, power windows, a screen, and a bed liner as standard, the very things Slate treats as paid add-ons. Where the truck makes the most sense, they argue, is fleets and tradespeople who do not need creature comforts: pool services, pest control, a carpenter making local runs. For that buyer, stripping the vehicle down to a windshield, a bed, and a motor is the entire appeal. For a family shopping for a normal daily driver, the picture is murkier, because once you add the wrap, the speakers, the liner, and a few other basics, the add-ons can erase a real chunk of the headline savings and narrow the gap to a better-equipped rival that already includes them.
The video also gets into how a truck this configurable is even built. The hosts explain that Slate pre-wires the vehicle with power and data pins in fixed locations, so accessories like a small JBL speaker simply clip on, draw power, and work, while the rest of the electronics live in the module you buy rather than in the base truck. Early accessory prices they cite include vinyl wraps starting around $500 and climbing past $1,500 for elaborate designs, integrated speakers at roughly $150 for a front pair plus about $250 for a center channel, and a bed liner near $750, with owners expected to handle much of the installation themselves. Safety is a bright spot: the hosts say Slate is targeting a five-star rating, and a backup camera is included because federal rules require one. The point they keep returning to is production. Slate has shown prototypes and let people drive them, but the hosts stress the factory is not finished and the company is only targeting shipments in the fourth quarter, and they openly wonder how many promised trucks have reached exactly this stage and never made it to customers.
Bottom line: The Slate is the most interesting cheap EV in years precisely because it refuses to pretend you need power windows, and at $25,000 it could reset expectations for what a new truck costs. But interesting is not the same as delivered. Until the factory is running and trucks are sitting in driveways, treat the price and the shipping date as goals rather than guarantees. If you run a small fleet or just need a basic hauler, it is worth watching closely. If you want one comfortably equipped, price the modules first, because that is where the real number quietly lives.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.