On the Dash:
- Slate electric pickup test drives are now available at its first Experience Center in Chicago.
- The center shows the truck’s size, interior space, build quality and available accessories.
- The startup is skipping owned service centers and partnering with RepairPal for repairs.
Slate Auto has opened its first Slate Experience Center in Chicago, giving shoppers a place to see its electric pickup truck in person and take a test drive. Customers can look at the truck to get a sense of its size, interior space and build quality.
The location also has options and accessories on hand, giving shoppers a chance to see what they can add. The company says test drives will be available at the center.
Slate Auto’s DTC model
The move stands out because Slate has chosen not to build a network of owned and operated service centers, unlike direct-to-consumer brands such as Rivian, Tesla and Lucid. Instead, the company is partnering with RepairPal, which vets independent repair shops. A physical location still matters for a new automaker, making the company more tangible to potential customers, especially with a vehicle as different as the Slate truck.
A Slate spokesperson declined to elaborate on plans for future locations or how fast the company intends to build them.
Backed by Bezos
Slate is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The company closed a $650 million Series C round in April, led by investment firm TWG Global. Slate says the money will fund its next production stages this year. Slate plans to build the truck at a factory in Warsaw, Indiana, and expects to invest nearly $400 million in that facility, according to Reuters.
The truck is set to go on sale by the end of 2026 at $26,400, including a destination fee. That would make it the country’s cheapest electric vehicle. The base truck is a small two-door pickup with 205 miles of range from an LFP battery and a basic interior.
Buyers can add accessories or switch to one of a couple of five-seat SUV body styles. An Open Air body kit for the pickup adds seats in the bed with a rollover bar above rear passengers’ heads.
