In April 2025, a brand new firm known as Slate Auto got here out of stealth and shocked the automobile trade. Not solely was this startup targeted on making an ultra-cheap, customizable electrical pickup truck with funding from Jeff Bezos, but it surely had additionally been working in secret for 3 years in Troy, Michigan — the yard of main automakers like Ford and Common Motors.
TechCrunch was first to the story, reporting in early April concerning the firm’s existence, its involvement with the Amazon founder, and its curious and distinctive enterprise mannequin. The weeks between our report and Slate’s official popping out celebration in late April offered a whirlwind of reports, with prototypes of the startup’s truck popping up round California.
Slate is an aberration within the U.S. EV sector, the place bankruptcies, failed product launches, and pivots have change into commonplace. And whereas its present backers, govt lineup, first product, and enterprise mannequin present a compelling path ahead, the highway remains to be riddled with potential hurdles because it pushes towards manufacturing in late 2026.
Right here’s a timeline that charts out every part it’s essential to learn about Slate Auto, from its origin story and backers to its product, enterprise mannequin, and manufacturing plans.
Contained in the EV startup secretly backed by Jeff Bezos
April 8 – After a year-long investigation, TechCrunch printed a narrative revealing {that a} secretive EV startup known as Slate Auto had been working for 3 years with the monetary backing of Jeff Bezos and LA Dodgers proprietor Mark Walter.
In contrast to different EV startups, Slate had been engaged on growing an especially low-cost electrical pickup truck that may begin at round $25,000. This truck could be deeply customizable, leveraging the expertise of many former workers from Harley-Davidson and Chrysler, two firms which have intensive equipment and aftermarket components companies.
Slate Auto’s pickup truck noticed within the wild
April 10 – At some point later, a photograph of a nondescript electrical truck began circulating on the r/whatisthiscar subreddit, with Redditors speculating it could possibly be Slate’s thriller EV.
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TechCrunch was in a position to affirm the photograph was, in actual fact, of a prototype of Slate’s truck parked exterior the corporate’s Lengthy Seashore, California design heart.
An EV that may change like a ‘Transformer’
April 21 – Slate started placing idea variations of the Slate EV on public streets to generate advertising buzz forward of its deliberate launch occasion on April 24. Curiously, a few of them seemed to be styled extra like SUVs or hatchbacks, not simply pickup vans.
TechCrunch was in a position to affirm the corporate had developed the EV to have “Transformer-like” modular capabilities, and that this stunt was a technique to tease this customization.
The analog EV pickup truck that’s decidedly anti-Tesla
April 24 – Slate made its debut at a launch occasion in Lengthy Seashore, California, the place it revealed its customizable electrical pickup truck. Slate additionally introduced the truck could be accessible for beneath $20,000 — with the $7,500 federal EV tax credit score.
The bottom model of the truck was revealed to be very bare-bones, with simply 150 miles of vary, no energy home windows, no essential infotainment display screen, and never even any paint. Slate promised primarily every part concerning the truck could be customizable, even all the way down to the variety of seats and the general silhouette.
A former Indiana printing plant eyed for EV truck manufacturing
April 25 – TechCrunch reported that Slate had recognized a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana as the placement for its truck manufacturing unit. The 1.4 million-square-foot facility was inbuilt 1958 and had been dormant for round two years.
Slate Auto crosses 100,000 refundable reservations in two weeks
Might 12 – Slate confirmed to TechCrunch it had already surpassed 100,000 refundable $50 reservations for its reasonably priced EV truck. It was proof that the corporate’s concepts had caught on with a large viewers, regardless of nobody figuring out about Slate simply two months prior.
Slate Auto drops ‘beneath $20,000’ pricing after Trump administration ends federal EV tax credit score
July 3 – The Trump administration pushed by way of an enormous tax-cut invoice that, amongst many different actions, set a September end-date for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit score. Meaning Slate’s truck will not be capable to lean on that credit score to succeed in the “beneath $20,000” beginning worth the startup was touting. As such, Slate pulled that language from its web site earlier than the invoice was even signed into regulation.
Why this LA-based VC agency was an early investor in Slate Auto
July 8 – Slate’s 2023 funding spherical included a minimum of 16 buyers — considered one of them being Bezos. Whereas most of these buyers have nonetheless not been recognized, Los Angeles-based Slauson & Co. spoke to TechCrunch about why it threw in with the EV startup in that preliminary funding spherical, in addition to Slate’s Sequence B.
Slate Auto seems on the TechCrunch Disrupt essential stage
October 30 – Slate Auto CEO Chris Barman sat down for an interview on the principle stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, the place she talked about Jeff Bezos’ involvement, the problem of constructing an automaker from scratch, and the way the corporate plans to make a market for personalization.
Slate passes 150,000 reservations
December 16 – Regardless of EV progress cooling off within the U.S., Slate Auto crosses 150,000 refundable reservations for its truck and SUV, exhibiting there’s nonetheless critical curiosity within the car regardless of the lack of the federal tax credit score. And with fewer EVs set to come back to the U.S., it seems that the startup could have little or no competitors on the low finish of the market.
2026
A shock CEO swap
March 9 – Slate pulls a shock and swaps in a brand new CEO: former Amazon Market VP Peter Faricy. Former CEO (and Slate’s first rent) Chris Barman is staying with the corporate although, shifting over to a “President of Autos” function. Slate tapped Faricy to get the startup prepared for its end-of-year industrial launch – beginning with changing the reservation listing into as many full orders as potential.
