Slate emerges with customizable EV pickup available for under $20k [Video]
electrek.co
After about a month of speculation and subtle hints from industry insiders, American EV startup Slate has emerged from stealth...

Range

  • Small battery range: 240km
  • Big battery range: 385km

Motor

  • Motor: Single motor, rear wheel drive
  • Power: 150kW
  • Torque: 264Nm
  • 0-100km: 8s
  • Top speed: 145km/h

Dimensions

  • Bed length: 1.5m
  • Vehicle length: 4.4m
  • Vehicle height: 1.8m
  • Vehicle width: 1.8m

Comparison

  • 2025 Kia Niro length: 4.4m
  • 2025 Ford Maverick length: 5.1m
  • 1985 Toyota Pickup/Hilux length: 4.7m

Weights

  • Curb weight 1634kg
  • Max payload 650kg
  • Max towing 454kg

Charging

  • Port: NACS
  • Onboard charger: 11kW
  • Level 1 AC, 3.6kw, 20-100%: 11h
  • Level 2 AC, 11kW, 20-100%: under 5h
  • Level 3 DC, 120kW, 20-80%: under 30m

Safety

  • Traction Control
  • Electronic Stability Control
  • Forward Collision Warning
  • Automatic Emergency Braking
  • 2-stage Driver/Passenger Airbags
  • Full Length Side Curtain Airbags (Truck 2) (SUV 4)
  • Seat Side Airbags (2)
  • Backup Camera
  • Pedestrian Identification
  • Auto High Beam

More info

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    0·
    10 days ago

    I don’t think that it has a cell modem, either, because it sounds like it eschews a baked-in entertainment computer:

    https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64564869/2027-slate-truck-revealed/

    Roll-down windows come standard, as do manually adjustable rearview mirrors. An audio or infotainment system is noticeably missing, too. Instead, your cellphone or tablet serves these functions, with a dock for the former included and one for the latter available as an optional accessory. Better like the sound coming out from your phone or tablet’s speakers, too, because the Slate lacks speakers, though the brand’s accessory division will gladly hook you up with a set.

    Honestly, if you took my last year of comments complaining about privacy-infringing cars and those complaining about changes to what a truck is, this does kind of look to be addressing both. Gotta see what the actual production vehicle is like in real life, of course, but…

    https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/mini-truckin-returns-slate-unveils-old-school-style-affordable-electric-pickup

    When I say the truck is small, I mean it. At 174.6 inches, it’s about 2 feet shorter in overall length than the 2025 Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. And to use the Wayback Machine to a time when compact pickups were actually compact, it’s roughly the same size as the compact pickups of 1980: the Toyota truck, Chevy LUV and Ford Courier. Notably, no other automakers have offered trucks of this size in America since the mid 1990s.

    Yeah, like the “inexpensive, no-frills utility vehicle” that pickups originally were.

    • MaggiWuerze@feddit.orgEnglish
      0·
      10 days ago

      because the Slate lacks speakers,

      I mean, I get they need to cut costs, but come on… a damn radio wouldnt have killed them

      • jonne@infosec.pubEnglish
        0·
        9 days ago

        The Citroen AMI doesn’t have speakers either, it comes with a Bluetooth speaker instead, which you can use outside the car. It makes sense if you just think of the entertainment stuff as something that shouldn’t be part of the car and can easily be upgraded/replaced down the line.

        • MaggiWuerze@feddit.orgEnglish
          0·
          9 days ago

          You spent hours in that thing and phone speakers are not made to be louder than traffic and drive noises, especially not for so long. Also a radio offers traffic and accident news from local stations. And if they cheap out on speakers I am quite sure they also don’t offer USB ports to charge the phone you run in lieu of a build in system

            • MaggiWuerze@feddit.orgEnglish
              0·
              9 days ago

              They shouldn’t be an upgrade. Basic speakers are like 50 bucks, for an item that costs 20k, thats a drop in the bucket

              • Lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                0·
                9 days ago

                This vehicle is clearly meant as an errand truck, not a roadtripper. It wasn’t that long ago when base model work trucks didn’t have a radio or speakers installed.

                Quit getting pissy over something that doesn’t even exist yet.

      • dmention7@lemm.eeEnglish
        0·
        9 days ago

        Honestly, as long as it’s easily DIY upgradable (accessible speaker mounting locations, standard DIN panels, etc) I am all for this. Most OEM audio systems are stupidly overpriced and suck complete donkey balls compared to what you can get for a few hundred bucks at Crutchfield and install in an afternoon.

        For the last 20 years or so, most factory audio systems are so integrated into the rest of the electronics that they can be an absolute nightmare to upgrade unless you are a pro, which means you get the worst of both worlds: garbage audio, AND a steep upgrade path.

    • Hubi@feddit.orgEnglish
      0·
      9 days ago

      I don’t think that it has a cell modem, either

      So it’s not coming to Europe then.