Slate Truck’s $25K EV Promise Fades Fast With Add-Ons
Essential features like audio and seating push the modular EV well past its advertised starting price.
A $24,950 electric truck sounds like a market disruptor. Once buyers start clicking through the configurator, that headline price evaporates. The Slate Truck, which ships from the factory as a bare-bones two-seat pickup in a single slate gray color, relies on a catalog of over 200 add-ons to become a functional daily vehicle. A typical build pushes the final cost toward $40,000, according to pricing data from the company’s online configurator.
The base model lacks a stereo, an infotainment screen, and power windows. Converting the two-seater into a five-seat squareback SUV requires a $5,000 upgrade that includes a roll cage, extra airbags, and a rear bench seat. From there, essential accessories accumulate rapidly. A full body wrap costs $670. Bumpers run $1,100 combined. Adding fog lights, fender flares, running boards, a spare tire carrier, 17-inch all-terrain wheels, and a roof rack adds another $3,225, based on listed accessory prices.
Audio presents a specific hurdle for consumers accustomed to standard equipment. The Slate ships without speakers. Buyers must purchase a center speaker for $250 and front left and right speakers for $150 just to hear music or podcasts. Bluetooth steering wheel controls remain unpriced. The same applies to a tablet mount, Magma interior accents, and a lift kit that reportedly adds about two inches of height.
Factoring in a $1,450 destination fee and roughly $6,518 in priced accessories, a practical SUV configuration reaches $37,918 before accounting for the pending items. That figure places the Slate directly against established entry-level electric crossovers. The Chevrolet Equinox EV starts near $33,000 and includes a full suite of standard technology, climate control, and safety systems out of the box. The Hyundai Kona Electric occupies a similar bracket.
Range constraints compound the financial math. Slate estimates 205 miles of range for the base pickup. Heavier SUV configurations equipped with roof racks, larger tires, and lift kits will draw more power, reducing that figure further. For context, most mainstream EVs introduced in the last three years target 250 to 300 miles per charge to alleviate consumer range anxiety.
The modular architecture also introduces mechanical limitations rarely seen in modern passenger vehicles. The truck is rear-wheel drive only. It uses Tesla’s charging plug standard, though the company has said it will sell adapters for older public chargers. A home charger costs an additional $479 and delivers a full charge in five to eight hours, according to Slate.
Slate previously listed power windows as an option but pulled them from the configurator. A spokesperson told Engadget they could eventually return. Buyers who opt out of the aesthetic upgrades—skipping the $850 animated lights, the $800 roof light bar, and branded wraps—can keep costs down. But the baseline requirement for rear seats, basic audio, and weather protection ensures the sub-$25,000 price tag remains a starting point rather than a realistic transaction price for most drivers.
