Slate Truck Announced

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

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2027-slate-truck-electric-first-look-review



TL;DR/W

• Regular cab, (sub?)compact, two seater pickup with 4.5' bed, 175" long total
• Electric, two battery sizes targeting 150 and 240 miles of range, RWD
• Designed to be modular, biggest party trick is bolt-on reversible conversion into a 5-seater SUV and many accessories
• Manual windows, manual mirrors, no infotainment or speakers stock, as spartan an interior as it gets, 4 inch display as a gauge cluster.
• Expected late-2026
• targeting ~$27k price point ($20k if the federal tax credit sticks around and you qualify)
• People like to talk about it being backed by Bezos
• 1.4k lb payload, 1k lb towing
• You can have any color as long as it's grey (or wrapped)

And of course tariffs, political/economic climate, any potential unexpected surprise, end of 2026 is pretty far out, etc. can and will vary so all these could very well go the way of the Cybertruck in terms of announced vs. launch specs, prices as well as build quality can't be known but it sure looks cute.

From a value standpoint, the low-upper 20k range though (after and before incentives) puts it up against the Trax, Corolla, to the Crosstrek and base Maverick. So for someone looking for nothing more than four wheels, not a great value especially all those have power windows and... speakers but for the tinkerer intrigued by commuting on electrons and isn't into iPad dashes, OTA software updates and those aerodynamic door handles it could very well be an interesting choice. (but then again there's also hunting down and retrofitting a Ranger EV today but probably will be similarly expensive.)

It very much does sound like internet commenters designed a light duty pickup (regular cab! crank windows! No tech!) and if it hits the market as announced, I'd love to see how it does.

 

Ha! I was just about to create a new post and saw this. A $25k (price i saw in article today), electric, reasonably sized small pickup with that range and no tech has my interest.

Disappointing that the bed is only 4.5' per your OP - was hoping a 4x8 sheet would fit in the bed but I would be fine with it riding on the tailgate (length) as long as it's wide enough to lay flat. Would be the perfect around town and home depot run vehicle. I can throw my Bluetooth speaker (JBL ironically) into the passenger seat - it sounds better than my 4runner system (non-JBL) anyways

 

There’s another thread about it here.
https://www.4runners.com/threads/slate-truck-that-is-as-basic-as-it-gets.44692/
I like it a lot although I do think it should come with some items which are now considered standard like power windows and radio/speakers.

 

We have three funnily enough, this one last Friday and two more including that one and one in the General 4Runner forum on Saturday.

Too bad FN didn’t go four for four!

 

Let's hope not, once you add power windows and radio, the scope creep starts and then people will want other "standard" items like heated seats, apple car play, at least an 8 inch screen, navigation, sunroof, power tailgate, and pretty soon it's just another 50k EV that started out as a 25k EV.

Keep it as simple as possible and let people who want a radio buy the accessory speakers and pair it with one's phone, assuming these buyers have a smart phone of some sort.

 

What are the chances this thing even comes in at that price point in the first place. It seems like every EV ends up being significantly higher priced than initially announced.

 

Whatever happened to the Alpha Wolf truck that was supposed to be a small single cab EV?

 

Pretty slim. As long as Americans' instinctive reaction to any potential price increase is to run out and celebrate paying MSRP to get into the nearest 60k SUV to commute to work, the price will probably end up closer to 40k and still be the cheapest EV pickup by a long shot.

Toyota has a hard time selling their 22k US made Corollas with standard power windows and radios+speakers, so I don't see a lot of buyers willing to be seen in a Slate any more than a reasonably priced Corolla.

 

Sad but true.

 

I'd say between 0-10%. Just look at actual Ford Mavericks available at dealers, nothing close to the quoted $22k-ish starting price (but I think you already knew that, hence the question).

 

22k when it announced in Mid 2021 is equivalent to >26k today.

Today base 27k Mavericks like these can't find buyers. This is a buyer problem, not a supply problem

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/46f48bc4-6bcd-4055-a002-ef28a7588864/

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/466eaa3e-2232-4168-94a6-5b7cec6a688a/

Even when 5th gen 4runners were available at the end, 42k SR5s and 46k ORPs were everywhere but 55k TRD Pros were always sold out. People want to be seen in the expensive trims even when more affordable options were plentiful.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I watched a video on this, and a representative said the price was going to be closer to 27.5.

I think they're getting the 20K from the EV tax credit, which probably won't be around much longer. I can't imagine them keeping that around with everything else they're cutting.

 

I get what you're saying, but I don't think the Pro's had anywhere near the volume that SR5 or ORP had. Weren't they always scarce for that reason?

One can only hope that if affordable, more utilitarian vehicles come back to the market, people will stop stretching themselves financially and wise up. It's easy to get sucked into "well I can afford that monthly payment now that the terms are as long as my mortgage" and go for the top of the line model

 

They are hand building them to order in small numbers, presumably at much higher prices than the $36k-$52k advertised for the mass-produced model: https://www.alphamotorinc.com/about/2024-key-achievements

 

Have they actually built any?

 

Yes they are factoring in the $7K tax credit which you may not be eligible for or even exist.

 

There are a lot of sub-30k decent quality vehicles from the likes of Toyota, Honda, Mazda, or even in the case of the Maverick, Ford now and those move the slowest. The cheaper trim of Tacos are seeing the same trend and it's been that way for a while. I don't anticipate people suddenly find their Road to Damascus moment any time soon.

 

I guess when you put it that way, we could just as easily buy a first gen Honda Insight and cut the hatchback off.

Or better yet, a Club Car

 

The estimate 0-60 is 8 seconds which means it will be faster than the LC250 and Gen 6 4RunnerHybrids.

Whatever federal credit leaves, I foresee the CARB states will step over themselves to give more incentive to make up for it, especially the states where the governors or US senators have presidential ambitions.

 

In a world where OR(non-P) 4Runners are pushing 60k, there are always a few who scoff at the idea that some people out there don't need a 60k SUV to commute to work or go to Home Depot.

 

The LC250 has tested at 7.7-8.2, so I'm not sure how that's slower than an estimated 8.0.

But, the Slate also has about as much towing capacity as a Corolla, which is what I was actually referring to. Pretty useless as a "truck."

Plenty of SR5 4×4's in my area going for ~$45K. And, they even have radios!

 

It’s perfect for 99.9% of truck drivers trips.

 

You're not far off. But, it would be totally worthless to anyone who tows and travels.

A 4 cylinder, like the 2.4 out of the 3rd gen Tacos would be much better than an EV, IMO. Even so, without a 4wd option, it wouldn't interest a lot of people.

 

You can possibly buy two of these trucks for that price. That’s a pretty big deal.

 

Obviously people that tow or travel a lot aren’t going to buy a mini truck. Do you actually think those people are the intended audience?

 

Looks like they cost around $28K, unless I misread something. And, I'd hardly call it a truck.

The point was that you can get into a 4Runner for much less than $60K.

I have no idea who the intended audience is for a 2wd pickup that lacks features that 99% of drivers want. Maybe frugal suburban couples who just need to haul a few sheets of plywood and groceries now and then? I'm sure there's a small market there.

 

Do you actually believe the things you write or do you say things just to argue?

 

What are you referring to?

The price listed for the Slate was around $28K according to that article

$45K is definitely a lot less than $60K.

And, yeah, I genuinely believe that most drivers want radios and power windows.

 

If it has 1k or more of payload, you are not gonna believe this, but not everyone who uses a small truck tows with it.

Sure, for those who want to spend 45k on a vehicle. That's not this car's audience.

 

Most EV buyers have smart phones. You may have heard of those devices before.