Carvana ties up with Bezos-backed Slate Auto as it plans new car sales

Carvana has been granted the enactment to put successful Slate Auto, the electrical conveyance startup backed by Jeff Bezos, according to documents obtained by TechCrunch.

Paperwork filed with Delaware’s part of corporations shows that the online utilized car retailer was fixed a warrant to bargain shares successful the startup successful 2025 — astir the aforesaid clip Slate Auto was starting to enactment unneurotic its $650 cardinal Series C backing round.

It’s not wide if Carvana has exercised that warrant, oregon however galore shares it is allowed to buy. Carvana declined to comment, and Slate Auto didn’t respond to requests for remark connected the deal.

The transaction with Carvana comes arsenic the retailer is looking astatine ways to grow into caller car sales, according to the Wall Street Journal. The institution has reportedly purchased a fig of Stellantis dealerships crossed the United States. Asked astir caller car income connected a caller net call, CEO Ernie Garcia III told analysts to “stay tuned.”

Slate Auto is besides conscionable weeks distant from announcing last pricing and taking the archetypal non-refundable preorders for its low-cost EV, which is expected to commencement successful the mid-$20,000 range. Slate has said it volition present its archetypal vehicles by the extremity of this year.

Similar to Tesla and different all-electric car companies similar Rivian, Slate says connected its website that it “won’t person accepted dealerships.” The institution has said it volition merchantability vehicles straight to customers, but it hasn’t offered overmuch item astir however it plans to grip the logistics of the car buying experience. Selling done carnal Carvana dealerships could assistance mitigate immoderate of those logistics headaches portion besides raising the startup’s profile.

Slate has been tight-lipped astir its investors since it emerged from stealth past year, soon aft TechCrunch first revealed that Bezos and Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter were backing the company. Slate revealed successful April that Walter’s steadfast TWG Global led the Series C round, making the businessman 1 of the startup’s largest shareholders.

Walter besides holds a large involvement successful Carvana. He owns 8% of the company’s Class B communal banal and 1% of the wide voting power. Only Garcia III and his son, Ernie Garcia II person much control.

It’s imaginable Carvana has already revealed immoderate details astir the Slate tie-up to investors without naming the startup.

In March, Carvana revealed successful a regulatory filing that it had been granted a warrant to acquisition shares of a “private user products company” successful June 2025. Carvana did not sanction the company, but said the aggregate worth of the warrant was $1.5 cardinal astatine the extremity of 2025, and that it “vests successful tranches done 2029 based connected jointly determined show goals.” Carvana noted that Walter has a “substantial ownership involvement successful the warrant issuer.”

Carvana did not accidental whether this was a notation to Slate, oregon different institution successful Walter’s portfolio.