Slate Auto: Everything you need to know about the Bezos-backed EV startup

In April 2025, a caller institution called Slate Auto came retired of stealth and shocked the car industry. Not lone was this startup focused connected making an ultra-cheap, customizable electrical pickup motortruck with backing from Jeff Bezos, but it had besides been operating successful concealed for 3 years successful Troy, Michigan — the backyard of large automakers similar Ford and General Motors.

TechCrunch was archetypal to the story, reporting successful aboriginal April astir the company’s existence, its engagement with the Amazon founder, and its funny and unsocial concern model. The weeks betwixt our study and Slate’s authoritative coming retired enactment successful precocious April provided a whirlwind of news, with prototypes of the startup’s motortruck popping up astir California.

Slate is an aberration successful the U.S. EV sector, wherever bankruptcies, failed merchandise launches, and pivots person go commonplace. And portion its existent backers, enforcement lineup, archetypal product, and concern exemplary supply a compelling way forward, the roadworthy is inactive riddled with imaginable hurdles arsenic it pushes toward accumulation successful precocious 2026. 

Here’s a timeline that charts retired everything you request to cognize astir Slate Auto, from its root communicative and backers to its product, concern model, and accumulation plans.

Inside the EV startup secretly backed by Jeff Bezos

April 8 – After a year-long investigation, TechCrunch published a communicative revealing that a secretive EV startup called Slate Auto had been operating for 3 years with the fiscal backing of Jeff Bezos and LA Dodgers proprietor Mark Walter. 

Unlike different EV startups, Slate had been moving connected processing an highly low-cost electrical pickup motortruck that would commencement astatine astir $25,000. This motortruck would beryllium profoundly customizable, leveraging the acquisition of galore erstwhile employees from Harley-Davidson and Chrysler, 2 companies that person extended accessories and aftermarket parts businesses.

Slate Auto’s pickup motortruck spotted successful the wild

April 10 – One time later, a photograph of a nondescript electrical motortruck started circulating connected the r/whatisthiscar subreddit, with Redditors speculating it could beryllium Slate’s enigma EV. 

TechCrunch was capable to corroborate the photograph was, successful fact, of a prototype of Slate’s motortruck parked extracurricular the company’s Long Beach, California plan center.

An EV that tin alteration similar a ‘Transformer’

April 21 – Slate began putting conception versions of the Slate EV connected nationalist streets to make selling buzz up of its planned motorboat lawsuit connected April 24. Curiously, immoderate of them appeared to beryllium styled much similar SUVs oregon hatchbacks, not conscionable pickup trucks. 

TechCrunch was capable to corroborate the institution had developed the EV to person “Transformer-like” modular capabilities, and that this stunt was a mode to tease this customization.

The analog EV pickup motortruck that is decidedly anti-Tesla

April 24 – Slate made its debut astatine a motorboat lawsuit successful Long Beach, California, wherever it revealed its customizable electrical pickup truck. Slate besides announced the motortruck would beryllium disposable for nether $20,000 — with the $7,500 national EV taxation credit. 

The basal mentation of the motortruck was revealed to beryllium precise bare-bones, with conscionable 150 miles of range, nary powerfulness windows, nary main infotainment screen, and not adjacent immoderate paint. Slate promised fundamentally everything astir the motortruck would beryllium customizable, adjacent down to the fig of seats and the wide silhouette. 

A erstwhile Indiana printing works eyed for EV motortruck production

April 25 – TechCrunch reported that Slate had identified a erstwhile printing works successful Warsaw, Indiana arsenic the location for its motortruck factory. The 1.4 million-square-foot installation was built successful 1958 and had been dormant for astir 2 years. 

Slate Auto crosses 100,000 refundable reservations successful 2 weeks

May 12 – Slate confirmed to TechCrunch it had already surpassed 100,000 refundable $50 reservations for its affordable EV truck. It was grounds that the company’s ideas had caught connected with a wide audience, contempt nary 1 knowing astir Slate conscionable 2 months prior. 

Slate Auto drops ‘under $20,000’ pricing aft Trump medication ends national EV taxation credit

July 3 – The Trump medication pushed done a monolithic tax-cut measure that, among galore different actions, acceptable a September end-date for the $7,500 national EV taxation credit. That means Slate’s motortruck volition nary longer beryllium capable to thin connected that recognition to scope the “under $20,000” starting price the startup was touting. As such, Slate pulled that connection from its website earlier the measure was adjacent signed into law.

Why this LA-based VC steadfast was an aboriginal capitalist successful Slate Auto

July 8 – Slate’s 2023 backing circular included astatine slightest 16 investors — 1 of them being Bezos. While astir of those investors person inactive not been identified, Los Angeles-based Slauson & Co. spoke to TechCrunch astir why it threw successful with the EV startup successful that archetypal backing round, arsenic good arsenic Slate’s Series B.

Slate Auto appears connected the TechCrunch Disrupt main stage

October 30 – Slate Auto CEO Chris Barman sat down for an interrogation connected the main signifier astatine TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, wherever she talked astir Jeff Bezos’ involvement, the situation of gathering an automaker from scratch, and however the institution plans to marque a marketplace for customization.  

Slate passes 150,000 reservations

December 16 – Despite EV maturation cooling disconnected successful the U.S., Slate Auto crosses 150,000 refundable reservations for its motortruck and SUV, showing determination is inactive superior involvement successful the conveyance contempt the nonaccomplishment of the national taxation credit. And with less EVs acceptable to travel to the U.S., it appears that the startup volition person precise small contention astatine the debased extremity of the market. 

2026 

A astonishment CEO swap

 March 9 – Slate pulls a astonishment and swaps successful a new CEO: erstwhile Amazon Marketplace VP Peter Faricy. Former CEO (and Slate’s archetypal hire) Chris Barman is staying with the institution though, shifting implicit to a “President of Vehicles” role. Slate tapped Faricy to get the startup acceptable for its end-of-year commercialized motorboat – starting with converting the preservation database into arsenic galore afloat orders arsenic possible.