Slate Auto records 100,000 reservations for its low-cost electric pickup in two weeks

The startup Slate Auto surprised everyone in late April with a proposal that is generating plenty of buzz. The Michigan-based company plans to launch a truly affordable electric pickup in the North American market starting at the end of next year, with a price that, it promises, will not exceed 25,000 dollars. That would mean that, applying the federal tax incentives the U.S. government currently offers, its final price would be even below 20,000 dollars.

As might be expected, an announcement like this has been very well received in the United States, where, according to the company itself, in just two weeks it has already received 100,000 reservations for its future low-cost electric pickup.

There is no doubt that the unveiling of this ambitious project, which has the backing of prominent investors such as Jeff Bezos himself, has been a resounding success, and the company’s first steps are promising. However, the hardest part is still to come. Many are asking whether Slate Auto will ultimately be able to deliver on its promise to sell an electric pickup for less than 25,000 dollars within two years. At the company, however, they are convinced they will succeed.

Less is more

Slate Auto’s confidence in this project rests on imaginative ideas for reducing production costs without sacrificing the final quality of the product, dispensing only with features that are not truly essential in an electric pickup. This cut of unnecessary components will be especially noticeable inside the vehicle, where, to give one example, the central screen for the infotainment system will be replaced by a holder in which the driver can mount their own smartphone to enjoy navigation or music playback. And in case you’re wondering, no, it won’t even have electric windows, which will have to be raised and lowered manually with a crank.

These shortcomings do not seem to pose any problem for the more than 100,000 potential customers who have already made a reservation, paying the 50-dollar refundable deposit required for it. This has brought the company revenue of five million dollars without having delivered any product in return, only a promise.

Slate Auto plans to reach an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles by the end of 2027 at its plant in Indiana. So, fulfilling those 100,000 reservations, although not all of them will end up becoming actual purchases, will require devoting much of the plant’s first year of production .