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

In April 2025, a new company called Slate Auto came out of the hide and shocked the auto industry. This emerging company did not focus on making a customizable electric electric pick-up truck with funding from Jeff Bezos, but it was working secretly for three years in Troy, Michigan-the backyard of major auto manufacturing companies such as Ford and Gerale Motors.

Techcrunch was first in the story, as she was informed in early April of the company’s presence, its participation with the Amazon founder, and its unique and unique business model. The weeks between our report and the official exit ceremony in Slate were presented in late April, a tornado of news, with preliminary models of startup truck across California.

Slate is an EV’s deviation in the United States, where bankruptcy and the release of failed and axis products are common. Although current supporters, the executive squad, the first producer, and the business model provide a convincing path forward, the road is still full of possible obstacles while pushing it towards production in late 2026.

Below is a schedule that draws everything you need to know about Slate Auto, from the story of the origin and supporters to its products, business model and production plans.

Inside the EV starting with the support of Jeff Bezos secretly

April 8 – After a year -long achievement, Techcrunch published a story that reveals that the secret EV company called Slate Auto was working for three years with financial support to Ceff Bizos and the owner of La Dodgers Mark Walter.

Unlike other startups EV, Slate was developing a very low -cost electric pickup truck that would start with about $ 25,000. This truck will be deeply customized, as it takes advantage of the experience of many former employees from Harley-Davidson and Chryler, two companies with wide accessories and post-sales parts companies.

Auto Pick August truck in the wilderness

April 10 – After one day, a picture of an unwanted electric truck began to spin on R/Whatsistchnhiscar subreddit, where Redditors could be mystery in Slate.

Techcrunch managed to confirm that the image was, in fact, a preliminary model of the Slate’s truck that was parked outside the company’s Long Beach, California.

EV can change like “adapter”

April 21 – Slate began to put a concept version of Slate EV in the public streets to generate the uproar before the planned launch event on April 24. It is strange that some of them seem to be like SUVs or hatchback, not just capture trucks.

Techcrunch managed to confirm that the company has developed EV for “transformers” normative capabilities, and that this trick was a way to provoke this allocation.

Evic EV EP

April 24 – Slate first appeared at a launch event at Long Beach, California, where it revealed a customized electric pick -up truck. Slate also announced that the truck will be available at less than $ 20,000 – with Federal Federal Tax Credit of $ 7500.

The primary version of the truck was detected as very naked, with only 150 miles of the range, there are no power windows, no main entertainment screen, not even any coating. Slate mainly promised everything about the truck, even to the number of seats and a comprehensive silhouette.

A former printing factory in Indiana in the production of EV truck

April 25 – TECHCRUNCH reported that Slate has identified a former printing factory in Warsaw, Indiana as a truck factory site. The 1.4 million square feet facility was built in 1958 and was sleeping about two years ago.

Slate Auto cross 100,000 recovered reservations within two weeks

May 12 – Slate confirmed to Techcrunch that it has already exceeded 100,000 reservations reservations worth $ 50 for EV truck at reasonable prices. It was evidence that the company’s ideas had caught with a wide audience, although no one was known about Slate just two months ago.

Car Slit decreased “less

July 3 – The Trump administration has paid a huge tax bill that, among many other procedures, was set at the end of September to obtain federal federal tax credit of $ 7,500. This means that the Slate truck will not be able to rely on this credit to reach “less than $ 20,000” the price that the startup company was arranging. As such, Slate withdrew this language from its website before the signing of the law on the law.

Why was the Los Angeles -based VC company as an early investor in Slate Auto

July 8 – The financing round of Slate 2023 included at least 16 investors – one of them is Bezos. While most of these investors have not been identified, Slauson & Co. Los Angeles headquarters to Techcrunch about the reason for throwing it with the start of EV on the initial financing round, in addition to the Slate BB series