Slate Auto made waves in April when it revealed a refreshingly bare-bones electric pickup truck with a price point that’s practically unheard of these days: under $20,000 after federal incentives. The EV startup got more attention than any new car reveal in recent memory and racked up 100,000 refundable reservations within a matter of weeks.
Then the “Big Beautiful Bill” happened.
Republicans in Congress just took a sledgehammer to those EV incentives in a move that will jack up the Slate’s effective entry price by thousands of dollars. Now that it’s clear to everyone that the $7,500 EV tax credit will end before Slate starts production next year, life may get a whole lot harder for this buzzy startup, industry analysts said.
“Unfortunately for Slate, this development really does hurt the value proposition of the product a lot,” said Ed Kim, president and chief analyst at the market research firm AutoPacific. “It fundamentally changes what the vehicle is going to have to compete with in the marketplace.”
After the legislation passed on Thursday, killing the longstanding EV tax credit after September 30, the carmaker quietly removed all mention of the sub-$20,000 price from its website, TechCrunch first reported. Now it advertises a “mid-twenties” MSRP.
The price hike will deal a blow to Slate’s appeal and sales potential, analysts said, especially when you consider just how no-frills this truck is. (Meanwhile, Slate has not announced any changes to its strategy. The company did not elaborate on the situation when reached for comment.)
The Slate Truck vs. the Ford Maverick
In its most basic form, the Blank Slate, the truck sports manual windows, an unpainted gray exterior, two seats, no radio, no speakers and no screen. That’s all part of Slate’s unique business model; buyers will be able to browse a lengthy menu of bolt-on accessories to jazz up their trucks.
“That idea was really, really interesting at $20,000. It definitely becomes a tougher sell at $26,000, $27,000,” Kim said.
Slate plans to build the truck at a plant in Indiana. It chose to use U.S.-made nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries in part so that it could comply with the EV tax credit’s rigorous sourcing requirements, the carmaker’s CEO told InsideEVs in April.
The Slate was poised to substantially undercut what you could call its closest competitor, the $30,000 Ford Maverick. Now, it may wind up in the same ballpark as the compact, hybrid truck, while offering less of the stuff buyers are accustomed to. The Maverick has four doors, room for five, a stereo and far more range than the entry-level Slate’s 150 miles.
It’ll also be priced similarly to a slew of great used EVs, said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds. And buyers who were most excited about a $20,000 EV are probably those on the tightest budgets. An extra $5,000 or $7,000 could be a dealbreaker.
“When we’re talking about technically one of the most price-sensitive customers out there, this is nail-in-the-coffin stuff,” Drury said.
How The Slate SUV Stacks Up
But the basic truck isn’t the only Slate you’ll be able to buy in late 2026.
An optional SUV kit adds a roof and an extra row of seats, and that’s the model most people are going to want—plus the bigger battery that boosts range to an estimated 240 miles. The company hasn’t said how much those add-ons will cost. So let’s assume they’ll each add at least a few thousand dollars, bringing the vehicle into the low- or mid-$30,000 realm.
Under the expiring policy regime, this Slate SUV might’ve cost $25,000 or $30,000, placing it mostly in a league of its own. At the higher price, it’ll have to do battle with more fully featured electric SUVs from proven brands, like the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Hyundai Kona Electric and upcoming Kia EV3. Add on a nicer interior and some other bits to the Slate and it may land within spitting distance of a Toyota bZ4X or Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Both analysts said Slate may need to rethink its business model now. Kim recommends engineering in an extra set of doors to give the vehicle broader appeal.
Why The Slate Truck Still Could Be A Hit
So, that’s the bad news: A price tag that’s several thousand dollars higher will make it harder for Slate to compete. And anything that limits sales growth isn’t good in a business where achieving manufacturing scale is the key to everything. (Rivian, Lucid, Ford, GM and most others haven’t yet hit the volumes necessary to offset the cost of making EVs. So the EV policy whiplash won’t just hurt Slate.)
There’s some reason for Slate fans to be optimistic, too. This vehicle will still sit at the very low end of an electric market that’s dominated by luxury offerings. The average transaction price of an EV in May was nearly $58,000. The Slate truck will cut that in half, even after losing the tax credit.
Currently, there is no such thing as a compact, low-cost electric truck in this country. Period. (Even with a gas or hybrid engine, the Maverick sits nearly alone there.) And while there are a few electric crossovers in the mid-$30,000 range, and some more on the way, that price point is far from the norm. Any company that can hit that pricing level with an appealing electric product has a good shot at success, especially with Tesla’s long-promised affordable model still MIA.
Finally, the bare-bones, highly customizable Slate truck has a wildcard quality about it. It’s unlike any vehicle that came before it, and that got a lot of people very, very excited.
It wasn’t all about the price either; it was also about a rebellion against cars that have gotten overly complicated and stuffed to the gills with technology. A lot of Americans saw the Slate’s roll-up windows, steel wheels, screen-free dashboard and pay-for-what-you-want business model and thought, “finally.”
The big question around Slate hasn’t really changed since the company’s launch: When push comes to shove, will people put their money where their mouth is? And at what price?
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
