The Slate Truck Has Roll-Down Windows. But This Guy…

The Slate Truck Has Roll-Down Windows. But This Guy Has A Brilliant Solution

Almost all modern cars have electric window switches, but the pared-down electric Slate Truck has roll-down windows.
Inventor, creator and YouTuber Matty Benedetto has a clever solution: an electric, button-activated hand that rolls down the windows.
Sadly, it won't be for sale. But it's a fun idea.

If you want a new, electric pickup truck for around $25,000 or so, what are you willing to live without? The folks at Jeff Bezos-backed EV startup Slate Auto are betting you're willing to live without a lot—even power windows.

The upcoming Slate Truck's clever cost-cutting to deliver a utilitarian, everyday electric work truck includes manual, roll-down windows. Those haven't really been seen on new cars in America in decades, but the still-high cost of batteries means some sacrifices. Or does it?

Inventor, creator and YouTuber Matty Benedetto, who founded the site and channel Unnecessary Inventions, is here to give future Slate Truck owners a hand. Literally. He calls it (accurately) the Window Winder, and it's an electric, motorized hand that rolls down the windows.

"I collaborated with Slate to build it alongside their Artist Series that they are currently doing on social media—you can check out their Instagram page to see some of the other artists they worked with," Benedetto told me via email. "However, they pretty much gave me full creative control to build anything in my own style that I thought should be added to the truck, and immediately, the idea for the Window Winder came to me."

Unsurprisingly, it all happens through the magic of 3D printing. Benedetto got a 3D model of the entire car door and then replicated the parts himself. He then used silicone to make a replica of his own hand, and it fit right onto the truck's window crank. Then came the device itself: a motorized, electric block that plugs into the truck itself and operates the replica hand, which turns the window crank. And big, cartoony buttons drive the motor a certain way so it goes up or down.

It is enormously clever. But here's the bad news: Benedetto tells me it won't be for sale.

I don't know how many folks would take him up on this, but I'm willing to bet it won't be the last clever aftermarket solution for the Slate Truck. The company is emphasizing customization when it puts its two-door, two-seat truck on sale, and already, options will include various wraps and a modular bed cover setup to make it more like an SUV.

Even with EV tax credits gone, Slate Auto says its truck will still start in the mid-$20,000 range. Powered by either a 52.7-kilowatt-hour or 84.3 kWh battery good for 150 or 240 miles of range, respectively, it aims to replicate the kind of small and basic work truck that barely exists in America anymore. Production in Indiana is expected to begin next year, with deliveries set for late 2026.

Will we see an official Window Winder release by then? We can dream.