The Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Automotive says it can sell an American-made electric vehicle pickup truck for about half of the average transaction price in the U.S.
Slate’s pitch is keep the vehicle as simple as possible to save on manufacturing costs, and then let owners add on and customize the truck however they want.
The Slate Truck is compact — two doors and two seats in its most basic form. It is spare — if you want an infotainment system, you have to add that yourself. And, you can. The vehicle is almost endlessly customizable.
Slate plans to sell more than 100 accessories for its truck, including a kit that will convert it to a 5-seat SUV. But Slate also wants to make the truck “open source,” meaning anyone could make accessories for the pickup.
So far, more than 100,000 people have made reservations for Slate’s small barebones truck.
