The elimination of the electric vehicle federal tax credit may end up becoming a benefit to some of the newer players trying to compete in the market, according to the CEO of the affordable electric truck startup Slate Auto.
“It’s opened up some opportunity for us,” Chris Barman, CEO of the emerging EV company, said on stage on Tuesday at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Park City, Utah. Slate Auto had been “very focused” on making sure it could offer that rebate, she said, which required the company to meet certain mineral and manufacturing location requirements.
“What we’ve done is we’ve stepped back and surveyed multiple battery suppliers, and what we’re seeing is there are others in the industry that are pulling back as well on their EV launch plans—so it’s opening up capacity,” Barman said. “So we’re going out and seeing…taking survey on what’s there, and see what we can do to look at pricing.”
Of course, the elimination of the federal credit, which allowed buyers of qualifying new EVs to get a $7,500 tax credit, also means the Slate truck won’t look as inexpensive as it might have compared to similar sized gas-powered vehicles. The Slate truck will have a sticker price in the “mid-20s” Barman said on Tuesday, with deliveries to customers expected by the end of 2026.
