Radical ute debuts! Amazon-backed bargain-priced 2026 Slate Truck vows to make pick-ups and SUVs affordable again

April 29, 2025April 28, 2025 John Mahoney 461 Views 0 Comments Amazon Ute, Bezos ute, EV ute, Slate Truck

The 2026 Slate Truck ute EV has been unwrapped ahead of its launch late next year.

Based on a low-cost platform, Slate’s models are designed to disrupt the ute and SUV market in the US.

Publicly backed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, the beauty of the new Slate Auto made ute is the Michigan-based EV start-up will also sell you a kit to convert it into an SUV if your circumstances change.

Tipped to be priced from $US25,000 ($39,000-$42,000) before incentives, or under $US20,000 ($31,000) after EV tax rebates are taken into account, the new pick-up has been designed to be priced below the cheapest combustion rivals such as the US-spec Ford Maverick.

In base Blank Slate two-seat trim, Slate Auto says the Truck comes with steel wheels, manual wind-up windows, air conditioning and a phone mount with charger, instead of an infotainment screen.

Thankfully, there is a digital instrument cluster.

With more than 100 options available, buyers are then invited to throw in the missing infotainment, while adding electric windows, 17- or 20-inch alloy wheels, a multi-function steering wheel and a sound system.

Further wraps, decals, badging and interior upgrades are also available.

The most unusual accessory is the flat-pack SUV kit that owners can buy and instal themselves that transforms the Truck into a five-seat SUV.

Buyers get the choice of either a boxy wagon style rear end or a sleeker fastback kit, with even a closed or open roof. There’s also a Jeep Wrangler-style doorless option.

Measuring in at 4435mm long, 1793mm wide and standing 1760mm tall with a 2766mm wheelbase, the Slate Truck is medium in size.

It’s also based on a car-like monocoque, which will limit the payload to 690kg and towing to just 454kg.

From launch, just one powertrain will be offered – a single electric motor that produces 150kW and 264Nm driving the rear wheels.

Combined with a 52.7kWh battery, Slate Auto says the Truck will have a range of around 240km on the US EPA test cycle.

A larger 84.3kWh battery, meanwhile, should boost the distance covered on a single charge to around 390km.

Slate says the new Truck can be DC fast charged at up to 120kW. There’s also 11kW AC charging also available.

A 20-80 per cent top-up is claimed to take under 30 minutes using a fast DC charger.

Off the line, the new EV can launch from 0-100km/h in 8.0 seconds and top out at 145km/h.

That means the tray is modest, measuring 1524mm long and 1395mm wide. It can extend to 2073mm in length with the tailgate down.

Built at a new factory in Indiana in the US, buyers are being invited to place a $US50 deposit to secure a production slot. The first deliveries are set to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Slate Auto says it hopes to sell 150,000 of its Slate Trucks with the US firm tipped to eventually offer its ute for export markets.

Commenting on its launch, Slate’s CEO Chris Barman said: “The definition of what’s affordable is broken. Slate exists to put the power back in the hands of customers who have been ignored by the auto industry. Slate is a radical truck platform so customisable that it can transform from a two-seat pickup to a five-seat SUV.”