Slate announced the price of its back-to-basics electric pickup truck in June, but not the destination charge. That fee is a mandatory, non-negotiable price that every automaker adds to the sticker, and it can vary from company to company. Much attention has been given to destination fees in the last several years, as they’ve steadily increased across the board.
So when Slate said its barebones truck started at $24,950, it fell squarely into Slate’s mid-$20,000 range the company promised. But we also knew the destination charge would change that – possibly by a significant margin. So, is this still a mid-$20,000 truck? Yes, but not by a wide margin. InsideEVs reports the fee is $1,450, which falls on the lower side of automaker destination fees but isn’t the cheapest. To Slate’s credit, it’s also not the near-$3,000 upcharge you find with brands like Ram.
But it does push the Slate truck’s actual starting price, before taxes, to $26,400. Is that cheap enough to woo potential buyers into a two-seat vehicle with no power equipment, no stereo, no paint, and a range of roughly 200 miles?
The $26,400 Starting Price Conundrum
Slate TruckIan Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
Electric vehicles are still inherently more expensive than gas cars, but the margin is shrinking. Slate wasn’t to blame for the Trump administration axing the nationwide $7,500 tax credit for people to switch to electric-powered vehicles. If the tax credit had survived, then a Slate truck would have come in at $18,900 before local taxes. How much that will hurt Slate in the long run, if at all, remains to be seen.
But, for someone that likes the idea of a stripped-down little pickup and either has a charger or will fit a charger into their home, it’s still attractive. Particularly with gas prices as high as they are, and even more so for people with solar panels on their roof.
Slate’s head of public relations and communications, Jeff Jablansky, pointed out to InsideEVs that the Slate pickup’s destination charge is the lowest of any pickup truck in the US. It’s a small win for the automaker whose key mission is affordability, though it’s still the same as a notably larger, heavier, and more luxurious BMW X5.
How To Build A Cheap Pickup In 2026
Slate TruckIan Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
Slate has kept the price of its pickup low by stripping out most of the now-standard features you’ll find in a modern vehicle. There’s not even an infotainment screen or speakers, let alone electric windows or paint – instead, owners will use a wrap to customize the vehicle or leave it grey.
There is a small digital gauge display for the driver that also shows the mandatory backup camera, but everything else is an optional extra, whether via Slate or the aftermarket. And Slate is keen on having an aftermarket for its vehicles. For those that want an SUV, there’s a “Squareback SUV Kit” for $5,000 or a fastback version for $7,000. This means the two-door SUV totals $31,400 with delivery, which is close to the price of a base-model Camry.
But it’s also close – in fact nearly identical – to the Nissan Leaf, an established five-seat EV from a well-known automaker, backed by a nationwide network of dealers for service. It also has 100 more miles of range, a stereo, power windows, and a paint job. In that context, one isn’t buying a Slate SUV because it’s cheap.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters
Slate Truck Reveal 2025Ian Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
The Slate truck could turn out to be an incredibly important vehicle. The danger here is that people will continue to compare it to the Ford Maverick ($28,145 before destination charges). On the surface, they seem comparable, but the point gets missed. As we’ve said, EVs are inherently more expensive than gas vehicles still, so the initial cost is higher.
But look closer: not only is gas expensive and showing no signs of getting cheaper anytime soon, but Slate designed its truck to be simple enough to work on in a home garage. The parts are easy to get at and replace – including the body panels and bumpers. In other words, it’s designed for the long-term cost of ownership to be low. Slate even wants to teach people how to do so through its Slate University online video series.
Even if people choose not to work on their own vehicles, simplicity brings down labor costs, and parts will be relatively inexpensive. On the other hand, Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, recently went on the record about home repair, saying, “Someone at home like myself could never do it. I mean, I have no problem working on a 1973 Bronco, but to work on a brand-new Bronco? I need all sorts of specialty tools. That’s something that would put people’s lives at risk.”
Source: InsideEVs
