Automotive News’ coverage of product launches tends to display lots of pom-pom waving, so it was curious that a recent story about the Slate Truck was fairly negative.
I think it is entirely reasonable to discuss why this fledgling electric vehicle maker faces an uphill battle to get established in a tough market. However, Laurence Iliff (2026) put his finger onto the negative side if the scales too much. This was the opposite of the approach used on a more typical Automotive News piece about the Cupra Raval (Malan, 2026).
The negativity of Iliff’s (2026) story may partly reflect talking to experts who spout conventional wisdom privileging legacy automakers. Even so, it is revealing how he played up the most damning views and buried more supportive ones.
For example, the first quote was a harshly dismissive take by analyst Karl Brauer. “My biggest problem with Slate is I can get a real car from a real car company with a real dealer network to support me for the same or little additional cost.” By this logic, Tesla had no chance of success.
Iliff’s unflattering comparisons are debatable
Iliff (2026) went on to write that Slate could “find passionate fans but likely won’t dent sales of the bigger Ford Maverick pickup, the proven Chevrolet Bolt EV or gasoline and hybrid crossovers from legacy brands, analysts say. Fleet buyers, focused on total cost per mile, are likely a better fit.”
That may turn out to be true. However, Iliff doesn’t acknowledge that Slate is different enough that it doesn’t directly compete with the other mentioned vehicles. Why would very many people cross-shop the Slate and the Bolt when one is a truck and the other is a minicar? The use cases are substantially different. Much the same could be said in comparing the Slate and Maverick.
Also see ‘Will the Slate Truck be the closest thing you can get to a modern simple car?’
A forthcoming Ford compact EV pickup could be a more direct competitor. However, that truck isn’t expected to arrive until sometime in 2027 (Stafford, 2026; Lee, 2026). Early indications are that the new entry may be similar in size to the Maverick and have four doors.
“The Slate is a two-door and two doors don’t sell very well,” analyst Sam Fiorani told Iliff (2026). That may generally be true, but left unmentioned is that Slate has features that could boost its appeal such as a body that can be configured as either a truck or a sport-utility vehicle. In addition, a two-door model could be somewhat more popular in a small pickup reminiscent of the early Ford Ranger.
What would it take for Slate to become profitable?
Iliff (2026) noted that, outside of Tesla, EV startups have a poor record of achieving profitability in the U.S. “Rivian is burning through cash five years after launching its first vehicle and Lucid hired turnaround firm AlixPartners after cutting jobs in June.”
In addition, Iliff (2026) reported that Slate’s production capacity is 150,000 units per year. He implied that there might not be a big enough market for the automaker because “only two electric vehicles managed 150,000 registrations last year, the Tesla Model Y crossover and Model 3 sedan.”
What Iliff left out of his story was that Slate’s break-even point will be roughly 80,000 units per year. Car Scoops reported that the automaker’s goal is to “reach positive free cash flow and earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization by 2027.” Chief Executive Peter Faricy acknowledged that reaching profitability next year was “an ambitious goal” but that “you have to have ambitious goals if you want to achieve big things” (Anderson, 2026).
That strikes me as the most problematic aspect of Slate’s launch thus far. I suspect that the automaker’s ability to build a loyal customer base will require a smooth production ramp up with minimal quality-control glitches and a high level of customer service. Given the challenges of standing up a distribution network, I would be surprised if Slate met its initial production goals even if demand proved to be brisk.
Slate could more fully exploit EV reliability advantage
In theory, EVs should be more reliable than gas-powered cars because they have fewer moving parts. However, Consumer Reports (2026) has found Teslas to have mixed reliability and Rivian has been near the bottom of its rankings. Slate’s ultra-simple design holds the promise of better realizing the advantages of EVs.
By the same token, Slate’s minimalist approach in launching an automaker could help it more gracefully navigate a volatile EV market than costly startups such as Rivian and Lucid. And as Slate gets more established, it could have more financial room to plug holes in its lineup. For example, I should give Iliff (2026) credit for acknowledging that the automaker could eventually add a four-door model.
Also see ‘Which EV startups will succeed in crossing the Valley of Death?’
Alas, even his concluding paragraph has only a lukewarm quote from analyst Robby DeGraff: “This is not a vehicle for everybody, but it is a vehicle for somebody and that somebody is going to love it. If you’re a single person and have a 50-mile commute and some recreation on the side and can plug it in every night, this seems like the perfect fit.”
Well, yeah — that’s one type of buyer. However, it seems to me that Slate could appeal to an eclectic range of people, from fleet operators seeking to minimize their costs to rural home owners who need a flexible and no-nonsense workhorse. In other words, a modern-day simple car. Something that the rest of the auto industry has been running away from for years. The forthcoming compact Ford EV may be too fancy to fit the bill.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Anderson, Brad; 2026. “Slate Bets Its Electric Truck Is So Cheap That It’ll Turn A Profit.” Car Scoops. Posted June 26.
- Banner, Justin; 2026. “GM Will Kill the Chevrolet Bolt EV (Again) by 2028, Says Report.” MotorTrend. Posted Jan. 23.
- Consumer Reports; 2026. “Which Brands Make the Best Cars?” Accessed July 28.
- Iliff, Laurence; 2026. “Slate’s $26,400 EV looks like a bargain, but mainstream rivals offer more features, fewer trade-offs.” Automotive News. Posted July 27.
- Lee, Kristen; 2026. “2028 Ford Ranchero: Everything We Know About the $30,000 Electric Truck.” MotorTrend. Posted July 14.
- Malan, Andrea; 2026. “VW’s Cupra launches sporty Raval electric hatchback to challenge Renault 5.” Automotive News. Posted April 9.
- Slate; 2026. “Back to Basics, Made to Be Accessorized Over Time.” Press release dated June 24.
- Stafford, Eric; 2026. “Ford’s $30,000 Electric Truck Comes into Focus in New Spy Photos.” Car and Driver. Posted July 4.
I see the appeal of Slate. I’m interested but I’d want the SUV package, some upgrades. Once you’re well over 30k it’s a harder sell. I think it’ll be initially successful. It could be one of those situations where once everyone who wants one has one sales very quickly taper off. They’ll need the commercial market. It makes more sense as a business vehicle. I hope it succeeds.
A visit to the Netherlands this summer illustrated what the US has been shielded from with respect to EV exports from China. I saw brands I’d never heard of that looked reminiscent of and in some cases more appealing than domestic EVs sold in the US, but at a lower price.
I believe China will subsidize its EVs to gain a foothold and decimate its competitors in any market it enters. China plays a long game, not a quarterly one.
A Slate success may be what the US EV manufacturers and market need to wake up and prepare for the inevitable flood of EVs from China becoming soon to become commonplace in Canada and Mexico. The current offerings in the US are over optioned and too expensive for many wanting to switch to an EV.
The Slate launch reminds me of that of the Henry J by Kaiser more than 75 years ago — a start-up automaker introducing a low-priced, efficient, no frills vehicle to fill a gap in the market that seemingly did not exist judging by its failure in the market. Tesla is an anomaly in that it was able to succeed despite having no history or public trust. This shortcoming was, I would think, a significant factor in the demise of the Henry J and eventually Kaiser. As well, Kaiser probably overestimated the American appetite for a vehicle offering only basic transportation. This may also be the case with Slate. Americans will now be less accepting of “bare bones” today than they were in the early fifties.
That’s one plausible scenario. I would offer the caveat that the U.S. has gone through ebbs and flows when it comes to the fanciness of cars. For example, the early-60s were marked by a back-to-basics trend (e.g., the Falcon) and so were the early-70s (the Maverick).
Where I think Slate has at least somewhat more potential than the Henry J is that it is a multi-purpose vehicle that could carve out a niche with fleet owners that need basic, low-cost transportation (such as municipal maintenance departments). In other words, I see Slate as more akin to a utility vehicle like the Ford Econoline van than an entry-level passenger car.
Another potential factor is that times have changed from the early postwar period in terms of how people use cars. For example, in the early-50s your typical middle-class household was unlikely to have a truck; today they may often be considered essential.
In my last house the neighbor next door traded in his Toyota Corolla for a mid-80s subcompact truck. He didn’t need anything big or fancy — he just needed a truck to occasionally haul stuff to the dump or pick up supplies for his gardening projects. He bought such an old truck because no one makes small, basic pickups anymore. Slate could appeal to that market if they can avoid quality glitches.
My concern about the Slate, or any automotive startup for that matter, is reliability and getting the damn thing repaired. No matter how simple the vehicle is, it’s still going to be a computer with wheels. My fear is having something going sour with no dealer nearby and independent shops afraid to touch it.
One problem with surveys is people tell the surveyor what they think they want to hear. Sure, a no frills vehicle sounds good until you test drive one. “Frills” made sense when they were added on rather than designed in. If you don’t have AC, power windows, or radio in the basic version for instance, it will cost a fortune to add them on for those that want them ie. most everyone and will look jury rigged.
Is the truck actually in production and available to the public yet?
Air conditioning is standard. You can use your smart phone for a radio and can either get an optional Bluetooth speaker or install your own. If you’re the kind of guy who insists on power windows then the forthcoming Ford EV pickup may be more to your taste. I personally prefer manual windows.
It sounds like deliveries will start in the fourth quarter of this year.