Just one day after TechCrunch revealed that Jeff Bezos is backing a secretive EV startup called Slate Auto, an early version of the company’s low-cost electric pickup truck was spotted in the wild.
Reddit user u/discostranger09 posted a photo to the r/whatisthiscar subreddit on Wednesday of a small, dark gray, two-seater pickup truck on a flatbed. The user said it was being offloaded from a container outside their office in the Los Angeles area. The photo was first reported by automotive outlets Carscoops and The Autopian.
The truck pictured is, in fact, the one Slate Auto has been working on, according to a person with direct knowledge of Slate Auto’s vehicle design who spoke on the condition of anonymity. This person, whose identity is known to TechCrunch, said the truck is likely one of the concept vehicles the startup has created to show to potential investors — including the controlling owner of the LA Dodgers — at its design studio in Long Beach, California.
The truck is simply styled, with a grille that somewhat resembles the one on the modern-day Ford Bronco Sport. It also looks a bit like a smaller, simplified Rivian R1T — which is interesting considering that Slate’s head of exterior design had a short stint at Rivian before coming to the secretive startup.
But there are no dramatic flourishes, and that’s by design.
As TechCrunch exclusively reported earlier this week, the young company is attempting to build a business around the truck that involves selling it at a low price of around $25,000. Slate plans to upsell customers on customization and accessories of a wide variety. The company has filed for a trademark on the phrase “WE BUILT IT. YOU MAKE IT” and has mentioned something that sounds like a customization program called “Slate University” in job listings.
Another Slate trademark that has not yet been reported is for the phrase “Blank Slate.” That is one way that the company may refer to the base model of the truck before a customer chooses any customization options, according to the person familiar with the matter. It is unclear if the company has settled on a name for the truck, despite being a few weeks away from coming out of stealth. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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