Slate Auto sets June 24 to open orders for its low-cost EV
Bezos-backed Slate Auto will open orders on June 24 and targets first deliveries by year-end; final pricing is still under wraps.
By Ryan Merket · Published
Why it matters
A founder-led bid to ship a configurable, low-cost EV into a price-sensitive market is a notable countertrend to feature-bloated launches. If Slate hits its schedule and price, it raises the bar for capital-efficient EV manufacturing and pressures both legacy OEMs and venture-backed peers. June 24 order interest will be an early read on founder-market fit.
Slate Auto will open orders for its low-cost EV on June 24, with first deliveries targeted for later this year, TechCrunch reported. The company was founded in 2022 inside Re:Build Manufacturing by Miles Arnone, William Barker, and Jeff Wilke.
Based in Troy, Michigan, the startup’s investor roster includes Jeff Bezos and LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter, a high-profile vote of confidence for an attempt at a no-frills EV aimed at the mass market. Slate came out of stealth in April 2025 after TechCrunch detailed its secretive plans.
What they are building
Slate Auto characterizes the vehicle as a configurable, low-cost platform. Wikipedia describes the first product as the Slate Truck, an electric pickup that can be converted into an SUV, while TechCrunch published an image labeled as an SUV configuration. The company has not announced detailed specifications in the materials available here.
The near-term plan
TechCrunch writes that Slate sent emails encouraging prospective buyers to place a reservation now ahead of “preorders” starting June 24, promising a “delivery window before non-reservers.” The company has not announced a starting price. TechCrunch notes Slate previously said it would reveal final pricing in June.
The timing puts a marker down in a tougher EV market. If Slate can hold a year-end delivery target while keeping the car simple and affordable, that would separate the founders from a wave of startups that overreached on complexity or slipped schedules. Building within Re:Build Manufacturing’s umbrella, as Wikipedia describes, suggests the team is betting on tighter design-to-production integration rather than a capital-heavy greenfield approach.
Founder lens
Arnone, Barker, and Wilke are setting expectations around pragmatism: a configurable pickup-to-SUV platform and a focus on cost discipline. The approach reads like a response to two realities of the current EV cycle: price sensitivity and the operational drag of bespoke, feature-heavy designs. With backing from Bezos and Walter and a Michigan base, the founders are trying to thread the needle between startup speed and industrial credibility. The June 24 order date will be the first public test of demand for that thesis.
What we still do not know from the available sources: the final MSRP, specs like range or battery size, where Slate intends to assemble the vehicle, and how the reservation and preorder mechanics work beyond the timing and prioritization note reported by TechCrunch. Those details will determine how far the founders can stretch the low-cost promise and how much of the mass market they can credibly address.