In April 2025, a new company called Slate Auto came out of secrecy and shook the automotive industry. Not only was this startup focused on building an ultra-cheap, customizable electric truck with funding from Jeff Bezos, but it had been secretly operating for three years in Troy, Michigan—the backyard of major automakers like Ford and General Motors.
TechCrunch was first in the story, reporting in early April about the company’s existence, its involvement with Amazon’s founder, and its strange and unique business model. The weeks between our report and Slate’s official party at the end of April provided a whirlwind of news, with prototypes of the startup’s truck popping up in California.
The Slate is an anomaly in the US electric vehicle sector, where bankruptcies, failed product launches and spin-offs have become commonplace. And while its current backers, executive lineup, first product and business model provide an exciting path forward, the road is still littered with potential obstacles as it pushes toward production in late 2026.
Here’s a timeline that illustrates everything you need to know about Slate Auto, from its origin story and backers to its product, business model, and production plans.
Inside the EV startup secretly backed by Jeff Bezos
April 8 – After a year-long investigation, TechCrunch published a story revealing that a secretive EV startup called Slate Auto had been operating for three years with the financial backing of Jeff Bezos and LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter.
Unlike other EV startups, Slate was working on developing an ultra-low-cost electric truck that would start at around $25,000. This truck could be deeply customized, drawing on the experience of many former employees of Harley-Davidson and Chrysler, two companies with extensive aftermarket accessory and parts businesses.
Slate Auto’s truck was spotted in the wild
April 10 – A day later, a photo of a nondescript electric truck began circulating on r/whatisthiscar subredditwith Redditors speculating that it could be Slate’s mystery EV.
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TechCrunch was able to confirm that the photo was, in fact, of a prototype Slate truck parked outside the company’s design center in Long Beach, California.
An EV that can change like a ‘Transformer’
April 21 – Slate has begun putting prototype versions of the Slate EV on public roads to generate marketing buzz ahead of its planned launch event on April 24. Curiously, some of them seemed to be more of an SUV or hatchback style, not just pickup trucks.
TechCrunch was able to confirm that the company had developed the EV to have “Transformer-like” modular capabilities, and that this stunt was a way to tease out that customization.
The analog EV truck that’s decidedly anti-Tesla
April 24 – Slate made its debut at a launch event in Long Beach, California, where it unveiled its customizable electric truck. Slate also announced that the truck will be available for less than $20,000 — with the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
The base version of the truck was revealed to be very bare-bones, with a range of just 150 miles, no power windows, no main infotainment screen, and not even paint. Slate promised that virtually everything about the truck would be customizable, even down to the number of seats and the overall silhouette.
A former Indiana printing plant was looking into producing electric trucks
April 25 – TechCrunch reported that Slate had identified a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana as the location for its truck factory. The 1.4 million square foot facility was built in 1958 and sat idle for about two years.
Slate Auto crosses 100,000 refundable reservations in two weeks
May 12 – Slate confirmed to TechCrunch that it had already surpassed 100,000 refundable $50 reservations for its affordable EV truck. It was proof that the company’s ideas had caught on with a wide audience, even though no one knew about Slate just two months ago.
Slate Auto drops pricing ‘under $20,000’ after Trump administration ends federal EV tax credit
July 3 – The Trump administration pushed through a massive tax cut bill that, among many other actions, set a September expiration date for the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles. That means Slate’s truck will no longer be able to rely on that credit to reach the “under $20,000” starting price that the startup advertised. As such, Slate pulled that language from its website before the bill was even signed into law.
Because this Los Angeles-based VC firm was an early investor in Slate Auto
July 8 – Slate’s 2023 funding round included at least 16 investors—one of them was Bezos. While most of these investors have yet to be identified, Slauson & Co. The Los Angeles-based spoke to TechCrunch about why he joined the EV startup in this seed round of funding, as well as Slate’s Series B.
Slate Auto is featured on the TechCrunch Disrupt main stage
October 30 – Slate Auto CEO Chris Barman sat down for an interview on the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025where he talked about Jeff Bezos’ involvement, the challenge of building an automaker from the ground up, and how the company plans to create a market for customization.
Slate passes 150,000 bookings
December 16 – Despite the decline in EV deployment in the US, Slate Auto surpasses 150,000 refundable reservations for its truck and SUV, showing that there is still serious interest in the vehicle despite the loss of the federal tax credit. And with fewer EVs coming to the US, it looks like the startup will have very little competition at the low end of the market.
2026
A surprise CEO swap
March 9 – Slate makes a surprise move and trades in a new CEO: former Amazon Marketplace VP Peter Faricy. However, former CEO (and Slate’s first hire) Chris Barman remains with the company, moving into a “President of Vehicles” role. Slate used Faricy to prepare the startup for its commercial launch at the end of the year – starting with converting the reservation list to as many full orders as possible.
