The Bezos-backed startup opens preorders today for a bare-bones EV pickup designed to do what no one else is bothering to do — cost less. The number that Slate Auto has been building toward for four years landed Wednesday morning: $24,950. That’s the starting price for the 2027 Slate Truck, a rear-wheel-drive electric pickup with crank windows, no touchscreen, and a 5-foot bed — and it’s now officially the cheapest new truck in America, undercutting the Ford Maverick by roughly $2,000. For a market that has spent the better part of a decade drifting relentlessly upmarket, the announcement landed like a provocation. The average new vehicle in the United States now costs around $48,000. Slate is offering a truck at almost exactly half that. “More than 180,000 reservation holders have told us they’re ready for a vehicle that’s affordable, reliable, and built around their lives,” said Slate CEO Peter Faricy. “Slate gives customers the freedom to buy only what they need today and personalize their vehicle as their needs change tomorrow.” A Truck Stripped to the Essentials The Slate Truck is deliberately, almost defiantly, minimal. There is no infotainment screen. No power windows — glass is operated by hand crank. The HVAC system uses physical knobs. The factory color is a single shade of gray. Built-in Bluetooth lets drivers pair a smartphone, but the truck comes with no speakers. What it does have: a 65 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with 63 kWh of usable energy, good for an estimated 205 miles of range — a 37 percent increase over the company’s earlier 150-mile projection. Towing capacity comes in at 2,000 pounds, payload at 1,550 pounds. DC fast charging at up to 120 kW can bring the battery from 20 to 80 percent in roughly 30 minutes. A full