The Slate Truck is an electric two-seater with 150 miles of range and no stereo. | Image: Slate Auto
Ask just about anybody, and they’ll tell you that new cars are too expensive. In the wake of tariffs shaking the auto industry and with the Trump administration pledging to kill the federal EV incentive, that situation isn’t looking to get better soon, especially for anyone wanting something battery-powered. Changing that overly spendy status quo is going to take something radical, and it’s hard to get more radical than what Slate Auto has planned.
Meet the Slate Truck, a sub-$20,000 (after federal incentives) electric vehicle that enters production next year. It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. It is the bare minimum of what a modern car can be, and yet it’s taken three years of development to get to this point.
But this is more than bargain-basement motoring. Slate is presenting its truck as minimalist design with DIY purpose, an attempt to not just go cheap but to create a new category of vehicle with a huge focus on personalization. That design also enables a low-cost approach to …
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I get cutting the infotainment crap, but not even am AM/FM radio with a couple of speakers? That would barely add anything to the cost.
The article is rubbish. It has a stereo, different colours and aircon as well. Theres also a 5 passenger wagon model.
2 speakers, amp and an aux
Strap a $20 Bluetooth speaker to the dash.
Killed by a $20 missile in a wreck lol.
I am pretty sure there is a law requiring radios for emergency purposes.
Maybe they got an exemption?
I’m pretty sure all of those types of laws are going away and don’t matter in Trumpistan.
I actually think it’s better to go all in and eliminate it completely. More aftermarket options.
If they included mounting and made it easy to mount your own speakers sure.
Basically everyone has a bluetooth speaker and phone to go with it already.
I would much rather use that than am/fm radio tbh
Speak for yourself. I don’t have a portable speaker because I have no need for one. I’d prefer a Bluetooth system in the vehicle, but at least something to have some tunes while driving would be easy to include.
I think the truck is setup you can buy and I stall your own.
Which I like cuz then I’m not tightly coupled to whatever shitty infotainment system the manufacturer baked in
Instead I can buy an aftermarket stereo if I desire, and pick out a good popular one that is well reviewed by enthusiasts.