We can now attest that the Slate truck is a real, actual, drivable thing. On the eve of its latest string of announcements—pricing, accessory availability, new range and capacity figures, and the opening of pre-orders, all of which we shall discuss shortly—the Slate engineers took us for a brief ride in one of their early-build prototypes.

What’s it like? It’s pretty much what we were expecting, which is a good thing, as we at MotorTrend have high hopes for this cute, inexpensive electric truck. The Slate has plenty of verve, more than we expect from a single-motor EV, especially when that motor delivers a modest 181 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque (recently revised from 201 hp/195 lb-ft). It certainly felt quicker than Slate’s own 0–60-mph estimate of 8.0 seconds would lead us to expect. (It’s worth pointing out here that at 4,050 pounds, the Slate pickup is a relative featherweight by electric-truck standards.)

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The interior is simplicity itself, with a basic digital panel that displays speed, range, and little else. The cabin feels big and open, largely thanks to the low center console that leaves plenty of room for one’s knees. Yep, you really do crank down the windows yourself, but the Slate does get air conditioning, too, along with cruise control, and—if real-world crash testing goes as well as the company’s internal wall-slams have—a five-star NCAP score and a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (Er, not that Slate demonstrated the truck’s crashworthiness on our ride-along.)

The ride seemed smooth enough, though so was the pavement underneath the Slate’s skinny tires. Refinement seemed reasonable, even at speeds up to 50 mph or so. It’s a pure truck, although the horn, which emits a timid “beep!” might need a rethink.

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Of course, there’s only so much we can read into a ride around the block near Slate’s new West Coast design center in Gardena, California. Still, the very existence of these trucks proves an important point, because on the day this story goes live, Slate will begin accepting non-refundable pre-orders. The company says Slate vehicles are on track for deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2026, and based on what we’ve seen, we think the chances are better than even that it’ll hit that target.

Slate Fills in Pricing and Spec Details

So, what else did we learn about the Slate, besides that it’s capable of forward and backward motion and it has a wimpy horn?

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For one thing, we got clarity on the price. The $24,950 figure that leaked last week is close to correct. That will indeed be the Slate pickup’s base price, but there will also be a destination and delivery charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,500, possibly slightly less. That puts the base price for the Slate pickup just under $26,500. The squareback SUV will add $5,000 to that price, and the fastback SUV a further $2,000 on top of that, so your most expensive Slate should start under $33,500.

That price gets you, er, a blank slate, a truck with composite gray body panels, a cloth interior, and no sound system save your own joyful voice—joyful, no doubt, because at those prices, the Slate should be the most affordable EV and the most affordable pickup truck on the U.S. market.

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Slate also announced a change in battery strategy. Originally, the company planned to offer two battery options, yielding 150 or 240 miles of range. Would-be buyers wanted more range, so Slate has settled on a single 63-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery option the company expects will provide around 205 miles of range. The Slate trucks use the Tesla-compatible NACS port, and fast charging from 20 to 80 percent should take 30 minutes. A Level 2 charge from 20 percent to full should take about four hours, and if your driving distances are limited, the Slate can just about be charged on a regular outlet. Slate says a 20 to 80 percent Level 1 charge should take 17 hours.

We also got clarity on capabilities. Previously, Slate announced that the pickup would haul 1,433 pounds and tow 1,000 pounds. The newest specs say payload for the pickup is 1,550 pounds, while towing capacity has grown to 2,000 pounds. For SUVs, payload will be 1,263 pounds, with an 1,824-pound towing capacity.