$25K Electrical Slate Truck Prototype Rolls Into Jay Leno’s Storage

Jay Leno begins the newest episode of his Jay Leno’s Storage sequence by going hands-on with a brand new electrical truck known as Slate, which has the potential to make going electrical a viable possibility for 1 / 4 of the price of right now’s new cars. The Slate prototype, developed in Warsaw, Indiana, is a no-frills pickup that’s straightforward to customise, restore, and keep.

Leno spends 35 minutes speaking by way of the truck’s specifics with Slate’s head of design, Tisha Johnson, and chief business officer, Jeremy Snyder, each of whom started their careers at Tesla. Manufacturing begins with every truck being an identical proper out of the plant, holding prices low and effectivity excessive.

Later, house owners can add their very own private touches with flat-pack kits that convert the truck into an SUV with a squareback or fastback rear finish, or perhaps a head-turning open prime format by eradicating the bulkhead, putting in a roll cage, and placing in a bench seat. The panels’ seen fasteners make it easy to modify or exchange them. The physique is fabricated from rust-resistant composite supplies and has a impartial gray end perfect for overlaying in vinyl reasonably than portray.

You’ll be aware immediately that the inside is sort of minimalist, with roll-up home windows utilized for airflow, air con managed by a easy trio of knobs, and a rudimentary Bluetooth speaker serving as a stereo system. There aren’t any fancy screens or over-engineered gauges to muddle up your dashboard. An honest-sized frunk within the entrance gives loads of space for storing, whereas the mattress within the again simply accommodates typical 4×8 items of plywood. Rails on the perimeters accommodate quite a lot of add-ons and equipment.

The 5 lug nuts on the entrance trace at doable future 4-wheel-drive variations, nevertheless this truck continues to be rear-wheel drive. The battery choices present a spread of roughly 150 or 230 miles, and each use liquid cooling on the Slate Board platform, a hybrid design that locations the battery low in the midst of the car for improved dealing with and security. You’ll be able to join the truck to the North American Supercharger community, which is extraordinarily helpful for metropolis dwellers or those that are unable to cost at residence. Disc brakes are normal, as is regenerative braking, however the latter just isn’t adjustable.

Maybe essentially the most eye-catching side is Slate’s dedication to right-to-repair ideas, as they’re fully open about it. They’ve an app that helps house owners diagnose issues in addition to repair them at residence, and there may be even a community of over 4,000 unbiased mechanics who’ve partnered with Slate to make it straightforward to get issues sorted out, reasonably than having to undergo a dealership.

Although Slate has solely lately launched, it has already obtained over 150,000 reservations. You should buy the truck straight from the manufacturing unit, with no middlemen in the best way, and the thought is to maintain the value low cost, within the mid-twenties, significantly under the $50,000 common price of a brand new car, although manufacturing continues to be a 12 months away.