It almost seems like another lifetime when Ford announced its all-electric F-150 Lightning just over five years ago in May of 2021. The entry-level Pro trim launched just shy of $40,000, but the fully stacked Platinum crossed over $90,000. By December 2025, Ford pulled the plug.

But far from giving up on electric trucks, now the automotive world looks like it's focusing on downsizing EV pickups. Ford is set to unveil its cheaper skunkworks EV truck, which is considerably smaller than the F-150 Lightning. Telo has its mini MT1 electric truck coming later this year. And then there is the all-gray Slate, which, as well as being all-electric, wants to be America's most affordable truck.

As average new car prices in the US now start at more than $50,000, Slate has—unlike some other US auto pledges—managed to make good on its promise and bring this electric truck to market for less than $25,000. With a starting price of $24,950, you can preorder a Slate today for $300 (or $250 if you're an existing reservation holder who previously put down $50).

First deliveries, Slate claims, are expected at the end of the year, and if only half of the 180,000 people who have apparently already placed reservations follow through, it will immediately be considerably more successful in volume than the ill-fated Tesla Cybertruck.

The base “Blank Slate” model is a rear-wheel-drive, single-motor electric truck with a 65-kWh battery pack, a better-than-initially-stated 205-mile range (a welcome 37 percent bump), and a 2,000-pound tow rating. Payload is also up a touch to 1,550 pounds. Zero to 60 mph is an unhurried 8 seconds, and top speed a modest 90 mph. No, these are not class-leading numbers, but they should work for most who actually use a truck as a truck.

The fastest the Slate truck can charge is DC 120 kW, and that will see you go from 20 to 80 percent in just 30 minutes. Plugging in at home could take as long as 17 hours.

To hit that rock-bottom price, the company, started in 2022 and partially backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has decided to cut all frills: no touchscreen, just a clip for your smartphone; one color, a gray tone that’s molded into its composite body panels; manual window winders.

The truck, however, does convert. Buyers can order it as a pickup or as one of two SUV body styles starting at $29,950: the Squareback or the Fastback. If you're not sure at the start, you can buy the pickup then convert it later.

Slate will sell more than 200 accessories for the truck, with many apparently priced under $500, such as roof racks, stereos, along with seat and light covers. A full vehicle color wrap also starts at under $500 and supposedly takes mere hours to apply. At launch, you'll be able to choose from over 100 hues to banish that gray.

The Slate's lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and powertrain come with a 10-year or 110,000-mile warranty. Meanwhile, the parts count is apparently less than half that of a typical pickup, which supposedly means there's less to go wrong. If something does, owners can call upon Slate U, a DIY repair guide. The company has also partnered with more than 3,000 RepairPal shops nationwide.

While that bump in range from 150 to 205 miles for the pickup makes it more usable, this is based on Slate's own approximation of the EPA test cycle, not an official rating. The vehicle is currently in preproduction, so these specifications might still change.

Visually, the Slate stays true to the upright, square-edged profile of classic two-seat American pickup trucks, but at 175 inches long, 71 inches wide, and 69 inches tall, it is smaller than a Ford Maverick. But it does have a full 60-inch bed versus the Maverick’s 54 inches. Interior space is tight for a pickup, though: 41.5 inches of front legroom and 40.4 inches of headroom. The SUV variants add a second row but give rear passengers just 30.8 inches of legroom.

The company, clearly confident in the attractiveness of its new bargain basement EV, will build the Slate at a reindustrialized factory in Warsaw, Indiana, where it plans to invest nearly $400 million in facilities.

However, new research from Edmunds says that less than just 5 percent of new vehicles sold for $25,000 or less in 2025, and that figure is trending down, too, as it was nearly 21 percent in 2019, though this could be due to price increases reducing the number of vehicles available in this bracket.

In a statement commenting on the Slate’s pricing, Ivan Drury, Edmunds' director of insights, said: “Slate is making a $25,000 bet that drivers still want something simple. Our data shows the market walked away from that price years ago, so this is a real test of how much affordability still matters.”

“The base pricing is the headline, but the entry-level price point is paired with an unconventional build and a powertrain that is proven harder to sell today. The real question is whether the enticing price alone can overcome that.”