Slate Auto is aiming to accomplish what Ford Motor couldn't — to get drivers to swap their gasoline-powered pickups for an electric truck.

Slate on Wednesday began taking $300 preorders for its base $24,950 electric pickup truck, a price that is less than half the roughly $57,000 average cost of a new electric vehicle and well below the average $49,000 price of a new car. 

Deliveries of the Slate truck are expected in late 2026.

EVs have had a rocky time in recent years, with demand dropping after a tax subsidy for electric vehicles ended in 2025, prompting more consumers to opt for lower-priced fuel-injected cars. 

In December, Ford ended production of the electric version of its popular F-150 pickup truck, with CEO Jim Farley saying it didn't make sense to continue investing in a product that wasn't profitable.

Slate, which also makes an electric SUV, is betting that its low price point can win over EV skeptics.

"A Slate Truck is $24,950. Because America asked for an affordable new truck," the company said Wednesday on social media. 

Still, the Slate Truck is likely to face serious hurdles. For an EV, its driving range is relatively short, at 205 miles, which could deter some customers at a time when other electric cars on the market offer far greater range. The truck also has a towing capacity of 1,000 pounds, far less than that of other pickup trucks.

The Slate Truck "is a real test of how much affordability still matters to today's buyers," said Ivan Drury, Edmunds' director of insights, in an email. "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."

Drury added, "The real question is whether the enticing price alone can overcome that."