I'm about to speak to the designer of the Slate Pickup Truck. What do you want to know?
The Slate pickup is a highly anticipated electric vehicle, especially in a market where demand for electric cars is flattening and the federal tax credit is disappearing. With gas prices soaring, the Slate could be in a unique position to capitalize on a sea of customers who don’t want to drop $120 every time they need to top off their truck.
The vehicle is set to start limited production later this summer, with first deliveries happening before the end of the year. The company is at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), and I'm invited to take a closer look at the vehicle to poke around. What do you want to know?
I'm curious about the design and how it feels. You can get a sense of a car's design from pictures and video, but my opinion on many cars has changed once I’ve actually touched its surfaces and sat inside.
The Slate truck is very much a budget automobile, with an estimated starting price under $30,000. So it’s not like I’m expecting quilted leather seats and soft-close doors here. But rough surfaces and hard plastics might turn some people off, even if they know they’ll be saving money. How will designers balance their budget limitations to create something inviting?
The question extends to the exterior. The Slate truck is so bare-bones that it doesn’t even have paint—those grey surfaces are unpainted plastic body panels. The company is leaning on exterior wraps and a swath of factory-designed accessories for customization. You can even use those accessories to turn it from a truck into a two-door SUV, which is pretty cool.
No matter how it’s customized, the Slate still has to make a good first impression. And that falls on the designers. So I’d like to know how the team has pulled it off despite all of the limitations put on by the team’s budget. The Slate truck might look painfully simple, but that’s likely just a result of a bunch of hard work to ensure it’s appealing to a wide audience.
I want to know what you’re curious about. It sounds like there won’t be any engineers or technical representatives on site, so my questions on the battery, motor, and range might have to wait. But I’m going to be getting up close with this car, so if you want to know how adjustable the seats are, or what size tire it’s wearing, or how many of me can fit in the bed, let me know in the comments.
I'm excited to hear your thoughts and questions about the Slate Pickup Truck!
