Bezos-Backed Startup Debuts Pickup Truck Reminiscent Of 1980s Toyota Hilux

A Jeff Bezos-backed startup unveiled on X a cheap electric truck priced at roughly half the cost of the average new American pickup. The catch: it lacks power windows, infotainment screens, and self-driving features.

“The people spoke. We built. Meet the radically simple, radically affordable Slate,” Slate Auto wrote in the post on X on Thursday.

The people spoke. We built. Meet the radically simple, radically affordable Slate. Reserve yours at https://t.co/Y5RkOIFCRo pic.twitter.com/uvSZVpdkWv

— Slate Auto (@slateauto) April 25, 2025

“A radically simple electric pickup truck that can change into whatever you need it to be — even an SUV,” the Slate Auto website says, adding, “Made in the USA at a price that’s actually affordable (no really, for real).”

At 14.5 feet long, the customizable EV is more akin to a Toyota pickup (Hilux) from the mid-1980s.

The range of the EV truck is abysmal, at 150 miles – or 240 miles with a longer-range battery pack – the vehicle in our minds is not a serious truck – instead, similar to mini trucks Americans are importing from Japan to run around town.

Any serious work, whether towing or hauling actual weight, in the EV space will be done by the Tesla Cybertruck or the Rivian truck, or a diesel-powered truck by Dodge, Ford, or Chevy for long-haul towing.

Again, the Slate Auto vehicle isn’t a serious pickup truck, but it does look like fun to run around town.