Here’s The Gift Slate Sent Me For Putting A Deposit Down On Its Cheap Electric Truck

A few weeks ago, I got a cryptic message from automaker Slate Auto, the company behind the maybe-not-$20,000 barebones electric truck. I’m one of at least 100,000 people who have plopped down $50 as a reservation, to hold a spot, to maybe try to buy a Slate truck at some point in the future. Slate wanted to know if, in addition to the $50, I would share my address. If I did so, they’d send me something special.

I wasn’t expecting much. The whole gimmick behind Slate is radical simplicity, so while I’d like to get a fun die-cast model of the truck as my daughter and I designed it, it would be somewhat antithetical to the company’s mission. With the Senate passing a bill that could strip Slate Auto of any federal tax credits, the company probably wants to keep itself from blowing all that sweet, sweet Jeff Bezos money at one go.

My wife brought in the mail yesterday, and had a laugh when she saw the card-sized white envelope with the SLATE logo on the outside. While my kid and I are excited about the idea of getting a small, electric truck, my wise partner recognizes both the lack of charging infrastructure in our parking spot and, more importantly, the non-existence of $20,000 to be spent on yet another vehicle.

When I opened up the envelope, I was pleased to find a little drawing of the truck:

It’s kind of a slightly more detailed version of the kind of drawings that Jason does for Velour+ members. It’s on a nice cardstock and has a little printed signature on it. This also comes with a note:

That’s thoughtful. Here’s what it says if you can’t read it clearly:

We’ve loved building the Slate truck. But, if you ask us, the real magic happens when you make it your own, and make memories of your own. Before you know, you’ll be behind the wheel of your very own Slate. And whether it’s a couple of small accents or you’ve put your creative fingerprint over every square inch, you’re part of the Slate family.

Until then, here’s a small token of our appreciation. It’s a concept sketch by our design team. Slate started as an idea, but now it’s real. And that’s because of you.

So, from everyone on the Slate team, thank you.

By comparison, David put a deposit on the Scout Motors electric truck almost six months before I put one down on the Slate. Has he even gotten a thank-you card? According to David, he hasn’t gotten squat.

Score one for Slate, I suppose. In general, Slate seems to have a compressed schedule when compared to the EV/EREV Scout Motors truck. The VW-offshoot plans to be in production in early 2027, whereas Slate is targeting the end of next year. Whether both, either, or neither hits those dates remains to be seen.

Photos: Author

Top graphic images: Slate; Cra-Z-Art via Amazon