Excitement fills the air at the World Car of the Year Awards in Pasadena as the Slate Truck makes waves. Jeff Dovolanski, head of PR for Slate, discusses the innovative approach behind this electric pickup, emphasizing affordability and customization. With a focus on essential features rather than excess technology, the Slate Truck aims to cater to consumer needs while keeping costs down. The conversation covers production timelines, unique design elements, and the company's vision for the future of automotive manufacturing, making this episode a deep dive into a fresh contender in the EV market.
In this episode, we’re at the World Car of the Year annual test-drive program in Pasadena, California, where the Slate Truck made a special guest appearance ahead of its first scheduled deliveries in late 2026. We bring you the latest updates on the features, technology, and development of this highly anticipated new electric truck.
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"...d yeah, I mean, so we're very thankful that Bezos Expeditions was the lead for our Series A and we're happy to ..."
The Ford Expedition is a large SUV that can carry a lot of people and their stuff. It's great for families or anyone who needs extra space and is good for road trips because it's comfortable and powerful.
The Ford Expedition is a full-size SUV known for its spacious interior, powerful engine options, and towing capabilities. It is significant as a family vehicle and is often discussed for its versatility and comfort on long trips.
"...Average car is over $50,000 in the US. It's incredible, yeah."
The average car price is how much people generally pay for a new car. Recently, this price has gone up a lot, making it harder for people to buy cars.
The average car price refers to the typical cost of a new vehicle sold in a specific market, which has seen significant increases in recent years. This figure can reflect various factors including inflation, demand, and supply chain issues.
"...incredible, average used car is over $30,000. If you can get one,..."
The average used car price is what most people pay for a second-hand car. This price has also gone up a lot, making it tough to find affordable options.
The average used car price is the typical cost of pre-owned vehicles sold in the market. Like new cars, used car prices have also risen due to factors such as limited inventory and increased demand.
"I mean like again, I'll mention the Cybertruck which is exactly the same thing. That like stainless steel but people are wrapping it in crazy designs..."
The Tesla Cybertruck is a new electric truck that looks very different from regular trucks. It's made of a special metal that doesn't rust, and it's designed to be very strong and efficient.
The Tesla Cybertruck is an all-electric pickup truck designed by Tesla, known for its unique angular design and use of stainless steel. It aims to offer high performance and utility while being environmentally friendly.
"Yeah, so 150 kilowatts of power is about 200 horsepower."
Kilowatts is a way to measure how powerful something is, like an electric motor in a car. It tells you how much energy the motor can use at one time.
Kilowatts (kW) is a unit of power that measures the rate of energy transfer. In automotive terms, it is often used to describe the output of electric motors, with 1 kilowatt being approximately 1.34 horsepower.
"Yeah, so 150 kilowatts of power is about 200 horsepower."
Horsepower is a way to measure how strong an engine is. The more horsepower a car has, the faster and more powerful it can be.
Horsepower is a unit of measurement for power, commonly used to describe the power output of engines. It indicates how much work an engine can do over time, with higher horsepower generally translating to better performance.
"...you can also plug into a Tesla Supercharger,..."
A Tesla Supercharger is a special charging station for Tesla cars that lets you charge the battery quickly, so you can drive longer distances without waiting too long.
Tesla Superchargers are high-speed charging stations designed specifically for Tesla vehicles, allowing for rapid recharging of their electric batteries. They are strategically placed along major travel routes to facilitate long-distance travel for Tesla owners.
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Today we're here in Pasadena
for the World Car of the Year award test drive.
But we're still in the car that is not on the list for now
because it's actually not available for people to drive.
It's already been announced.
A lot of excitement running.
And we're with Jeff Dovolanski here,
who is the head of PR for Slate.
That some people label this pickup truck
or the whole company of that Jeff Bezos
or Amazon pickup truck, right?
Yeah, so first of all,
great to be having this conversation now,
seven months after we showed this truck
for the first time in almost three years
into the production cycle.
Wow, three years already.
So we've been working really hard since late 2022
on this truck.
And yeah, I mean, so we're very thankful
that Bezos Expeditions was the lead for our Series A
and we're happy to have their support.
So let's talk about that,
what you mentioned the three year process
of making something like this happen.
And this is gonna be another year,
at least until it goes into deliveries, right?
So it's not easy to make a car.
It's not easy, not easy to make a car,
not easy to start a company and show your brand
and your product all at the same time all at once
and hope that you break through.
So yeah, so the last three years have been incredible for us.
We started with a clean sheet of paper,
said people can't afford their cars anymore.
Average car is over $50,000 in the US.
It's incredible, yeah.
It's an incredible, average used car
is over $30,000.
If you can get one,
because there's also a shortage of that too.
Exactly, so if you can get one,
you're probably paying too much for it
and we thought that there would be a better way.
Where were the affordable cars?
So we looked at what are all the things
people actually want in their car
and you and I are sitting in one right now.
Do people need big screens?
Do people need self-driving?
All these extras that the industry has said you need
and then often bundled the things you don't want,
we said, what if we take us
and make it a customer focused approach
by pay for the things that you want in the truck
and we'll give you everything you absolutely need.
And we made it an EV
and we're gonna make it in America.
Wow, amazing.
So you probably won't mention it by name
but I can, I guess.
But like the whole thing about screens
and like all these high technology came
started with basically with Tesla
when it like 10, whatever, 15 years ago.
They come with the huge screen here in the middle
which was vertical and horizontal
and everybody wanted that.
The consumers wanted it
because it was the first one.
And then all the other manufacturers followed up
and then like you go to extremes
where like the whole front dashboard
in some brands are screens.
And as you said, like initially it looks cool
but then like you, do I really need all these?
And maybe not.
So this is clean and I love the name also
because it relates to that, right?
It's a clean slate.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean what we've done is take the model
and transform it where we're actually decoupled
from the consumer electronics lifecycle right now.
So when you get a new phone,
suddenly in your slate
you have the most updated screen.
You have the most updated screen.
Yeah, because it's your phone.
Exactly, it's your phone
and you can put a tablet on here as well
using this rail and we'll show you
how to do all these things.
So if you're somebody who loves all that stuff
we're not saying don't have it
but for people who don't want it
it's not there and they don't have to pay for it.
And most users now, more consumers now
use their phone as their main navigation anyway.
They obviously need it in the car for calls
hopefully not texting and driving
or watching videos if that happened.
But I think, I mean, I think Apple CarPlay
prevents you from watching videos.
But anyway, so tell me about it.
So like we're sitting here in the cabin
this is audio so we're gonna try to do our best
to have explained the whole thing.
So let's start with the doors.
I see a manual handle for the windows
which is fine.
I mean how long it takes you, 10 seconds?
Exactly, it's not just a throwback
it is the easy simple solution
to how do you open your windows.
Yeah.
Crank windows are on the blank slate
as is everything you see here.
We make the truck one way.
So from the factory each one of them
is going to look exactly like this
down to that phone mount
that you're gonna have a new truck.
But standard HVAC, some lockable storage.
It's a two seat truck right now
but it converts into a five seat SUV
using the SUV kit, the accessory kit
that you can purchase as well.
And let's get a little bit into the exterior
because we were talking about this
before we hit recording actually last night at dinner.
So the exterior panels are made of some special composite.
It's not the traditional,
well nothing is traditional I guess.
But the colors are integrated into that material.
So you avoided having a paint shop right in your factory.
Tell me about that.
That's right, so the color is molded in
and so basically it's a steel frame
and instead of having paints on the outside
we basically said, we don't want to engineer
the cheapest car the cheapest way
because that's not the way to deliver the best product.
We wanted to deliver a lot of value in the truck.
So we took out things that are very expensive
like two to $500 million investment in the shop.
And it has to be updated constantly baby.
Exactly, yeah.
And instead we said, all right
we're gonna have one configuration
and then the body panel is designed to accommodate wrap.
So you can even see the pieces
where you'll be able to put the wrap on yourself.
Oh okay, so a lot of people are doing that
with let's say cyber trucks for example
which don't have paint either.
And the difference here also is
you're not gonna have to take parts off
in order to wrap it.
The wrap is, it's going to fit
based on the directions
that are on this individual piece.
Oh I see.
And we'll show you exactly how to do it.
So yeah, really easy to wrap
and then it becomes any color you want.
Oh really?
You can make the panel cynical?
Any color wrap that you want?
Oh the wrap, the wrap, yeah.
But the truck from the factory
comes in how many colors?
Or will it come in how many colors?
I, it comes in slate gray.
Oh okay.
Oh, this is one color.
So what I saw in the promo videos are wrapped.
It was all wrapped, yeah.
Oh I see, I see that.
Exactly, so for our reveal
so we took, as it was risky
we said, what would no car company do?
They would show, instead of just one car on stage
and not two, we showed eight vehicles.
Exactly.
And they kept coming off the line
and all the different configurations
from two-door pickup, open air, SUV,
a fastback, SUV, squareback.
And we had multiple vehicles
and we put them all outside to show the variety
because if you showed just one
it's hard for people to understand.
Exactly.
So in that sense it's even more amazing
because you're showing the versatility
from the very beginning
and maybe that's why I was confused too because
so it comes in this gray color
but you can make it whatever you want.
And that's also another trend.
I mean like again, I'll mention the Cybertruck
which is exactly the same thing.
That like stainless steel
but people are wrapping it in crazy designs
and all that, which it's great.
So tell me a little bit more about the company itself.
We mentioned that Amazon or Jeff Bezos
invested a lot of money
or one of the main investors.
And then like you also have recruited a lot of people
from the automotive industry, including yourself.
You were another brand, so tell me
how is the team, how many people are working in it
and all that kind of thing.
Yeah, so what's great about our team is we're everywhere.
Our headquarters is in Troy, Michigan, so outside Detroit.
We are building our truck in Warsaw, Indiana
which is about two hours driving from Chicago.
Okay.
And we have design studios in Troy
and in Long Beach, California.
So we've taken kind of a traditional approach
where we're not just in one place
but our team, we're about 500 people right now
all across the country.
Oh wow.
That's not that many really.
What, you know, we come from all different industries
and what unites us is that we all love cars.
We love talking about cars.
Yeah, absolutely.
Question we like to ask everybody,
what was your first car?
Yeah, yeah.
Everyone has a great first car story.
You don't need to be a car person to know the answer to that.
Yeah, exactly.
So yeah, so we come from a lot of places.
Our culture is exceptional and unique.
Okay, so let's go back to seven months ago
when you opened the order process and all that.
How's that been going?
How can people get in?
Because I understand now the line is pretty long already, right?
The line is long, but if you go to sleep.auto,
which is our website,
you can place a reservation for a truck
which will get you closer on that line.
And so far, the reservation cost is $50.
It's refundable.
And we have over 100,000 people
who've made reservations for trucks.
So let's say people who place their order number one,
I guess there must be a number, right?
So people who ordered that one
will get it within a year more or less?
Our first deliveries are gonna start at the end of 26.
So basically around, you know, here we are,
you know, this time next year, that's what we're targeting.
And then we'll be ramping up after that.
And then for example, if I place my order today,
it will be like a year.
Do you have any idea?
Do you have any, the company has like a timeframe
for the whole production in terms of what,
I guess it depends on the amounts
of confirmed orders at the end.
For now, it just reservations, right?
Yeah, convert exactly.
So our factory has capacity for 150,000.
Oh, okay, so you're good.
Exactly, and through this at the novel manufacturing approach
where they're all built the same way,
it should be easy to get people trucks
as they come off the line.
And then, so you get the truck
and let's talk about the price
because the initial announcement was made
before many changes in the automotive industry
in the US, the federal taxes, incentives
and all that kind of thing.
So what's the price today, November, 2025?
What people can expect if they order one today?
People should expect mid-20s.
And actually we set it back in April
with the asterisk that there was
a federal tax credit in place.
Without the tax credit, it's still mid-20s.
Mid-20s, so like super affordable.
And then let's talk about the variations
of the variant.
So with, you said there were like seven
or eight different ones and depending on the kit
that you will install on the bus.
And what's the process to get that and install it?
I guess it's super easy, but let me explain that please.
Sure, so with our SUV accessory kits, we have two of them.
Our square back looks, you've seen pictures
of both actions.
The square back and the fastback
has more of a sloping roof line.
We're going to offer them in basically
flat-packed kits that will ship to you
or to an installer.
So in your driveway, you can do it yourself.
Oh really?
You don't need a special tools or anything else?
You'll need some tools, but you won't need them.
Something that everybody has at home.
Exactly.
And actually we're going to introduce
something that goes way beyond like a user manual.
We're calling it Slate University.
And Slate University will literally,
you'll be able to watch a video
to see how to do this.
Step by step.
And also know how difficult this is
whether if you've never done
any work on a vehicle before
or if you're like literally a pro,
you'll be able to figure out
what level is appropriate for you
and if you want to bring people in.
We also just partnered with the RepairPile Network.
So RepairPile has over 4,000 sites
of independent shops in the US.
Oh, okay.
So you're going to be helped.
It's going to be someone nearby who can help you.
Yeah.
But it's not going to be a Nike bookshelf
that you get confused.
Like it looks simple, but it's really complicated.
And how many kits are there?
How many different kits are there going to be?
So for the accessory SUV kit,
and then basically everything is all apart after that.
If you want, if you want a slate lid,
if you want speakers,
if you want, you name it
and it will be available.
Even for the windows,
if you're someone who says,
okay, I like the crank windows,
but I also really want a power window.
We'll help you install power windows.
Oh, really?
You can do that?
Even one at a time.
So if you know that it's just you
driving your truck most of the time,
load it over here.
That's a little selfish.
Okay.
Okay, I have it for you,
my wife or my friend or whoever.
You don't get it.
But it's options.
I mean, it's great that it's available like that, right?
Yeah, and it all happens after you take delivery.
So when you have your truck,
you can continue as your life changed, needs changed.
You can add accessories based on those changes.
Okay.
I think we haven't mentioned any numbers
in terms of range,
the battery capacity, charging capacity, and all that.
What can we say about that now?
Yeah, so 150 kilowatts of power is about 200 horsepower.
The range is about 150 miles.
We also offer an extended battery pack.
That's good for 240 miles.
That's more than enough, yeah.
So yeah, so plenty of choice.
For me, even in Southern California,
when you start thinking about how much driving
you actually do.
Yeah, 180 miles is pretty good.
And you can also plug into a Tesla Supercharger,
charge at 120 kilowatts and recharge that 20 to 80%
in about half an hour.
Is Slate gonna offer any packaging
for like charging stations for home
or is there any plans for that?
Or you're gonna leave it like people
that might already have another one
that you can use the same
because this is gonna be
the North American Standard Charger?
Yeah, I mean consistent with everything else we do.
Look for the most affordable price
and the simplest solution.
So if you have a charger already, great.
For people who, for whom it's their first EV,
welcome now.
Yeah.
What have you seen in the website
with all the reservations?
What are the main questions people are asking?
People are asking,
so basically we give people the option to choose
or to indicate their interest if they want,
and if they buy an SUV kit
and if they're interested in the extended range battery.
And in fact, where we see take from both.
So it's not just one side or the other.
Yeah.
That's been the most interesting thing
but what's really cool is our configurator
which we call the Slate Maker.
We've seen over 10 million.
Wow, 10 million.
So and it shows the level.
I mean, it's wrap, decal, SUV kits, all of that
and how really like when we say we make it one way
and then it becomes infinitely customizable,
we mean that.
That's really amazing.
So congratulations.
And again, we're here at the World Car
of the Year award test drives.
This is not eligible for this year
but maybe in a year we'll be doing another interview
talking about that.
I can't debate for World Car of the Year.
I look forward to seeing you again next year.
Thank you, Jeff.
And I can't wait because I really like it.
I like the concept.
I like everything about it.
I like technology but like sometimes honestly it's too much
and this is just enough.
So thank you very much and see you in a year.
Hopefully, sooner than that.
Thank you.
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