Slate Auto, the electric vehicle startup backed by Jeff Bezos and LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter, will announce pricing and start taking non-refundable preorders for its low-cost electric vehicle on June 24, ahead of first deliveries planned for late this year.
The company sent emails to prospective buyers encouraging them to make a $50 reservation ahead of $300 preorders opening next month, in order to secure a “delivery window before non-reservers.”
Slate came out of stealth in April 2025 after TechCrunch revealed its plans to build a low-cost, no-frills, customizable vehicle. The company had previously touted a base price of “under $20,000” factoring in a $7,500 federal tax credit — but that credit was eliminated, and Slate now says the vehicle will start in the mid-$20,000 range.
The EV can be converted from a two-seater truck to a five-seater SUV and features a deliberately simple design, including hand-crank windows and no paint. More than 160,000 potential customers have made refundable $50 reservations since the vehicle was revealed.
To lead the company through the challenging transition from reservations to actual sales, Slate named former Amazon Marketplace vice president Peter Faricy as CEO in March. Much of Slate’s leadership has been drawn from Amazon’s executive ranks.
On the financial side, Slate closed a $650 million Series C funding round in April, bringing its total raised to roughly $1.4 billion. Much of that funding appears to have come from Walter’s financial firm, TWG Global. In May, TechCrunch reported that Bezos’s family office manager had stepped down from her position on Slate’s board of directors.
Source: Slate Auto to Reveal EV Pricing and Open Preorders on June 24