Slate Auto raises $650 million for affordable electric pickup

Slate Auto raises $650 million for affordable electric pickup, Bezos-backed startup targets mid-$20,000 truck, subsidy-free market tests demand

Slate Auto has raised $650 million in a Series C round as it prepares to put an “affordable” electric pickup into production by the end of 2026, according to TechCrunch. The round was led by TWG Global, run by Guggenheim Partners chief executive Mark Walter and investor Thomas Tull, bringing Slate’s total funding to roughly $1.4 billion.

The financing lands in a US EV market that has become less forgiving. TechCrunch notes that major automakers have pulled back some electric-vehicle plans, while newer entrants such as Rivian and Lucid have struggled to reach scale. The federal $7,500 consumer tax credit—previously a pricing crutch for many models—has also disappeared, forcing companies to sell EVs on their own economics rather than on a government discount.

Slate is trying to compete where incentives matter most: the low end of the market. The company says its truck is expected to start in the mid-$20,000s, with optional paid upgrades including an SUV conversion kit priced around $5,000. Earlier marketing had floated a price “under $20,000” when the tax credit could be applied; final pricing is now due in June.

Demand signals are easy to manufacture in the reservation era, but Slate claims more than 160,000 refundable reservations. The company has framed the appointment of former Amazon Marketplace executive Peter Faricy as chief executive as partly about converting those reservations into paid orders—an acknowledgement that deposits and production are different businesses.

The firm’s investor list and leadership pipeline are heavy with Amazon alumni. It was co-founded by former Amazon consumer chief Jeff Wilke, and TechCrunch reports that several senior roles—mobility, UX/UI, e-commerce, fleet sales and HR—are held by former Amazon staff. Slate is also spending a few hundred million dollars to renovate a former printing factory in Indiana for manufacturing.

The bet is that a bare-bones EV can be built cheaply enough to attract buyers even when subsidies vanish and interest rates punish monthly payments. The factory renovations, the long lead times to 2026 production, and the shift from “under $20,000” marketing to a higher expected sticker price underline how tight that arithmetic is.

Slate now has the money to build the plant and the prototype pipeline. It still has to prove that a refundable reservation can survive the moment it turns into a real invoice.