- Slate’s EV truck will be built in a repurposed Indiana factory.
- Old printing plant now features robots and anti-slip flooring.
- Talks with suppliers next week may bring cost-cutting updates.
Breaking into the car market with an all-new vehicle is one of the hardest plays in the industry, even more so for a company with no legacy network whatsoever or any prior production history. But Slate Auto is pressing ahead with its plan to launch an affordable, all-electric pickup truck.
While key details about the production version, including pricing, are still being ironed out, the company has shared progress from the plant where it’ll be built.
Read: Slate May Be About To Price Itself Out Of The EV Market
Rather than building the truck overseas, perhaps somewhere where labor costs are lower, Slate Auto is manufacturing it right here in the US. It’s being brought to life at a plant in Warsaw, Indiana, which for decades served as a major printing facility, employing up to 500 people.
A Factory Transformed
As you can imagine, repurposing the site into an electric vehicle facility involves some extensive changes. Among them, 630,000 square feet of anti-slip flooring is being laid to accommodate the factory’s new layout and safety protocols.
Automation is already underway, with robotic laser welders and large-format 3D laser scanners arriving on site. According to Slate, production of its EV pickup is still scheduled to begin before the end of the year.
What Happens Without the Tax Credit?
The truck’s ultimate reception will no doubt hinge on its price. Originally, Slate Auto said it would start below $20,000 when factoring in the now-defunct $7,500 federal EV tax credit. But with that credit now scrapped under the Trump administration, the EV won’t be as cheap as originally promised.
A few months later, the company quietly updated its website to say the “Blank Slate is expected to be priced in the mid-twenties.” Although no further details were provided, the update was widely thought to reflect the anticipated changes to the federal EV tax credit at the time.
When asked about the change, Slate Auto CEO Chris Barman brushed off the concern, saying “it doesn’t matter,” and insisting the truck remains affordable. She didn’t elaborate further.
Price Still in Flux
In a follow-up conversation with InsideEVs, Barman added that the company is still finalizing the pricing structure.
“We’re still working really closely with our suppliers to see what opportunities we have to continue to bring costs down, to see what we can do to pass along to the customer before we announce final pricing,” she said.
Last year, the company had
Also: Slate’s EV Truck Is So Basic Even The Repair Network Is DIY
Slate’s CEO also mentioned that pricing will be a central part of the discussions at a meeting with the company’s suppliers scheduled for next week.
“A big part of that is going to be talking about, are there more opportunities for cost reduction? And the way we’re looking at that is we want to pass it on to the customer,” she said.
Still, with a production start date fast approaching, the final figure won’t stay a mystery for long.
