- Slate’s electric pickup does without cellular connectivity and constant tracking.
- A smartphone app works locally, but remote access features are unavailable.
- Privacy-conscious buyers get an EV that minds its own business, and not yours.
Modern cars know an awful lot about their owners. They know where you drive, how you drive, when you drive, and sometimes even who you call while you’re doing it. Slate Auto’s upcoming electric pickup takes a very different approach, and that might end up being one of its most appealing features.
The startup’s bare-bones truck has already attracted attention thanks to its minimalist philosophy. It features hand-crank windows, a tiny parts count, and no built-in infotainment system. But beneath all those headline-grabbing cost-cutting measures lies something even more unusual in today’s automotive world. The truck won’t be constantly connected to the internet.
Related: Slate Will Take Your Order For Its Cheap EV On June 24, Price Sold Separately
Unlike virtually every new vehicle on sale, the Slate Truck doesn’t include an embedded cellular modem. That means no permanent connection to the cloud, no remote monitoring, and no smartphone app that can track your vehicle from across the country.
That’s not to say technology has been banished completely. Owners can connect to the truck using a dedicated smartphone app that handles functions such as vehicle settings, charging information, range monitoring, and drive mode selection. The key difference is that the connection only works when the phone is physically near the EV.
Data Collection For The Right Reason
According to Slate, customer information won’t become another revenue stream. The company says any data gathered through the app is intended to improve ownership and support services rather than fuel advertising or generate additional profit.
“Slate is not building the app around data extraction,” the company told SAE Media. “We are building it around ownership value. We collect data to make ownership better, not to turn the owner into the product. The app will collect data only when it directly contributes to enabling or improving a customer experience.”
Other Brands See Things Differently
That philosophy stands in stark contrast to the attitude of much of the modern auto industry. Over the past decade, connected services have become a major selling point, with manufacturers increasingly using vehicle data to power subscriptions, remote features, and software ecosystems. Some automakers have also faced harsh criticism over how customer information is collected, shared, and stored.
Of course, skipping the modem means giving up some conveniences, Ars Technica notes. Remote climate controls, vehicle tracking, and other connected tech features simply aren’t available. Whether buyers see that as a drawback or a benefit remains to be seen. But for drivers who miss the days when a vehicle was just a vehicle, and don’t want to buy a 20-year-old truck to safeguard their privacy, a Slate Truck is looking even more desirable.
Slate opens order books on June 24, when reservation holders can convert their spot with a $300 deposit (minus their $50 reservation fee if they have one already), and the company is expected to finally name the truck’s starting price the same day. With more than 160,000 reservations on the books and deliveries not due until mid-2027, privacy-conscious buyers have a long runway to decide whether a truck that minds its own business is worth the wait.
