Slate Auto's minimalist electric pickup starts at $24,950 in the U.S. The Bezos-backed startup just confirmed it won't sell the truck in Canada at all.
By the Numbers
$24,950 starting price in the U.S.
205 miles of range
180,000 U.S. reservations
25% tariff exposure on Indiana-built exports to Canada
Late 2026 target for initial U.S. deliveries
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The Whole Pitch Was the Price. Tariffs Would Have Erased It.
Slate plans to build the truck in Indiana. Exporting it to Canada would trigger 25% tariffs on top of logistics and exchange-rate costs, pushing the price well past what made the truck newsworthy in the first place.
"Our current strategy stops at the U.S. border."
A product built entirely around one number can't survive a change to that number. Slate didn't try to make the tariffs work. It simply narrowed the map until the number stayed true.
