Would North Atlanta Buy a $24,950 EV Truck With No Radio?

Slate Auto is betting that drivers will surrender touchscreens, power windows and other familiar comforts for something increasingly difficult to find: a genuinely affordable new vehicle.

In North Atlanta, new vehicles have become rolling family rooms. They arrive with oversized screens, heated seats, automated driving features, elaborate sound systems and enough cupholders for an entire school carpool.

Slate Auto is heading in the opposite direction.

The Michigan startup has priced its first electric pickup at $24,950 before destination charges, taxes and optional equipment. The compact truck has two seats, hand-crank windows, no built-in radio and no central touchscreen. Navigation and entertainment come through the driver’s phone, which sits in a dashboard mount.

The exterior is not conventionally painted. Buyers receive a gray body that can be covered with an optional vinyl wrap. Those needing more passenger space can purchase a conversion kit that turns the pickup into a five-seat SUV.

It sounds like an automotive experiment. In North Atlanta, however, the truck may fit a surprisingly recognizable role.

It probably will not replace the family SUV carrying children through school pickup lines in Johns Creek, Alpharetta or South Forsyth. It could become the other vehicle in the garage: the one used for commuting, errands, weekend projects and work that does not require three rows of seats.

A Small Truck for a Suburban Job

The Slate is only about 14½ feet long, making it shorter than many compact sedans and considerably smaller than the pickups filling parking spaces around North Point, The Collection at Forsyth and Mall of Georgia.

Its five-foot bed and projected 1,550-pound payload could handle tools, bicycles, gardening supplies, furniture and the inevitable Saturday trip to a home-improvement store. Its 2,000-pound towing rating could accommodate a small utility trailer or personal watercraft, though it is not designed to replace the full-size pickups commonly used to tow larger boats to Lake Lanier.

That distinction matters. Slate is not attempting to challenge a Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado or Ram as a heavy-duty family and recreation vehicle. It is reviving a type of truck that largely disappeared from American showrooms: a genuinely small pickup built around transportation and utility rather than size and status.

For a home inspector, pool technician, property manager or other local business owner who carries equipment but does not tow heavy machinery, the formula could make sense. A compact electric truck would be easier to park, inexpensive to operate and less elaborate than the increasingly luxurious pickups now selling at luxury-car prices.

The Slate could also appeal to drivers who want a first new vehicle rather than another used one. Its starting price is below the average price of a used vehicle in the United States and roughly half the average transaction price of a new one.

The Features It Leaves Behind

Slate’s most unusual selling point may be everything it refuses to include.

There are physical controls rather than a large infotainment screen. The windows operate with manual cranks. Drivers bring their own phone and audio equipment. Exterior colors come through wraps rather than a traditional paint operation.

The truck still includes air conditioning, cruise control, power door locks, a backup camera and automatic emergency braking. Buyers can add speakers, displays, upgraded wheels, storage systems and hundreds of other accessories over time.

That creates a different definition of affordability. Instead of financing every feature on the day of purchase, an owner could begin with a simple truck and add equipment later.

It also raises an obvious question: How inexpensive will the truck remain after buyers make it comfortable enough for everyday use?

The five-seat SUV versions are expected to start at $29,950. Wraps, audio equipment, upgraded wheels and other accessories could move a customized vehicle well beyond the attention-grabbing base price. Slate will have to persuade buyers that the stripped model is genuinely usable and not merely a low number designed to pull them into a much more expensive configuration.

Range May Be Enough for Daily Life

Slate has increased the truck’s projected driving range to about 205 miles on a full charge. It can charge from an ordinary household outlet, a 240-volt appliance outlet or public fast chargers, including compatible Tesla Superchargers.

For many North Atlanta residents, the strongest case would involve charging at home. A driver could plug in overnight and use the truck for several days of commuting between communities such as Cumming, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Duluth and Suwanee before needing a full recharge.

Longer trips would require more planning. A weekend drive into the North Georgia mountains or a trip beyond metro Atlanta could involve a charging stop, particularly when carrying cargo or towing.

Georgia is no longer an unfamiliar market for electric vehicles. The state had about 120,000 registered battery-electric vehicles in 2024, along with thousands of public charging ports. Chargers have become increasingly common at shopping centers, apartment communities, workplaces and highway travel stops.

The Slate therefore would not arrive in a place without EV infrastructure. Its greater challenge may be convincing Georgia truck buyers that 205 miles, two seats and modest towing capacity are enough.

Georgia Adds Costs and a Sales Complication

The $24,950 headline also does not represent the complete cost of owning the truck in Georgia.

Beginning July 1, the state’s annual licensing fee for a noncommercial all-electric vehicle will be $238.59. Georgia uses the charge to collect road funding from vehicles that do not pay gasoline taxes. The fee applies each year in addition to regular registration costs.

There is also a less visible issue involving how the truck could be sold here.

Slate plans to bypass conventional dealerships and sell vehicles directly to customers. Georgia generally prohibits manufacturers from selling new vehicles directly to consumers, with a narrow exception covering certain zero-emission automakers that were already operating in the state before 2015.

The law has been challenged in court, but the direct-sales restriction remains in place. Slate has not yet publicly detailed exactly how Georgia purchases, deliveries and registrations will be handled.

That may require a dealership partner, an out-of-state transaction or another arrangement. For North Atlanta buyers, the answer could determine whether purchasing a Slate is as simple as ordering one online or considerably more complicated.

Service will present another test. Slate says owners will be able to use independent mechanics or certified RepairPal locations rather than a traditional branded dealership. The company is promising a 10-year or 110,000-mile battery and powertrain warranty, free repair information and four years of roadside assistance.

That model could appeal to drivers tired of dealership service departments, but it will have to prove itself once trucks are on the road.

The Real Market May Be the Second Garage Space

Slate says it has collected more than 180,000 reservations, although reservations do not guarantee that buyers will complete their purchases. Production is scheduled to begin in Indiana later this year, with initial deliveries expected in the fourth quarter.

The company does not need to persuade every truck owner to give up a full-size pickup. It may not even need to win over traditional truck shoppers.

Its best customer could be someone who already owns a family SUV but needs an affordable commuter.

That makes North Atlanta an interesting test. This is a region built around driving, multi-vehicle households, home garages, service businesses and frequent short trips between suburban communities. The Slate’s limitations are real, but many of them matter less when the truck is not expected to do everything.

For years, automakers have argued that drivers demand larger vehicles filled with more technology. Slate is testing a different possibility: perhaps many buyers selected expensive features because manufacturers stopped offering simpler choices.

A truck with hand-crank windows and no radio may sound like a step backward. At $24,950, some North Atlanta drivers may see it as a long-overdue way forward.

National reporting by The Wall Street Journal contributed to this story.

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