The Slate Electric Pickup is all about simplicity – not fun. From the beginning, the startup has advertised wraps as a way to dress up the default unpainted gray body panels, and it’s doubling down on it with an unexpected collaboration. Ford may have Carhartt, but Slate has Crayola.
This week, Slate announced five Crayola color wraps: Cerulean (blue), Fern (green), Jersey Tomato (orange), Dandelion (yellow), and Razzmatazz, a pink that might just win the award for best car color name. The colors will be offered in what Slate calls a “Starter Pack,” which also includes the wrap, decals that replicate the details on Crayola crayon wrappers, a key fob cap and a clip-on crayon tchotchke that can be stuck to the windshield.
Each retails for $1,549.99, making it a premium option, given that basic covers start at $500 (“special” colors are also available for $669.99), with an additional installation fee targeted at $500. Partial wraps along with decals such as racing numbers and stripes are also available at lower prices. Slate claims there are over 100 wrap colors available, and even the basic selection includes some fairly vibrant options.
Slate recently opened pre-orders for the truck, which will require a $300 non-refundable deposit against a $24,950 base price. That deposit secures a delivery window; As the window approaches customers can provide full details of their trucks. The slate is expected to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter of this year.
The base price purchases a 65-kilowatt-hour (63 kWh usable) battery pack, with an estimated range of 205 miles, 2,000-pound towing capacity, and a payload capacity of 1,550 pounds. The GVWR is 5,689 pounds, so the pickup’s 4,048-pound weight doesn’t leave much room for error when calculating payload. A kit is also available that turns the pickup into an SUV, but the extra weight reduces towing capacity to 1,824 pounds and payload capacity to 1,263 pounds. Without load, the 181-horsepower motor should accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 8.0 seconds.
Buyers will also get a nostalgic interior with crank windows and no screens, but the ride belies the simplicity of the cabin. This is important, because a fully loaded model with a generous helping of SUV kit and accessories costs around $35,000. It wouldn’t be surprising if more trucks were specified this way than the bare-bones base model. Slate will likely require many customers to opt for certain options — including these Crayola wraps — so it can make money by ramping up production.
