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An Electrek reader spotted one of Slate Auto’s all-electric pickup trucks testing out in the snowy banks of Michigan and shared a couple of images you can see below.
As we inch closer to the official launch of EV newcomer, Slate Auto’s flagship pickup truck, we’re seeing more and more prototypes out in the wild, especially in Michigan and California, where the trucks are currently being developed.
As we’ve covered plenty already, Slate’s refreshing approach to all-electric vehicles is to dumb it down to its simplest form, a design it is calling the “Blank Slate.” This is a bare bones pickup (and when I say bare bones, I mean no screens, no speakers, and manual window rollers!) That said, Slate owners will be able to fully customize and upgrade their build with hundreds of accessories and upgrades, whether using the initial “Slate Maker” portal on the website or a year after the truck has already been delivered.
Last week, we learned that Slate plans to announce the starting MSRP for the Blank Slate design in June, expected to be in the mid-$20k range. Before then, Slate is continuing development and testing in the US ahead of planned deliveries by the end of this year.
Way up in Northern Michigan, an Electrek reader spotted one of Slate’s pickups charging, presumably during a winter testing session, and sent us a couple of images shown above and below.
Slate pickup seen testing in the UP of Michigan
First things first, shoutout to Electrek reader Craig for sharing the images above and for sending them to us today. Per Craig’s email, this blacked-out Slate pickup was spotted charging in Hancock, Michigan, which is way up in the Upper Peninsula.
Although we cannot confirm, we can assume that Slate was conducting some level of cold-weather/winter testing up there. Craig said he spoke to one of the individuals with the pickup while it was charging, who shared that this current configuration is RWD.
They also said an AWD version would become available later, but they were not sure when. In Slate’s current configurator, there are no powertrain options to choose from, assuming everything will be single-motor RWD to begin, at least in the ultra-affordable “Blank Slate.”
However, it is interesting to hear that there may be plans for a dual-motor option at some point.
Other than that, the images show a large rear rack in the pickup bed that doesn’t seem to match the framing of Slate’s SUV or Open Air body kits. This looks a lot more industrial. The images are a bit blurry, but there also appears to be a pipe protruding from the windshield above the cabin, perhaps collecting test data?
This is all speculation based on the two images, which may or may not entail winter testing, but it’s fun to analyze nonetheless as we wait for Slate to share more information with the public.
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