Overview
- Slate confirmed it will announce final pricing and begin taking nonrefundable preorders on June 24, with existing $50 reservers given a 30-day window to apply that fee toward a $300 preorder deposit to keep their delivery slot.
- The startup now signals a starting price in the mid-$20,000s after President Trump canceled the $7,500 federal EV tax credit that Slate had previously counted on for an under-$20,000 base model.
- More than 160,000 refundable reservations exist, creating a major operational test to convert interest into paid orders and to gauge how many customers will accept the higher out-of-pocket price.
- Slate has bolstered its capacity to launch by hiring former Amazon exec Peter Faricy as CEO and raising roughly $1.4 billion to date, including a $650 million Series C, but two credible outlets give different delivery timelines that range from late 2026 to mid-2027.
- What to watch next are the final price announcement, the share of reservations that pay the preorder deposit, and the company’s ability to meet delivery windows because those outcomes will determine whether low-cost, no-frills EVs can scale in North America.