Slate Auto is pressing on with its plan to launch an affordable EV, and it is doing so at an awkward moment, with US appetite for electric cars on the wane. Order books open later this month, though the company still has not put a number on the car. As Slate inches toward production, a less obvious backer has come to light: Carvana.

While Carvana is best known as a used-car retailer, it has recently been expanding into new-car sales, snapping up several former Stellantis dealerships across the country. Last year, it was given a warrant to purchase shares in Slate Auto at roughly the same time the car manufacturer started organizing its Series C funding round, which raised $650 million.

Read: Slate Will Take Your Order For Its Cheap EV On June 24, Price Sold Separately

Filings with Delaware’s division of corporations have exposed the connection between the two companies, but they stop short of confirming whether Carvana actually exercised the warrant, and if it did, how many shares it walked away with.

According to a report from Tech Crunch, Carvana revealed in a March filing that it had been granted a warrant to purchase shares in an unnamed “products company” last year, noting the total value of the warrant was $1.5 million at the end of 2025. It’s unclear if this reference was in relation to Slate Auto or another company.

Who Else Has Invested?

Slate Auto has raised approximately $1.4 billion to date, although limited details are available on its investors’ holdings. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is known to be a major investor, as is the billionaire chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, Mark Walter. Other known investors include General Catalyst, Slauson & Co, and Amazon executive Diego Piacentini.

According to the automotive startup, prices for the all-electric truck will start somewhere in the “mid-$20,000” range. This is more than the sub-$20,000 price tag initially promised by Slate, but that was before the Trump administration axed the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

For Slate Auto, it’s been a wild ride since its inception four years ago. Initially, it planned to bring an EV to market for less than $20,000. Then Donald Trump cancelled the $7,500 tax credit that made such a price feasible. Now, the company is about to open up order books on June 24, but there’s still something missing… the price buyers will have to actually pay.

Today, the electric vehicle startup backed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos sent an email to prospective buyers saying that preorders will begin in June. Specifically, they’ll open on June 24, and those who jump on board early will evidently get a “delivery window before non-reservers.”

More: Slate Auto Replaces CEO Just Months Before Launching $25K–$30K EV

That date is about a month away as of this writing, and there’s still no official base price for the small electric pickup truck. The number is apparently dropping the same day orders open. For now, Slate only says the truck will start somewhere in the “mid-$20,000” range.

If not knowing the price was one hurdle for hand-raisers, the preordering and reservation process might be another. According to a post on Slateforums, on June 24, those with an existing reservation will have an assigned delivery window and a link to finish their preorder.

Customers will need to pay a $300 non-refundable deposit (minus their $50 reservation fee if they have one already). Those with a reservation have 30 days starting on the 24th to submit their deposit. Slate evidently has over 160,000 reservation holders.

Photos Slate

If those 30 days pass, they can still preorder, but their delivery window will shift further back in the queue. Importantly, the deposit will go toward the final price of the vehicle. The email to customers claims that in the fall of this year, they’ll have the option to pick their wrap and accessories, select financing, finalize the purchase, and then choose how they’d like to take delivery of their Slate.

Read: Slate’s New Electric Truck Is So Basic Even The Repair Network Is DIY

Keep in mind that even for those who do make a reservation and follow through on the preorder, they’ll have to wait to get delivery until mid-2027. Between now and then, Slate says it’ll offer customers the chance to see the vehicle up close, but there’s no word on exactly how that’ll take place or where those locations will be. Hopefully, the preorder rollout answers the bevvy of questions piling up.

Photos Slate

Slate Auto burst onto the scene a year ago as they introduced their affordable electric truck on April 24, 2025. It generated a ton of interest thanks to a starting price of under $20,000 after federal incentives.

Fast forward a year and the company hasn’t said much since then. Sure, they post flashy videos on social media, but there’s a concerning lack of substance for a vehicle that’s supposed to be launched in the coming months.

More: Slate’s $28K EV Truck Is So Basic Even The Repair Network Is DIY

The last update came on April 16, when Slate revealed they received $650 million in funding and have secured over 160,000 reservations. That’s a lot, but you can reserve the vehicle for $50 and the fee is fully refundable. Furthermore, as we’ve seen with the Tesla Cybertruck, a huge number of reservations doesn’t always pan out to be a ton of orders – especially when the price jumps significantly.

Despite a lack of meaningful updates, the company has previously said the truck will have a 52.7 kWh battery that feeds a rear-mounted motor producing 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS) and 195 lb-ft (264 Nm) of torque. That should enable the model to accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in eight seconds, before hitting a top speed of 90 mph (145 km/h).

This is said to give the truck a range of 150 miles (241 km), but the company has mentioned an optional 84.3 kWh battery pack that increases the distance to 240 miles (386 km). When the battery is low, a 120 kW DC fast charger can take it from 20-80% in less than 30 minutes.

While we know a number of specifications, additional details are hazy. However, Slate has said the model will have 17-inch steel wheels, crank windows, and a universal phone mount as your smartphone will function as the infotainment system.

The company has also touted a handful of driver assistance systems such as active emergency braking, forward collision warning, and up to 8 airbags. More notably, the truck will be offered with a flat-pack accessory kit that transforms the vehicle into an SUV complete with a roll cage and a rear seat. The company has also promised over 100 accessories and an assortment of wraps.

While the silence is becoming deafening, Slate has promised to reveal more details in June. That’s when final pricing will be announced and when customers can begin pre-ordering the truck.

With the federal tax credit eliminated, Slate now says the model is expected to begin in the “mid-$20,000’s.” That’s significantly more than the original estimate of under $20,000 and it’s roughly on par with the $28,145 Ford Maverick. More worryingly for Slate, the Blue Oval is also working on a $30,000 electric truck, but they’ve been pretty tight-lipped about it themselves.