Car and Driver recently did a pretty funny experiment. The Slate Truck, which is making headlines for its $24,950 starting price, is pretty bare-bones. It doesn’t even have crank windows to start.
However, it comes with tons of upgrades and feature options. It’s meant to be a fully customizable truck, which sounds cool in concept. However, Car and Driver found that it can reach up to $46,294 if you check as many boxes off as possible while configuring your Slate Truck.
Car and Driver noted that Slate is touting itself as extremely affordable, especially compared to the competition, but if you actually want a comfortable vehicle, it may be pretty normal price-wise. Even expensive. I get the irony, but Car and Driver was sorta going all out with a custom color, decals, auxiliary lighting, a custom grille, 20-inch wheels… It’s not really all that surprising that it was pricey after all that.
I want to see how much it is to make the Slate Truck just a livable, comfortable commuter.
The true price of a Slate Truck for commuting
Alright… I started with The Blank Slate at $24,950. That’s the cheapest model.
The next section was the wraps, which could get pretty fancy and complex. You can have multiple colors and designs. Full wraps start at $499, but I don’t think the wrap is even necessary for driving to work. I opted for the lower partial wrap just to give it a bit of personality and protection. That was $289.99. I skipped the decals and any appearance upgrades.
Onto the lighting. I opted out of those after taking a look. You don’t need auxiliary lighting to get to work (assuming you work in an office and not a national park or something). The other lighting just “upgrades your look,” which isn’t needed. It doesn’t make it any brighter.
The roof rack was also not necessary for a commuter truck. I did, however, decide to get a tonneau cover, which would really help keep your belongings safe if you use the Slate Truck to get groceries or to store your stuff safely in a parking garage. The cheapest option was the tri-fold tonneau for $1,000.
Then I checked the wheel, tire, and suspension options. Those didn’t seem really all that necessary for driving on regular streets. Although the better suspension could be useful if you live in a city full of potholes. Still, I’ll just drive around them to save some money.
Moving to the interior, I skipped the trim and seat covers. You don’t need trim to make the cabin more comfortable, as much as most EV drivers may argue otherwise. However, I would never be caught dead driving to work without music. I immediately opted for the required speaker, which was $249.99.
I personally don’t need a tablet mount or extra storage. Obviously skipped the “slatelets” as well, custom art for your dash. Pass on the floor mats. I can just vacuum once in a while. It’s not like I’m going off-roading in this thing anyway.
The grand total? $26,489.98. That’s still below $30,000, which is cheaper than Ford’s EV pickup. But you’re still going to be in a pretty bare-bones truck. But hey, at least there’s music.
