The Anti-Tesla Is Here

The near-perfect rebuttal to Musk.

Slate — Slate Auto

Remember when “Tesla killers” were all the rage? You know, back when the world made a little bit of sense. These cars were designed to come along and blow Musk out of the water, offering higher-quality EVs for less money and reducing Tesla to a whimpering mess. Unfortunately, these killers have been here for a while, and they have failed to do their job. Hyundai’s incredible Ioniq series, Porsche’s Taycan, Rivian’s brilliant pickups, Volkswagen’s ID series, and even some remarkable cars from China like BYD’s Seal may have undercut Tesla in various ways, but they have only made a minor dent in Tesla’s sales figures. Why? Because they played Tesla at its own game. However, a new breed of rival has just been born, one that threatens to decimate not just Tesla but Tesla’s very ethos. Let me introduce you to the Slate—the first anti-Tesla.

Slate has squirrelled itself away in utter secrecy since the company’s founding in 2022. That is, until last week, when they launched an electric pickup that seems inspired by my two favourite vehicles: the legendary VW Caddy pickup and the Citroën Oli concept car.

And this inspiration is far from skin deep. According to Slate CEO Chris Barman, “The definition of what’s affordable is broken,” with this sentiment echoing throughout her entire company and the design of this vehicle. Inside, you get a steering wheel, stalks, pedals, airbags, cruise control, and air conditioning, and that’s about it—not even a stereo! There is a designated spot for mounting your phone, which you can use as your infotainment system, and you can spec a detachable Bluetooth speaker to blast your tunes. There are no silly self-driving systems, heated seats, or even electric windows (yes, the crank is back!). All of the body panels are lightweight, cheap, durable, and unpainted grey composite, so if you want to change the colour, you just have to wrap it. It is also tiny but mighty, with a giant trunk, a five-foot bed and a two-seater cabin, while still only being slightly longer than a Kia Soul.

Even better, this isn’t really a pickup. You can literally bolt in seats and a roof onto the back to make it a rather comfy-looking three-door, five-seater SUV or even a van. In fact, they offer several of these kits, such as a bog-standard SUV, a fastback SUV, an open-top, off-road roll cage thing, or a full-length utility rack. You can even choose your favourite option for the suspension: off-road high, standard, or low and sporty. In other words, this isn’t a pickup truck; it’s about 15 different vehicles in one, and it can be quickly changed from one to another with a spanner.