Where this was said
The Slate Truck: America's Cheapest New Truck
At 7:47 · chapter starts 5:25
Marques digs into the Slate truck's specs after actually driving one: a 65 kWh battery, 205 miles of range (40 more than promised), 180-ish horsepower, rear-wheel drive, a 5-foot bed, and a starting price just under $25,000 [1] — Marques Brownlee "The $25,000 Slate truck is real, Marques drove it, and it's genuinely zippy — all-electric torque in a stripped-bare shell. The catch: ther…" 05:26 . The catch is everything it doesn't include — no speakers, no power windows, no paint, no bed liner — all of which you bolt on later at a price. Andrew coins the episode's best analogy: the Spirit Airlines of EVs, where the seductively cheap ticket price becomes expensive the moment you want anything [2] — Andrew Manganelli "It kind of makes me think of the Spirit Airlines of EVs — it seems so cheap off the riff, and then it's like, well, here's all the things I…" 07:47 . The crew walks through early accessory prices: vinyl wraps from $500, speakers for $150–$250 each, and a $750 bed liner. David argues the true target customer is someone like his carpenter father — local routes, doesn't care about power windows, just needs a cheap work truck that charges overnight.
The Slate electric truck starts just under $25,000, making it the cheapest new truck in the US — and it's electric.
The $25,000 Slate truck is real, Marques drove it, and it's genuinely zippy — all-electric torque in a stripped-bare shell. The catch: there are no speakers, no power windows, and no paint, but the modular add-on system means you only pay for what you actually need.
The Slate truck does 0–60 mph in about 8 seconds — modest on paper, but the all-electric torque makes it feel zippy in practice.
Andrew's 'Spirit Airlines of EVs' analogy nails why the Slate Truck divides opinion: the base price is seductively cheap until you add back everything you actually need. It's not a flaw in the concept — it's exactly how Spirit makes money.
The Slate truck's 65 kWh battery delivers about 205 miles of range — roughly 40 miles more than originally promised.
