Dear Studio Fam,
This week, we're doing a deep dive on a new EV brand that presents some fascinating parallels to the smartphone app ecosystem. The brand is called Slate, and it's backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among others. It promises total practicality and an ultra-low starting price point, as low as $20,000, thanks to domestic manufacturing that will make it eligible for the full EV tax credit.
Slate's first vehicle, the "Blank Slate," is a compact, two-door electric pickup that throws out many of the assumptions baked into modern car design. Instead of packing the truck with tech features you may or may not want, Slate strips the vehicle down to its essentials: a gray unpainted exterior, a simple analog gauge cluster, manual windows, and mounts for your devices instead of a built-in infotainment system. The idea is to keep the starting price as low as possible, and to let drivers customize their Slate over time through an expansive accessories marketplace – an "app store" for vehicle modifications and upgrades.
At launch, Slate will offer over 100 modifications and accessories that owners can purchase and install themselves. You start with a basic pickup (“the blank Slate”) and can transform it into a five-seater SUV. You can add power windows, upgrade your wheels, swap interior trims, or bolt on functional enhancements like cupholders, device mounts, and speakers. Much like adding apps to your phone to unlock new features, Slate owners will be able to build up their vehicle over time according to their evolving needs and preferences.
Slate's model calls back to an earlier era of tech, when companies like Dell encouraged users to open up their PCs and swap in new components. It's a refreshing change in a time when many tech and automotive brands increasingly lock down their products. Through its upcoming "Slate University," the company promises to provide DIY tutorials and instructional materials to make upgrades accessible even to novice tinkerers, echoing how brands like Arduino and Raspberry Pi built thriving communities by encouraging experimentation. Still, it remains to be seen how far this openness will go and whether some of the most desirable upgrades will only be available through Slate's proprietary catalog.
Beyond its unique production model, Slate also aims to offer genuinely practical specifications. The Blank Slate will feature a starting range of 150 miles, with an optional extended battery providing up to 240 miles. It uses the NACS charging standard so it supports DC fast charging at Tesla Superchargers. Its compact dimensions are almost identical to the iconic 1985 Toyota SR5 pickup truck made famous in Back to The Future. But most importantly, it’s cheap. Despite being made in the USA, the Blank Slate will reportedly cost $20,000 after the Federal EV tax credit. That’s barely more expensive than the cheapest new car for sale in the United States, the $18,330 Nissan Versa.
The approach of keeping the vehicle minimal but upgradeable echoes how the iOS and Android app ecosystems exploded by letting users personalize experiences on top of uniform hardware. But there's also a cautionary tale here. As companies like Apple and Google have learned, running a successful marketplace means deciding who gets access and under what rules. Legal battles over app store monopolies and antitrust enforcement have centered on exactly these questions. As Slate rolls out its accessory marketplace, it will be worth watching what kind of standards it sets for third-party parts and modifications. Will Slate encourage open development like Android once did, or will it curate its ecosystem with strict controls like Apple has? Will it charge fees to third-party manufacturers? Will it restrict certain types of upgrades to only its own parts? The ultimate success of Slate may depend not just on what the company builds, but on what it allows others to build alongside it.
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