Keep It Simple: New Slate Truck Could Be Next Year's Cheapest EV

Meet the Slate Truck, a simple new electric pickup from an emerging American electric vehicle manufacturer backed by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, among others.

According to Slate CEO Chris Barman, the 176-inch long compact electric truck is designed to be customizable and affordable.

The Slate Truck is targeting an post-incentive price of "under $20,000" when it arrives.

The Truck will come standard with 150 miles of range, courtesy of the standard 52.7-kWh battery pack. An add-on 84.3-kWh pack bumps that target to 240 miles per charge.

Slate keeps the price down with a minimalist approach to the Truck's features, bells and whistles, as well as keeping its scale small.

Instead of a massive touchscreen display, the Slate Truck features a smartphone dock. Owners can also opt to install a dedicated tablet.

Allow me to direct your attention to what appear to be hand-cranked windows!

Slate will eventually offer "over 100 accessories" to customize the blank-slate electric pickup.

The most interesting accessory is a flat-pack SUV Kit that allows owners to transform the pickup into a five-seat small SUV.

The SUV mod features a roll cage, airbags and, of course, rear seats. Owners can have the kit installed at a service center or do it themselves.

Check out our full first look at the Slate Truck for more details, specs and reservation info.