Jeff Bezos-backed electrical automobile startup Slate Auto has raised one other $650 million as the corporate prepares to place its first inexpensive pickup vehicles into manufacturing by the top of 2026.
The carmaker stated Monday that the Collection C funding spherical was led by TWG International, a agency run by Guggenheim Companions chief govt (and Los Angeles Dodgers proprietor) Mark Walter and investor Thomas Tull. Slate Auto’s press launch thanked “visionary buyers” however the firm didn’t title any others who have been concerned within the fundraise.
The brand new spherical means Slate Auto has raised roughly $1.4 billion so far. Earlier buyers have included Normal Catalyst, Jeff Bezos’ household workplace, VC agency Slauson & Co., and former Amazon govt Diego Piacentini, as TechCrunch first reported final 12 months.
The corporate can also be loaded with Amazon DNA. Past its buyers, it was co-founded by Amazon’s former Shopper CEO Jeff Wilke. The heads of Slate’s mobility, consumer expertise/consumer interface, e-commerce, fleet gross sales, and HR groups all used to work at Amazon. And, the corporate just lately put in former Amazon Market VP Peter Faricy as CEO. (Former CEO and Chrysler veteran Chris Barman moved to a brand new position as “President of Autos.”)
Slate Auto’s Collection C comes at a turbulent second for the electrical automobile market in the USA. Main automakers are pulling again plans to launch electrical automobiles right here, particularly after the lack of the $7,500 federal tax credit score final 12 months. Tesla’s total gross sales have declined two years in a row. Newcomers like Rivian and Lucid Motors have struggled to achieve scale, although each of these corporations are launching new, extra inexpensive fashions this 12 months.
Based in 2022, Slate Auto is taking a special strategy than just about another automaker. The corporate is focusing on the acute low-end of the market with a bare-bones electrical truck that’s anticipated to begin within the mid-$20,000s. Clients will be capable of customise the truck in numerous methods for more cash, together with including an SUV conversion package for round $5,000.
The corporate initially deliberate to cost the truck round $27,000, and shortly after it emerged from stealth in 2025 was selling a beginning value of “underneath $20,000” with the federal tax credit score utilized. Ultimate pricing is now coming in June, based on the corporate.
Slate Auto has drawn a good quantity of curiosity even with the lack of the federal tax credit score. The corporate has racked up greater than 160,000 refundable reservations for its EV. The corporate just lately stated that it tapped Faricy as its new CEO partially to get engaged on changing these reservations into paid orders. Slate’s additionally spending just a few hundred million {dollars} renovating a former printing manufacturing facility in Indiana the place it plans to construct the EVs.
