The $25K EV Truck You Can Repair Yourself: Meet The Slate Truck | Jay Leno’s Garage

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 15:21:55 +0000

Jay Leno gets an exclusive first look at the Slate, a revolutionary new electric truck prototype built in Warsaw, Indiana. Designed by industry veterans from the early days of Tesla, Slate is on a mission to rebuild American manufacturing by offering a truly affordable, customizable EV for under $30,000.

With the average cost of a new car hitting $50,000, the Slate cuts that price in half through "Design for Manufacturing"—using a modular, single-vehicle assembly line where every truck comes off identical before being personalized by the owner.

In this episode, Jay, Tisha Johnson, and Jeremy Snyder discuss modular DIY Engineering, how the truck can transform from a standard pickup into an SUV or an open-air vehicle with flat-pack kits you can install yourself.

Right to Repair:
Why Slate is "open source," allowing customers to perform their own warranty repairs and use a network of 4,000 independent shops instead of high-priced dealers.

Innovative Manufacturing:
The elimination of the paint factory by using tool-impregnated colors and a design intended to be wrapped.

Performance & Range:
Specs on the 150-mile and 230-mile battery packs, liquid cooling, and access to the North American Supercharger network.

Safety First: Despite the minimalist design, the Slate is engineered for a 5-star crash rating with beta prototypes already undergoing rigorous testing.

With over 150,000 reservations already on the books, could this be the vehicle that finally brings electric mobility to the American heartland?

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