Posted on 06/19/2026 2:47:59 PM PDT by MAGA2017
A possible price leak for the upcoming Slate electric truck has created a surprising amount of buzz online. Enthusiasts digging through the Slate Truck website found a hidden reference to a starting price of $24,950. Neither the company nor its representatives have confirmed the figure, but that has not stopped people from talking about it, much like they did when Torque News first covered Slate's bare bones design philosophy.
This is a developing story because now we are expecting what will come next from Slate about its EV truck's price leak after this price leak.
What is interesting is that the excitement may have very little to do with Slate itself. Let me ask you a simple question. If a brand new vehicle really cost $24,950 today, would you be more interested in the price or the vehicle. Keep that question in mind as you read, and share your answer in the comments section below after you have finished the article.
At first glance, the excitement surrounding the Slate truck price leak might seem surprising. After all, this is not a Ferrari. It is not a Corvette. It is not even a high performance EV designed to break acceleration records.
Instead, the vehicle attracting so much attention is a relatively simple electric pickup from a startup that has not yet delivered a production vehicle to customers. Some Torque News readers have already argued that the Nissan Leaf offers similar range and far more practicality for only a little more money.
So why is everyone talking about it.
The answer may reveal something much bigger than the Slate truck itself.
(Excerpt) Read more at torquenews.com ...
lolol
I was thinking you meant to type $19,995 instead of $1,995.
But then I looked it up and you remember correctly.
The base price of the 1970 Ford Maverick was indeed $1,995.
I bought that very vehicle last October in Jakarta for ~USD9500, very no frills with manual everything, the way I like it. It’s a fine ride.
I just got back from Baguio City last night, where there are thousands of them on the road, but relatively few in Manila. It is quite the same in Indonesia, where there are many in the provinces but hardly any in Jakarta. I think the reason is that it is considerably wider and longer than the vehicle it superseded and more difficult to drive in the skinny urban streets, not withstanding its very tight turn radius of only 4.2 metres.
And loans. No one can afford cash. Was just looking at base model Toyota tundras. $78,000. The dealers just tell the monthly payment and not what the vehicle actually costs. The cost so much because people are willing to take out a mortgage for a car.
” is a relatively simple electric pickup from a startup that has not yet delivered a production vehicle to customers. Some Torque News readers have “
Then it is not a pickup truck. It is a drawing on a piece of paper. You cannot use a piece of paper to drive or “pickup” anything. Electric vehicle hype. Bloomberg News used to have a whole section every day called “hyperdrive” which was all about how amazing Tesla was. Then Musk got involved with Trump and they eliminated the whole section from their website.
In 2026 money, that $2,000 pickup truck would cost about $16,445.43, and your $1.00 an hour wage would be equivalent to $8.22 an hour.
Because of a cumulative inflation rate of 722.27% over the last 55 years (tracking back to 1971), prices today are roughly 8.22 times higher than they were back then.
In 1971: It took 2,000 hours of work at $1hr to buy the truck.
In 2026: It takes exactly 2,000 hours of work at $8.22 hr to afford the inflation-adjusted $16,445.43
No truck is $16K new and very few people make $8.22 an hour. Chic fil a has a $15 starting wage so does one and out burger in Texas, Bucees is $20 for associates that’s like 6 months of time and $15 before that. Solar installers are in the $25 so are roof guys and framers. Plumbers and electricians are $150 or more and mechanics at NTB are in the $30-60 range for an ASE cert and master techs respectively. Those literally are joe six pack jobs. Surveyors are in the $80 range even crew make $25-30
$30,000K vehicle is 1000 hours ish for a semi skilled worker half what your $1 hr and $2000 dollar truck was.
“The cost so much because people are willing to take out a mortgage for a car.”
You can’t touch a house for $78K in a major market in the USA.
Dallas is $400K for entry level 3b 2ba 1300sq ft in any acceptable neighborhood. Nice areas and 4b 3ba are all $550K and up way up as in 725K ranges for a two story. I was just looking at an investment property in a new lagoon community in DFW 4b 2.5ba 1800sq get it was $525K and had a 2.4% annual PID (utility district tax) on top of the county / state 1.45% annual tax. That’s $20212 in taxes PER YEAR or $1600+ per month not even including the note. This is why homes rent for $3500 a month in that area. Half of the rent is taxes alone.
Our Maverick cost $2,300 because Dad popped for AC.
Would love to see the Toyota Hilux for sell here in the U.S. A lot of people here, myself included, just want a basic work truck. Don’t need all the gizmos and electronics.
They would sell all they could make. Of course, if they wanted to sell them here, they’d have to add the laundry list of “required technologies” (back-up camera, turn signals make a specific sound when they’re on, etc., etc., etc.) and that would drive the cost up to just under what it is now.
The 2 door was a pretty decent looking car. They had upgraded engine options that performed better.
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