Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill": Slate Auto raises price of budget pickup above $20,000

Jeff Bezos-backed startup Slate Auto has dropped its promised price below $20,000 for its compact electric pickup truck. The reason is President Trump's cancellation of the $7,500 federal EV credit from September 2025.

Here's What We Know

After Donald Trump signed the "Big Beautiful Bill" into law, which eliminates the tax credit that reduces the price from $25,000 to the promised $20,000, Slate Auto removed the "under $20,000" promise from its website and replaced it with the wording "mid-twenties" thousands of dollars.

At launch, the company was targeting a price of $25,000 with the option to drop to <$20k with EV credit - now the auto will cost around $25,500-27,500.

Why it matters

• Price vs availability. Slate positioned the pick-up as a budget pick-up: no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen, but once the incentive is cancelled, it's no longer affordable to most potential buyers.
• The EV market is under pressure. Removing EV incentives could reduce the availability of electric cars, slow demand and increase CO₂ emissions by millions of tonnes by 2030.
• Policy vs technology. This is an example of how legislation directly impacts US tech startups and environmental strategy.

Source: TechCrunch