Jeff Bezos-backed electric truck startup Slate Auto opened the doors to its first-ever brick-and-mortar “experience center” in Chicago’s Near West Side, offering midwest fleet buyers and automotive journalists (Hi!) their first real, up-close look at what promises to be the most affordable new vehicle in America.
It’s true even in the tight, urban jungle of Chicago: Illinois loves trucks. Increasingly, Illinois seems to love EVs, too – so it makes sense that a new electric truck startup like Slate would choose Chicago as the home of its first-ever Slate experience center.
Familiar territory
The covers are off of the renovations at the old Tesla store on Grand, revealing that the new tenants are, in fact, Slate – and that makes total sense. Not only was the building already laid out for a small showroom, garage and retail space, it was also wired for NACS EV charging. Combine those logistical advantages with the location’s proven track record of getting the EV-curious behind the wheel, and the spot was a no-brainer.
Once potential customers get inside the Slate, they’ll be met with a solid, heavily-sprung door handle that feels expensive, and clicks, pulls, and snaps back with authority. The same is true of the chonky steering wheel, manual seat adjusters, tailgate latch, and charge port cover. The center console, too, despite looking like it was made of JC Whitney-spec shiny plastic, didn’t budge, and felt like it might be made of basalt, rather than plastic. Just about everything you touch, in other words, delivers reassuring haptics that shout, rather than whisper: Slate may be inexpensive, but it’s not cheap!
They got the important bits right
That idea carried on through my test ride (I wasn’t allowed to drive), which was quiet, smooth, free of squeaks and rattles on Chicago’s perpetually under construction roads, and felt more than quick enough from where I was sitting.
It was an impressive showing, and my conversation with some of Slate’s tech people about using the same fasteners throughout the vehicle whenever possible gave me a brief glimpse into what is sure to be an absolutely bananas, 3d-printed tuner culture around this thing … but that’s still speculative, and Slate’s overall success is far from a sure thing.
That said, Slate Auto is starting to feel really, really real – and if you’re in Chicago, you now have the chance to see just how real it is for yourself.
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