Jay Leno just gave viewers an early look at something that sounds almost too sensible for today’s EV market: the Slate Truck, a bare-bones electric pickup prototype aiming to start around $25K and stay under $30K. Built in Warsaw, Indiana, the whole pitch is about cutting the bloat out of modern vehicles and bringing the entry price back down to earth, especially when the average new-car transaction price keeps hovering around the $50K mark.

Instead of chasing flashy screens and complicated trim walks, Slate’s team is leaning into what they call “design for manufacturing.” The truck is built around a modular approach where every unit starts off identical on a simplified assembly line, then owners can personalize it afterward. In the video, that means everything from converting it into an SUV-style setup to going open-air, using flat-pack kits that are designed to be installed at home. It’s a build-it-your-way idea that feels more like the early days of tuner culture than a typical new-car launch.

What really grabs our attention is the right-to-repair angle. Slate describes the truck as “open source,” with an approach that encourages owners to handle their own warranty repairs if they want, or take the truck to one of roughly 4,000 independent shops instead of being locked into expensive dealer service lanes. Pair that with a manufacturing strategy that ditches the traditional paint shop by leaning on tool-impregnated colors and wraps, and you can see how they’re trying to attack the cost problem from every direction.

On the practical side, Slate talks about two battery options, with ranges targeting roughly 150 miles or 230 miles, plus liquid cooling and access to the North American Supercharger network. They’re also claiming the minimalist design doesn’t mean unsafe, with engineering targets aimed at a 5-star crash rating and beta prototypes already in testing. The most surprising number is the claimed demand: over 150,000 reservations, which suggests there’s a real appetite for a simple, affordable electric pickup that doesn’t feel like a rolling tech subscription. If Slate can actually deliver the price and keep the ownership experience as straightforward as it looks here, this could be one of the more disruptive EV ideas we’ve seen in a while.