Inside the EV startup secretly backed by Jeff Bezos

Summary

Jeff Bezos is funding a secretive EV startup based in Michigan called Slate Auto that could start production as soon as next year, according to multiple sources and documents that link the billionaire’s family office to the startup. Slate, which took root in another Bezos-connected company called Re:Build Manufacturing, has been operating quietly since its founding in 2022. The company has hired hundreds of employees while in stealth — many of whom come from Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, and Harley-Davidson. It also attracted the backing of several other wealthy individuals, including Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the LA Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners, and Thomas Tull, who is a lead investor of Re:Build Manufacturing, according to documents TechCrunch obtained from Delaware’s Division of Corporations. Slate Auto is tackling a big goal: an affordable two-seat electric pickup truck for around $25,000, according to two sources who were granted anonymity to speak about the company’s internal discussions. Leaders inside the company have mentioned the Ford Model T or Volkswagen Beetle as a North Star for the project, according to the people. It has amassed a sizable war chest in service of that goal. The company quietly raised at least $111 million in a Series A round in 2023, according to a public filing. Bezos was involved, and Melinda Lewison, the person who manages his family office, is listed as a director on paperwork Slate has filed with states and the federal government. The filing shows 16 people invested in that round; it is unclear how much Bezos put into the company. Slate has told employees that it closed a Series B late last year, according to multiple sources familiar with its funding. It has not yet filed any paperwork for the round with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Delaware paperwork shows it authorized nearly 500 million preferred shares for the Series B priced at $2.37 per share. (Slate also authorized more than 400 mi...