Bezos-backed EV startup pitched investors on ‘Transformer’-like customization

Summary

Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto has planted multiple concept versions of its EV on the streets of California. It’s a marketing tactic that teases the secretive startup’s strategy to sell a “Transformer”-like vehicle, people familiar with the company’s internal discussions told TechCrunch. This unconventional real-world tease comes days before Slate’s April 24 launch event at Long Beach Airport, according to an invite viewed by TechCrunch. The Michigan-based startup, founded in 2022, has operated in relative secrecy until TechCrunch published a report revealing Bezos’ financial involvement, as well as its plan to price its EV at around $25,000 while encouraging buyers to customize the vehicle to their liking. That base model is referred to as the “Blank Slate” version, according to a trademark application and another person familiar with the company’s plans. Slate has also filed for a trademark for the phrase: “We Built It. You Make It.” The Autopian’s David Tracy traveled to Venice, California over the weekend where Slate parked a concept version of the truck made to look like a two-door SUV used by a fake business. Similarly, Reddit users posted pictures over the weekend of yet another version of the truck made to look like a hatchback that almost resembles Rivian’s forthcoming R3. The vehicle Tracy saw up close this past weekend looks just like the the two-door pickup truck spotted by a Reddit user earlier this month in Long Beach, but with a hard cover over the bed that gives it more of an SUV shape. The vehicle is covered in a wrap for a fake business called “Rockabye Rides,” which includes a URL that leads to a website that is counting down to Slate’s event later this week. That makes three different silhouettes we’ve seen of Slate’s truck so far — and that adaptability is something the company has privately touted as it locked down well over $100 million in funding, TechCrunch has learned. Slate’s leadership focused heavily on the “Transformer” metaphor as it woo...