Slate Auto, the electric vehicle startup backed by Jeff Bezos, has raised $650 million to fund its effort to bring a mid-$20,000 electric pickup truck to the U.S. market by year-end.

TWG Global, headed by Guggenheim Partners founder Mark Walter and financier Thomas Tull, led the Series C funding, Slate said. A spokesperson declined to comment on the company’s current valuation, but it was about $1.2 billion at its fundraising in January 2025, according to Pitchbook. TWG first invested in Slate in 2024.

Slate, which named a new chief executive officer last month, wants to tap consumer demand for more affordable vehicles with a stripped-down, two-seater pickup that can go 150 or 240 miles on a single charge. That goal was challenged after Congress eliminated a $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs last year that would have subsidized the cost of the vehicle.

“Maybe we get a tailwind because of oil prices, but we’re not dependent on oil prices, we’re not dependent upon any kind of government incentives,” CEO Peter Faricy said in an interview with Bloomberg Television Monday. “We’re really customer focused.”

The Troy, Michigan-based startup has raised money even as established automakers have lost billions on electric car investments and more mature EV players like Rivian Automotive Inc. and Lucid Group Inc. have struggled to turn a profit. Harbinger Motors, which makes electric chassis for commercial fleet vehicles, managed to raise funds in November from companies including FedEx Corp. and RV maker Thor Industries Inc.

Slate will announce its truck’s exact retail price when it begins taking online orders in June. It says more than 160,000 people have put down a $50 refundable deposit. The base model lacks standard comforts like power windows or an audio and infotainment system, but owners can add features by accessorizing the vehicle over time.

Slate is investing $400 million to convert an idled printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana, for vehicle production. It’s also setting up a separate facility in Louisville, Kentucky, to do color wraps of the trucks, since there is no paint shop on its production line, Faricy said.

In March, Slate named Faricy, an Amazon.com Inc. veteran and former chief executive officer of solar company SunPower Corp., as CEO. One of his goals is to develop an online marketplace where third parties can develop and sell accessories to truck owners. He replaced Chris Barman, a former Fiat Chrysler engineer, who is remaining with the company to spearhead the truck launch.

The EV maker says it can deliver a mid-$20,000 truck because it has drastically streamlined the manufacturing process, using about 700 components — less than half the typical count — and by making just one variation of the truck in its assembly plant. All other customization or add-ons happen after the truck comes off the line in Indiana, Faricy said.

“That simplification allows us to both pass along real affordability to the consumer and also be a profitable company, and we’re looking forward to proving that,” he said.

Founded in 2022, Slate was spun out in 2023 from Re:Build Manufacturing LLC, which focuses on developing manufacturing tech in the U.S. It’s the brainchild of Miles Arnone, an industrial turnaround executive, Jeff Wilke, the former head of retail at Amazon, and Will Barker, CEO of California-based investment firm Camelot Capital Partners. They have described Slate’s mission as a test case to prove that streamlining manufacturing processes and leaving customization to consumers can produce an affordable, U.S.-made vehicle.

Slate investors also include Jeff Bezos, venture capital firms General Catalyst Partners LLC and Slauson & Co.

(With assistance from Matthew Miller and Dani Burger.)

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