Slate Auto Already Has 100,000 Reservations For Its Truck

Good morning! It's Tuesday, May 20, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're checking out the lightning-fast fundraising start Slate Auto is experiencing and how Subaru is raising some prices because of President Trump's tariffs. We're also looking at Honda's plans to scale back EV production targets and Toyota's potential buyout of Toyota Industries.

It's another busy day in car world, friend. Buckle up.

Slate Auto, a Jeff Bezos-backed EV startup that wants to launch a sub-$30,000 mini-truck, is absolutely rolling in money and reservations right now. Around 100,000 customers have already laid down reservations at $50 a pop, and the company has already raised $700 million in financing. In a statement, a spokesperson for the company says "America has shown that it wants what we're making." I'd have to agree with that sentiment.

Slate, which is targeting a late-2026 production time, says its biggest backers have been Bezos Expeditions, General Catalyst and TWG Global. General Catalyst has invested in brands like Airbnb and Snapchat, while TWG has holdings in entities like the LA Dodgers and Cadillac's Formula 1 Team.

The company's CEO, Chris Barman, is a former engineering vice president at Fiat Chrysler. Other higher-ups have plenty of industry experience in their own right, with folks from other EV truck startups like Rivian. Here's a little refresher on what Slate is all about. From Automotive News:

Slate plans to sell one basic vehicle configuration and offer a long list of accessories designed for do-it-yourself installation. The options to personalize the base vehicle are extensive, down to colorful decals.

The base "Blank Slate" is a rear-wheel-drive pickup similar in size to the subcompact Subaru Crosstrek. It has plastic body panels with no paint, comes without a radio and offers an estimated 150 miles of range, Slate said.

As part of the reservation process, Slate collects $50 and asks whether the buyer is interested in an "SUV Kit," which is essentially a camper shell with three passenger seats, seat belts, airbags and a roll bar.

Slate also asks customers about their interest in an optional battery with around 240 miles of range. Slate hasn't given prices for the upgrades beyond the estimated starting cost for a DIY body wrap at about $500.

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For infotainment, Slate said owners can use their smartphones or install a tablet. The phone mount is standard and the tablet mount is optional. The truck doesn't come with any screens but does offer a phone app.

After federal EV incentives, the base pickup is supposed to cost under $20,000. If and when Republicans kill that offer, the truck is automatically going to cost $7,500 more. From there, a truck this basic becomes a bit of a value issue. You just aren't getting very much for your money with a two-door basic truck with 150 miles of range when it costs nearly $30,000. 

I suppose we'll just have to hold out hope that prices will really be as low as they're saying and wait for more official announcements as a theoretical production start gets closer. I think 100,000 reservations speak for themselves when it comes to the excitement around this truck. Let's hope Slate can deliver.

In response to Donald Trump's tariff mess, Subaru is raising prices on several models. It's the latest car company to pass along increased production and import prices to its customers. In a statement, Subaru said the adjustments were being made in response to "current market conditions." From Reuters:

The Subaru price increases will add between $750 and $2,055 to vehicles depending on the model and trim, according to a notice posted on a dealer website. The price increases are expected to hit vehicles on dealer lots starting in June, according to the notice.

Subaru imports 45% of its U.S.-sold vehicles, according to 2024 data from research firm S&P Global Mobility. Its affordable Forester model is one of a handful of lower-cost vehicles set to be most affected by tariffs, according to Cox Automotive executive analyst Erin Keating. The SUV is getting a price hike of between $1,075 and $1,600 depending on the trim, the dealer notice said.

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"The changes were made to offset increased costs while maintaining a solid value proposition for the customer. Subaru pricing is not based on the country of origin of its products," the company said in a statement.

Executives at car companies across the globe have told investors how much these tariffs will cost them this year, according to Reuters. Some of the Big Three automakers have said they were expected to add up to $5 billion in costs. Of course, there has been a modicum of relief on duties put in place on foreign auto parts, President Trump has kept his 25% tariff on the over 8 million vehicles the U.S. imports every year. 

Folks, if this isn't losing and owning the libs, I really don't know what is. I really hope this is what you voted for because it just wouldn't make sense to me any other way.

Honda can see where the electric vehicle market is heading right now, and because of that, it's scaling back investments in EVs and is turning its attention to hybrids. The Japanese automaker also gave up a goal of having EVs account for 30% of its total sales by the 2030 fiscal year. Given slowing demand from the general public — especially in the U.S. — and really strong competition, it just wasn't going to happen. 

Earlier this month, Honda said it was putting a $10.7 billion plan to build an EV production base in Ontario, Canada on hold.  From Reuters:

"It's really hard to read the market, but at the moment we see EVs accounting for about a fifth by then," CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a press conference.

Honda has slashed its planned investment in electrification and software by that year by 30% to 7 trillion yen ($48.4 billion).

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Honda plans to launch 13 next-generation hybrid models globally in the four years from 2027. At the moment it has sells more than a dozen hybrid models worldwide, though just three in the U.S. – the Civic, which comes in hatchback and sedan versions, the Accord and the CR-V.

It will also develop a hybrid system for large-size models that it plans to launch in the second half of the decade.

Honda aims to sell between 2.2 and 2.3 million hybrids by 2030, and that represents a massive jump from the 868,000 it sold in 2024. The goal is even more ambitious when you consider the fact the company a total of 3.8 million cars last year.

Despite all this, the company still says it plans to have 100% of its sales be made up of battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040. I suppose we shall see.

Toyota Industries is on the verge of accepting a buyout offer from Toyota Motor chairman Akio Toyoda, according to a Kyodo News report An official takeover bid is going to be announced sometime this month or next, and it could be somewhere in the neighborhood of $41 billion with backing from Japan's biggest banks.

A spokesperson for Toyota Motors declined to comment on the report, saying that the automaker is always looking for ways to efficiently manage its holdings. They added that nothing has been decided yet. From Bloomberg:

If the bid for Toyota Industries proceeds, financing will comprise of personal investment by Toyoda, along with loans from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Japan's other megabanks, one of the people told Bloomberg.

Parties involved in the deal have picked financial advisers, signaling the deal is moving forward, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

Toyota Motor, the world's No. 1 carmaker, has sought to unwind its tangled web of cross-shareholdings, as part of the government's push to foster fair competition and improve governance among Japan's corporate giants.

You probably won't be surprised to learn — given how similar their names are — that Toyota Industries was founded by Toyoda's great-grandfather, Sakichi. It builds forklifts, textile looms and parts of other Toyota products.

History.com

If only this was all Lindbergh was known for. It's too bad all the other stuff gets in the way.

This kind of sound usually isn't my cup of tea, but after hearing this song at the opening of season two of Righteous Gemstones, it has been stuck in my head in a very serious way. Sure, it's a bit haunting, but it's hard to deny that "So Tell The Girls That I Am Back In Town" is a real bop.