Ford has finally named its upcoming affordable electric pickup: the Fathom.
It will start at $28,350 before destination charges, which brings the total to $29,945 with delivery.
Meanwhile, Slate Auto's small pickup is priced lower, starting at $24,950. Adding the $1,450 delivery fee brings it to $26,400.
So, if you have around $28,000 to spend on an electric pickup, which one would you pick?
Let's compare what you get for your money.
Slate Truck: Minimalist and Practical
Slate's truck is a two-door regular cab with a 63-kWh battery, offering a claimed 205 miles (330 km) of range.
Its rear-mounted motor produces 201 hp (150 kW).
The truck features a five-foot bed with 35.1 cubic feet of cargo space and a seven-cubic-foot frunk.
Payload is rated at 1,550 pounds, and towing capacity tops out at 2,000 pounds.
These are decent work-truck numbers for a vehicle that's only 175 inches long. However, Slate achieved this by stripping away nearly everything non-essential.
It has crank windows, no touchscreen, no infotainment system, and no stereo. The body is gray composite, and it seats only two unless you buy a conversion kit.
Some may appreciate the simplicity, while others might wonder why they're spending $25,000 on what feels like a truck-shaped starter kit.
Ford Fathom: More Conventional and Feature-Rich
Ford has released fewer details about the Fathom, but it's clear it will be a different proposition.
It launches as a four-door crew cab, offering a more conventional truck layout.
The base version is rear-wheel drive with an LFP battery of undisclosed capacity.
A larger battery and an all-wheel-drive model will arrive later, though Ford hasn't specified when.
Ford targets a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds, making it significantly quicker than the Slate's roughly eight-second run.
The Fathom is expected to feel more like a modern vehicle, with more passenger room than a Toyota RAV4, a touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, power windows, and an audio system.
However, key details like range, payload, towing, and the exact contents of the $28,350 base model remain unknown.
It could be a bargain, or it could quickly climb past $30,000 with options.
So, the decision is yours: Slate or Ford, and why?
