Jeff Bezos invests in electric ute startup

Not content with e-commerce and space exploration, US billionaire Jeff Bezos has now set his sights on disrupting the automotive industry with an electric ute.

The pick-up truck is being pitched as a more affordable – and conventional – alternative to the Tesla Cybertruck.

It’s too early to say whether the new truck will be built in right-hand drive for export markets like Australia, but the latest gambit from Bezos continues the rivalry with Space X founder and Tesla boss, Elon Musk.

Both billionaires seem determined to possess identical hobby collections from space rockets to satellite networks and now electric vehicles, the world’s richest men locked in an expensive game of ‘anything you can do, I can do with slightly different branding’.

According to TechCrunch, Bezos invested in Re:Build Manufacturing in Detroit, which then spun off Slate – and Slate could start mass producing EV pick-up trucks as early as 2026.

The billionaire former Amazon CEO is reportedly backing the electric vehicle startup with the audacious goal of bringing a budget-friendly electric ute to market for just $US25,000, or around $A40,000.

While Musk's Cybertruck starts at nearly triple the Slate ute’s target price point, both entrepreneurs share an uncanny talent for announcing ambitious automotive timelines that don’t always eventuate.

Founded in 2022, Slate has been quietly poaching talent faster than Amazon acquires smaller companies, hiring hundreds of employees from automotive heavyweights including General Motors, Ford, Stellantis, and Harley-Davidson.

Eagle-eyed car spotters recently captured images of a mysterious single-cab ute outside Slate’s LA headquarters, fuelling speculation that Bezos’ automotive dreams are more than just PowerPoint presentations for investors.

Unlike other EV brands chasing the luxury market with six-figure price tags and falcon-wing doors (i.e. the Tesla Model X), Slate appears to be targeting value-conscious buyers, while Bezos could be leveraging his relationship with Donald Trump to grow local manufacturing in the USA.

Whether Slate can succeed where so many automotive startups have struggled – such as Nikola, Lordstown (now Nu Ride), and to a lesser extent Lucid and Rivian – remains to be seen.

But with Bezos’ vast resources and proven history of playing the long game, traditional automakers might want to check their rearview mirrors, especially if the new vehicle is sold via Amazon Autos.

Image Source: discostranger09 @ Reddit