Slate’s Affordable Pickup Just Leaned Into One of Its Most Divisive Qualities

While Slate advertises a uniquely low sub-$25,000 cost of entry with its upcoming electric pickup, the reality is that it’s only so cheap in truly bare-bones spec.

As you start equipping the truck, options can quickly add to its price tag. It’s been among the more polarizing realities of Slate’s value proposition, as what was once a $25k pickup can soon cost 35 or even 40 grand-plus.

All the same, that doesn’t seem to be stopping the startup. In fact, if the latest additions to the catalog are any indication, Slate has barely scratched even the surface of its personalization model.

Slate

Slate’s Crayola art project

That’s because the brand has partnered with Crayola on a series of five wraps pulled straight from the art supplier’s color palette.

And Crayola hasn’t decided to keep things subtle for its first-ever automotive project. Along with Cerulean and Fern, the available hues include Dandelion, Jersey Tomato and Razzmatazz.

Slate

Moreover, as part of the collab, the five Slate x Crayola wraps will be offered in the form of matching starter packs. The treatment also includes decals, a key fob cap and a clip-on dashboard ‘Slatelet.’

It’s a fitting pairing and presentation, because both Slate and Crayola are big proponents of self-expression. In this case, the canvas in question obviously just so happens to be a pickup truck rather than a coloring book.

Slate

A sign of what’s to come?

At face value, five new wrap colors probably don’t seem like much to get excited about. Slate’s catalog did already have over 100 options, with several variations of blue, yellow and green, etc.

However, I see the implications of the collaboration as being much bigger than a few choice options plucked from kids’ boxes of crayons.

Slate

For starters (and at risk of stating the obvious), Crayola has an exhaustive rainbow to pick from. Slate could keep on pulling from the color wheel for a while without repeats.

To that end, the startup’s willingness to partner with an outside brand also opens the door to all kinds of future efforts.

That is to say: Now that Slate has the credibility of a collaboration with an established name like Crayola, who’s to say that official Lego-, Disney- or Nintendo-endorsed wrap designs couldn’t eventually follow? This project has opened the proverbial Pandora’s box.

Slate

After all, even if Slate is stuck paying licensing fees, it can still charge a premium for the exclusivity of a design to make a partnership worthwhile. In an age of persistent drop and collab culture, that has some potentially pricey consequences.

Availability and pricing

That certainly already seems true in the case of the Slate x Crayola wraps. At $1,549.99 a pop, they’re three times the cost of the most basic options. Even then, they still require at-home self-installation.

Cool as the connection is, that kind of premium is bound to be a rub for anyone who’s on the fence about whether the truck is actually as affordable as Slate claims.

Slate

Slate x Crayola Wrap

• Starts at $1,550

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Related Topics