Slate Auto, the EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos and other Amazon money, opened orders for its bare-bones electric pickup — good news for buyers who want a cheap, simple truck.

• The base truck starts at $24,950, about half the price of an average new US car, with first deliveries planned for late this year.
• It strips out the extras: no paint (you wrap it yourself in one of 100+ colors), one small screen, dent-resistant plastic panels you can swap by hand.
• It's modular — a $5,000 kit turns the pickup into a 5-seat SUV, and owners can bolt on parts themselves.
• Specs are modest: 181 horsepower, about 205 miles of range, a 10-year warranty, and light towing, so it's aimed at commuters, not heavy work.
• The factory in Warsaw, Indiana can build 150,000 a year but needs to sell around 80,000 just to break even.

Outlook: Orders ship in the fourth quarter, and the real test is whether Slate can build the trucks at scale and hold that low price once fees and demand kick in.