Eagle-eyed gearheads in California have spotted Slate Auto prototypes street-parked in the state, wrapped in fake advertisements for companies like cat therapy services and driving services to help crying youngsters fall asleep. The prototypes appear to be design bucks rather than fully functional vehicles, with one resembling a fastback SUV and the other a more traditional two-door SUV shape. Slate Auto is set to reveal its all-electric pickup truck on April 24. The prototypes were discovered by Reddit users who posted images of the vehicles, which are wrapped in absurd marketing liveries as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign. One outlet’s co-founder investigated the vehicles and found that they had basic mock-up chassis, suggesting they were not fully functional prototypes. This is not unusual in the early stages of vehicle development, especially for electric vehicles where motors and batteries are less cumbersome. The reveal on April 24 will likely provide more details about Slate Auto’s upcoming electric pickup truck, which has been teased to be priced around US$25,000.
