Jeff Bezos-funded startup Slate Auto has an ambitious goal: to create a $25,000 EV truck. And it could happen as early as next year.

Remember when pickup truck occupant capacity was measured in seats, rather than rows? When trucks were attainable workhorses, rather than near-six-figure luxobarges with front ends designed to look angry and do maximum damage to pedestrians?

Jeff Bezos is funding a secretive EV startup based in Michigan called Slate Auto that could start production as soon as next year, according to multiple