Jeff Bezos is funding a secret Michigan EV startup called Slate Auto, which can start production soon next year, following multiple sources and documents linking the billionaire family office to the startup.
Having taken root in another Bezos-connected company called Re:Build Manufacturing, Slate has been running quietly since its founding in 2022. The company hired hundreds of employees at Stealth.
It also attracted the support of other wealthy individuals, including Mark Walter, who controls Guggenheim Partners, who owns control of LA Dodgers, and Thomas Tull, who is the lead investor at Re:Build Manufacturing, according to TechCrunch documents obtained from the Delaware corporate division.
Slate Auto is working on a big goal. According to two sources given anonymity to talk about the company’s internal discussion, an affordable two-seat electric pickup truck costs around $25,000. Leaders within the company have mentioned the Ford Model T or Volkswagen beetle as the North Star of the project, according to people.
It has gathered a considerable war chest that serves that goal.
According to the release, the company quietly raised at least $111 million in the 2023 Series A round. Melinda Louisson, the person Bezos involved and who manages his family office, is listed as the director of the slate for documents filed with the state and federal government. The filing shows that 16 people invested in that round. It is unclear how much Bezos has entered the company.
Slate told employees it closed Series B late last year, according to multiple sources familiar with fundraising. He has not yet filed any round documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Delaware documents show that it has approved nearly 500 million preferred shares in Series B, priced at $2.37 per share. (Slate has also approved more than 400 million common shares over the past year, but the application did not state the price.)
Delaware documents list Walter and Tull as new board members, suggesting that the two have invested in Slate’s Series B round. The two recently formed a $40 billion holding company to invest. Walter and Tal could not be reached for comment.
Slate hopes to introduce vehicles into production in the second half of 2026 at a manufacturing facility near Indianapolis, Indiana, according to a job listing, state lobbying records and a 2024 interview with Executive Secretary Rodney Corpse. It is not immediately clear whether Slate has purchased an existing factory or plans to build it from scratch.
Secret projects are taking shape during the difficult times of electric vehicles.
The sector’s explosive growth has once been cooled down, with several startups dedicated to building EVs filing for bankruptcy. Survivors like Libian and Ming Animal Motor do so by burning billions of dollars.
Slate plans to complement the small margins of low-cost trucks by building a line of accessories and apparel that owners can use to customize their vehicle and appearance according to sources and various job listings. Executive Blank was full of former Harley Davidson and Stellantis employees. This is two companies that historically relied on this type of supplementary business (the former has apparel and the latter has Moper parts and accessories).
Slate is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, and the startup has shown proof of concept to investors at its non-descriptive design studio that leases in Long Beach, California, according to sources. It targeted high-network individuals and was a perfect cover for the fundraising process.
The companies and several people connected to Slate, Re:Build Manufacturing, and the family offices of Bezos did not respond to repeated requests for comments on this story. TechCrunch also contacted Bezos directly and did not receive a response.
Deep Amazon bonds
The slate is photographed with Amazon DNA.
According to his company’s website, alongside Bezos’ family office, Slate’s Series A included funding from former Amazon executive Diego Piachtini.
Slate was originally created as a project called Re:Car in early 2022 by Re:Build Manufacturing. Longtime Amazon executives, including Wei Gao, the top VP and technical advisor at Bezos, are now building manufacturing.
Slate’s digital, e-commerce and automotive experience lead is Amazon Expas. Even the original name of Slate contains a “Re:” prefix that uses Amazon for events such as Re:Mars Robotics, AI Conference, or Annual Re:Invent Gathering for AWS.
Over the years, Bezos has invested in over 30 companies through his family office, exposing the world of AI (confusion), robots (figures), defense (Anduril), and even mobility (Uber). Slate is one of the most direct investments he has made in the world of electric vehicles other than the relationship Amazon has with Libian.
But that was all he invested. People familiar with the company’s internals told TechCrunch that they were not seen in Slate’s Michigan or Los Angeles offices.
Defeat the trend
Almost every EV startup that has come (and has gone) over the past decade has tried in some way to replicate the approach Tesla has taken. They designed their first vehicle to be a high-end offering so that they could sell fewer cars for more money. Ultimately, after raising brand awareness, these companies will move towards cheaper EVs with less capacity that generate less margins.
According to people who spoke with TechCrunch, Slate reverses this by chasing what they want to be the “first car” of buyers.
The idea is to sell trucks at a price range of around $25,000, and have the owner personalize or upgrade their car over time.
In late March, Slate submitted the trademark of the phrase. “We made it. You make it.” There is a long list of products and services that can cover everything from switches and speakers to USB ports and pet harnesses.
Other details can be collected from the many job listings Slate has posted over the past two years.
A 2024 post suggested that the company would dub the customer’s customization process, “Slate University.” The list was originally entitled “University Leads,” and was renamed “Customer Education Repair and Maintenance Officer” before the startup stopped accepting applications.
“We are looking for enthusiastic and experienced leaders at Slate University to build and lead a game-changing approach to open source content to help customers enhance ownership experience,” reads the list. “As a lead, we will drive strategy and ecosystem development for educational content and delivery for Slate shoppers, customers, technicians and partners.”
Another job list for “Lead Product Manager, Accessories” explains that Slate “exploring opportunities in the electric mobility space and building free accessories, apparel and product features.” It also mentions that the person will oversee the development of “utility parts” and “lifestyle and personalized accessories.”
This approach subsidizes low margin manufacturing businesses with higher margin accessory play – was used by automakers including Harley-Davidson with apparel division and Stellantis, a jeep manufacturer with Morper parts and services divisions.
Naturally, Slate has already built a team, which has already drawn on the experience of these companies.
The startup executive chair is Rodney Capes, who spent 20 years at Harley-Davidson. Chief Financial Officer Ryan Green has spent nearly a decade on the financial side of motorcycle manufacturers. (Copes and Green also had a stint at Rivian.) Slate’s Head of Services, commercial, accessory product management and growth marketing also worked at Harley-Davidson.
Slate appears to be clearly planning to sourise high-voltage battery packs, electric motors and other related technologies from external suppliers, according to one job listing. According to another list of Windshield Wiper design/release engineers, the startup is “challenging the current state of vehicle design.” The accountant role post states that hired people must help implement “to become public companies in the necessary systems.”
According to another role, PR and communications prospects are: “You have to love a car! You’re thinking about a car all day every day. And when you love a car, it’s the most fun.”
No founder found
Another way that Slate appears to be bumping into the trends of other EV startups is that there are no founders serving as CEOs.
According to sources who spoke to TechCrunch, Arnone is considered the founder of Slate, but his daily work is the CEO of Re:Build Manufacturing.
Instead, Slate’s CEO is longtime Chrysler veteran Christine Berman. According to a 2023 interview, she initially attended Purdue University and then entered the automotive industry through an internship at General Motors.
She then spent more than 20 years at Chrysler, overseeing the vehicle line program for the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Jeep Cherokee. Berman eventually became the vice president of electrical and electronics at Fiat Chrysler, where the automaker led the integration of Android Automotive and spent time collaborating with Waymo before leaving the company in 2017.
Berman, like many of her EV startup’s many peers, hasn’t posted the last decade online. Instead, she has primarily advised businesses on emerging technologies and educational engineering before being involved in 2022.
Berman did not respond to requests for comment.
Kirsten Korosec contributed to this report.