The Slate Truck is a bare-bones $25,000 electric pickup that ships without a radio, and it has the 12-volt aftermarket industry in an interesting position — somewhere between cautious optimism and careful wait-and-see. Here's where things stand and what it could mean for the aftermarket.
The Opportunity Is Real, But So Are the Questions
More than ten thousand customers have put down $300 non-refundable deposits on the Slate Truck. A limited run ships in Q4 this year, with a wider rollout planned for the first half of 2026. The truck does offer a small optional speaker catalog — a $249 front center integrated speaker, $149.99 front left and right speakers, and a couple of Bluetooth-related accessories listed as "coming soon" — but there is no radio option at all.
That blank slate (no pun intended) is exactly what has the aftermarket interested. The center storage bin area reportedly fits a single DIN radio, though no official specs have been confirmed recently by Slate Auto.
The bigger open question is the electrical system. It's still unclear whether the Slate will have a dedicated 12-volt accessory battery. If it doesn't, powering traditional aftermarket audio accessories becomes more complicated and potentially more expensive — a problem when the truck is specifically targeting budget-conscious buyers.
Who's In, Who's Watching, Who's Out
Cerwin-Vega and Diamond Audio are bullish. Bob Chanthavongsa summed it up well: "I think everyone will race to have something for it. It's like when the Ford Bronco came out, everyone wanted to do something." He's also watching the upcoming Ford Fathom — Ford's budget EV truck going on pre-sale next year at $28,350 — for similar opportunities, though the Fathom does include a full touchscreen with CarPlay and Android Auto out of the box.
PowerBass has already had conversations with Slate's marketing team. Erik Harbor noted that PowerBass is exploring OE Fit speakers with amplification and possible Bluetooth receiver controls. He also made a smart observation about the truck's potential: "Slate will become a lot like the new 'Jeep' in terms of user customization" — pointing to Slate's open-source 3D print platform and the already active community of render-based aftermarket concepts building online. That said, PowerBass is cautious about the electrical limits: adding too much may simply not be possible until more is known about what the system can actually support.
Metra is evaluating options. Jason Anderson called it "a throwback to the old days when vehicles didn't come with radios or speakers" — which for the aftermarket industry is more compliment than criticism.
Stinger is in wait-and-see mode. Kevin Kuenzie put it plainly: "We'll be watching how well the truck sells and what kind of aftermarket attachment and demand develops around it."
Alpine said it is not currently developing a Slate product. Rockford Fosgate had no comment.
The Demographic Problem
The honest tension in this story is margin. The Slate is designed for cost-conscious buyers, and as one supplier put it: "Whatever is developed, it will need to align with the demographic buying the truck, which is inexpensive." The percentage of Slate owners who want a serious audio build may be small, and the total revenue pool may not justify the development investment for every brand. "There will be the small percentage of owners that want to go big, but total revenue on that might not be a big enough pie for everyone to eat from."
That's a real constraint. But it doesn't mean there's no opportunity — it means the opportunity is most likely in the entry-level and mid-range install space, not high-end custom builds.
What to Watch
The Slate Truck is a genuinely interesting vehicle for the aftermarket — not because it guarantees big revenue, but because it represents a new category: the intentionally blank EV that invites customization from day one. How the electrical system is designed will determine how much is actually possible. Once production trucks are in the wild and suppliers can evaluate them directly, the picture will get a lot clearer.
We'll be keeping an eye on it. If you're a Slate depositor curious about audio options, stay tuned — and in the meantime, check out what's available at 12 Volt Outlet for your current vehicle.