One of the more interesting wrinkles in Slate’s preorder data: more than half of people configuring their trucks in pre-production have been choosing an SUV body style — even though Slate’s entire marketing pitch is built around being an affordable pickup. Here’s how the configurations actually compare.
The Base Pickup (“Blank Slate”)
- Price: $24,950
- Seating: 2
- Bed: 5-foot bed, 35.1 cubic feet of cargo space
- Best for: buyers who actually need open cargo space, work use, or who plan to add their own canopy/topper accessories later
Squareback SUV Conversion
- Price: starts at $29,950
- Seating: 5 (adds a rear bench)
- Conversion: arrives as a flat-packed kit, bolts onto the pickup in roughly an hour with two people — no professional installation required
- Best for: families or anyone who wants more seating without buying a separate vehicle
Fastback SUV Conversion
- A second SUV body style, also available as a conversion kit, with a sleeker roofline than the Squareback
- Pricing sits in a similar range to the Squareback conversion, with the styling difference as the main trade-off
Why So Many Buyers Are Choosing the SUV
A few likely reasons, based on what’s been reported:
- Flexibility — buyers can order the base pickup and decide later whether to convert it, rather than committing upfront
- Family use — the rear bench seat turns a 2-seat work vehicle into something that can handle daily family duty
- Price gap is small — $5,000 (Squareback) is a relatively modest jump from $24,950, especially against competitors that start $5-10k higher with far less customization
The Practical Trade-off
Going SUV costs you bed space and adds weight, which will affect range and payload somewhat versus the bare pickup — Slate hasn’t published separate range/payload figures for the converted SUV configurations yet. We’ll update this page once that data is available.
Slate Truck vs SUV: How the Conversion Actually Works
The Slate truck vs SUV decision isn’t permanent — that’s the whole point of the platform. Every Slate ships as a two-seat pickup first, and owners can add an SUV Conversion Kit either at purchase or anytime after delivery. According to Slate’s official FAQ, the kit comes in three styles — Squareback, Fastback, and the windowless Open Air — each offering a different look and feel for the conversion.
Each kit adds a roll cage with built-in airbags, a rear bench seat, and a hardtop (except Open Air), bringing seating from 2 up to 5. The conversion bolts in without removing the truck’s bed structure underneath — Slate designed it as a true add-on, not a replacement.
The pickup configuration keeps you closer to the truck’s working-vehicle roots: full bed access, lighter weight, and a starting price with no kit cost added. The SUV configuration trades some of that bed utility for passenger capacity and weather protection — useful if you’re hauling people more often than cargo.
Payload and towing numbers stay close between the two body styles, since the underlying chassis and motor don’t change. The real decision comes down to how often you need five seats versus an open bed, and whether you’d rather buy that flexibility now or add it later once you know how you actually use the truck.
We’ll update this comparison as more Slate truck vs SUV configurator data becomes available.
Our Take
If you’re unsure, ordering the base pickup and adding the conversion kit later (since Slate says all upgrades can be added at any time) may be the lower-risk move — you get the cheaper entry price now and can decide on the SUV conversion once you’ve actually lived with the truck.
For full specs on both the pickup and SUV configurations, check out our complete Slate Truck specs and pricing breakdown.
Have you ordered yours yet? Let us know which configuration you picked and why in the comments.
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