Slate Auto Secures $650M from Bezos-Backed Circle to Launch Sub-$30K Electric Truck

Slate Auto, the electric vehicle startup with direct ties to Jeff Bezos, has closed a massive $650 million Series C funding round. This capital injection is specifically earmarked for its ambitious and disruptive goal: bringing an electric pickup truck to market with a starting price in the mid-$20,000s, a segment largely unaddressed by major automakers. The company is targeting its first customer deliveries before the end of the year, signaling a rapid push from funding to production.

The funding round was led by TWG Global, a firm headed by prominent financiers Mark Walter, founder of Guggenheim Partners and owner of the LA Dodgers, and Thomas Tull. Both Walter and Tull were previously investors in Re:Build Manufacturing, the Bezos-owned industrial conglomerate from which Slate Auto was spun out just last year. While Slate did not disclose the participants in this latest round or its new valuation, the company was last valued at $1.2 billion in January 2025, indicating significant financial momentum.

This move places intense pressure on the established automotive industry's EV strategies, particularly Ford, GM, and Rivian, which have struggled to bring affordable electric trucks to scale. The involvement of a tight-knit, Bezos-adjacent investment circle underscores a strategic, well-capitalized challenge to the status quo. Slate's success hinges on executing its ultra-low-cost manufacturing promise, a feat that has eluded larger competitors and will define whether it can disrupt the lucrative but expensive electric truck market.