Slate Auto, the Bezos-backed carmaker building America’s cheapest electric truck, is teaming up with Crayola on five vehicle wraps. It is apparently the crayon company’s first-ever automotive partnership, yet it neatly fits Slate’s basic pitch: a gray, unpainted truck designed from the start to be wrapped rather than sprayed to keep costs down.
The five searingly bright colored wraps—Cerulean, Fern, Jersey Tomato, Razzmatazz, and Dandelion—are pulled from Crayola’s existing crayon lineup, meaning that, yes, prospective owners will have to spec that they want a hot-pink Razzmatazz Slate (WIRED’s pick).
Each comes as a starter pack with decals, complete with a color-coordinated key-fob cap and a clip-on dashboard accessory Slate calls a Slatelet. The packs will sell through Slate’s online marketplace, alongside the more than 200 other accessories the company offers.
The basic “blank” Slate truck starts at $24,950, a price that has made it the cheapest new truck on the US market. The EV ships with a single gray composite body, no touchscreen, and manual windows, all in service of hitting that low price point.
Wraps for the Slate have been part of the plan from day one, with standard wrap kits in over 100 hues starting at $500, and the company has said professional installation runs roughly the same. However, while this particular colorful makeover might evoke childhood memories, the price of the Crayola starter packs is certainly not pocket money. A Dandelion or Jersey Tomato transformation will set owners back $1,550—three times the cost of a standard Slate wrap—a meaningful jump considering the brand’s “affordable customization” pitch.
