The company has switched to an LFP pack made in Illinois.
When Slate unveiled its stripped-back electric pickup in April 2025, the base model was to be powered by a 52.7kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery from SK On with an estimated range of 150 miles. Those willing to pay more were supposed to receive an 84.3kWh pack that would provide about 240 miles of range.
Slate has since dropped that plan in favor of a single LFP pack from Gotion, manufactured in Manteno, Illinois. That new battery extends the truck’s range to a projected 205 miles and helps Slate maintain its advertised starting price of $24,950 (plus a $1,450 destination fee). The 205-mile number still has an asterisk, though. Slate says it’s an estimate based on an EPA test cycle, not a finalized EPA rating.
The switch first surfaced in a June Detroit Free Press report based on an interview with Slate CEO Peter Faricy, which described the base truck as using LFP.
Why Slate changed from NMC to LFP
Originally, Slate was trying to qualify its truck for the federal clean-vehicle tax credit, which could have saved eligible buyers up to $7,500 but came with requirements for the origin of battery components and critical minerals. US-made NMC cells from SK On were a better fit than an LFP supply chain heavily concentrated in China. Then that puzzle resolved itself abruptly. The federal credit ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, removing one reason Slate had to design the truck around those sourcing requirements.
Availability of LFP batteries had also improved. Slate CEO Chris Barman told InsideEVs in 2025 that a supplier Slate previously considered lacked the capacity it needed and couldn’t satisfy federal tax-credit rules restricting battery materials linked to certain China-linked entities. Now, Gotion can produce the pack in Illinois, about 90 miles from Slate’s factory in Warsaw, Indiana. That’s much closer than the originally planned SK On module supply from 710 miles away in Commerce, Georgia, reducing logistics costs. LFP is also cheaper because it uses iron and phosphate instead of NMC’s nickel, manganese and cobalt in the cathode.
Slate was “excited to be able to provide more range and really maintain the price point” it was aiming for, Barman told InsideEVs in 2026. Slate’s new box-shaped prismatic cells stack directly into the battery pack, unlike the original SK On setup, which used separate modules. That makes better use of the available space under the truck. Slate has not made public what happened to its earlier announced battery deal with SK On.
What LFP changes for the Slate Truck
LFP is a natural fit for a truck that’s designed to keep costs down. The chemistry is less expensive than NMC, and it can generally withstand more frequent charging to 100%, which is convenient when your EV has just 205 projected miles of range.
That lower cost comes with a trade-off. LFP stores less energy for a given size and weight than NMC. The previously planned 240-mile extended-range version has been dropped because the new 65kWh pack takes up all the available battery space under the truck. To go much further would require space that doesn’t exist, or a more energy-dense chemistry. Power takes a small hit, too. The lower-voltage LFP system has cut output from the originally announced 201 horsepower to the 181-horsepower in the current Slate Truck, but Slate still claims an 8-second 0-to-60-mph run.
The chemistry change alone didn’t make a 150-mile truck into a 205-mile truck. Along with bumping the battery up to 65kWh from 52.7kWh, Slate has made aerodynamic and thermal improvements in the process. Now, buyers receive one battery, one projected range number and one fewer box to check. The battery and power train warranty is 10 years or 110,000 miles.
