The Slate Truck is expanding its customization options with two new monster truck-inspired styling packages, giving buyers another way to transform the small electric pickup without changing its $24,950 starting price.
Slate Truck Adds Grave Digger-Inspired Styling
One of the Slate Truck’s distinctive features is that it is designed to be wrapped rather than painted. By making the vehicle suitable for vinyl wraps from the beginning, Slate gives owners a blank canvas that can be customized by aftermarket companies or by the owners themselves.
Slate is now offering two monster truck-inspired styling packages. The first is a purple and green Grave Digger Starter Pack inspired by the black graveyard paint scheme associated with the iconic monster truck.
Customers can purchase the complete package or select individual components. The package includes a two-piece decal set, a five-piece “Slatelet” set consisting of dash-mounted custom badges, and key fob caps featuring Monster Jam and Grave Digger logos.
Grave Digger was founded by original driver Dennis Anderson in 1982. The second package is a broader black and yellow Monster Jam Starter Pack that “captures the spirit” of the Monster Jam motorsports event brand.
How the Packages Affect the Slate Truck’s Price
Slate continues to accept $300 pre-orders for its $24,950 electric truck, while the new starter packs will be available through the Slate Marketplace.
The company will not apply the wraps to trucks during production. Instead, owners will need to install them themselves or use one of the many professional wrap installers, meaning the cost of applying a wrap remains outside the vehicle’s purchase price.
Slate is also preparing instructional material through Slate University, its online DIY learning resource covering different aspects of working on the truck. The program has its own studio facility for producing instructional videos.
Lea Anderson, former Vice President of Customer Experience at Porsche North America and now Head of Slate University, said there will even be an instructional video covering the installation of lift kits on the Slate, giving owners the opportunity to create their own mini-monster trucks.
More Slate Truck Customization Options
Customization is a central part of the Slate Truck’s offering. Buyers can choose a full or partial wrap, black out the B Pillar, wrap only the back half of the vehicle, or black out the front and rear.
Slate also has collaborations with Crayola and Max Kolo. The Crayola option includes a satin wrap, wing mirror decal and rocker trim decal in one of five signature Crayola colors.
The Max Kolo package draws its design from New York City artist Max Kolo and costs $1,399.99 to add.
Toyota Opens New Battery Development Center in Michigan
Separately, Toyota is expanding its battery development capabilities in North America with a new Toyota Battery Center in Michigan. Unlike Toyota’s North Carolina facility, which mass-produces lithium-ion batteries, the Michigan center is focused on evaluating and developing battery technologies.
One of the center’s roles is to help Toyota address battery-related problems in North America sooner. The facility employs Toyota engineers who can “detect and resolve field concerns faster” while also working on batteries designed for North American conditions.
Toyota Battery Center Supports Multiple Electrified Vehicles
The Toyota Battery Center is not focused exclusively on electric vehicles. It also supports hybrids, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The Mirai is currently Toyota’s only hydrogen fuel-cell passenger car in the U.S.
Toyota has dealt with battery-related issues in the U.S., including a recall earlier this year involving nearly 21,000 Toyota bZ, Subaru Solterra and Lexus RZ vehicles over a potential loss of drive power caused by a battery ECU fault.
The company says the Michigan facility will also help develop longer-lasting batteries suited to the conditions American drivers face. Toyota did not provide further details about the specific conditions being considered.
Solid-State Batteries Remain Focused in Japan
The press release did not address the development of solid-state batteries at the Michigan center. Toyota’s solid-state battery push remains centered in Japan, with the automaker aiming to launch BEVs using the technology in 2027 or 2028.
In Michigan, Toyota says the investment will also create high-skilled jobs. The automaker is opening access to the 30,000-square-foot facility through a partnership with the University of Michigan Electric Vehicle Center, allowing other research partners to use some of its testing and evaluation capabilities.
Toyota’s Broader Electrification Strategy
The Michigan center comes as Toyota continues to pursue a multi-pathway approach to vehicle electrification. The company’s more gradual EV rollout comes as automakers reassess their electric-vehicle plans, with Stellantis taking $26.2 billion in EV-related charges.
Toyota Motor North America sold 363,367 electrified vehicles in the third quarter of this year, up 28.5% year over year and accounting for 57.4% of its total sales volume.
Electrification now extends across much of Toyota’s U.S. lineup. For the 2026 model year, the RAV4 is offered exclusively as either a hybrid or plug-in hybrid.
Both the Slate Truck’s growing range of customization options and Toyota’s Michigan battery center reflect developments described in the source material, spanning new personalization packages for an electric pickup and expanded battery technology development for Toyota’s electrified vehicles.
