Slate vs Ford Fathom: Cheap Electric Pickups Split Over Screen and CarPlay Support
Two US electric pickups priced below $30,000, the Slate Blank Slate Truck and the Ford Fathom, take opposite approaches to infotainment. Ford offers a large screen with CarPlay and Android Auto, while Slate relies on the owner's phone.
US automakers Slate and Ford are pursuing electric pickup trucks priced below $30,000. Slate's Blank Slate Truck starts at $24,950 plus a $1,450 destination charge, while the Ford Fathom starts at $28,350 plus $1,595 for destination. A key difference lies in the cabin: Ford keeps familiar smartphone connectivity, while Slate drops it.
Slate turns the phone into the dashboard
The Slate truck has no traditional infotainment system. Instead, it provides a standard mount and charger for a phone. Buyers can add accessory speakers and a bracket for a larger tablet. Navigation, music and other apps stay on the device itself. The company told InsideEVs that vehicle software updates can be downloaded to a phone and transferred to the truck, so no embedded cellular connection is needed.
There is a logic to this: if the infotainment hardware is in your pocket, it will not age along with the truck. However, a phone screen is smaller than a dedicated display. Some prospective owners online are already discussing aftermarket stereos and Raspberry Pi projects to bring CarPlay or Android Auto into the truck.
Ford sticks with the familiar
The Fathom's built-in display will support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The truck will also have a digital key, bidirectional power and hardware for Ford's next-generation BlueCruise hands-free driving system, which requires activation. Ford has not yet announced the Fathom's range, towing capacity or payload. Preorders open in early 2027. The Fathom seats five, while the Slate is a two-door pickup.
Different ways to cut costs
Slate is starting from scratch and questioning every component. Ford, which has built vehicles for over a century, is simplifying engineering and assembly. It is investing $2 billion to retool its Louisville Assembly Plant around the Universal EV Production System. The platform uses 20 percent fewer parts than a typical vehicle and 50 percent fewer cooling hoses and connections. Its wiring harness is more than 4,000 feet shorter than that of the Mustang Mach-E. Assembly is expected to be 15 percent faster than for the plant's previous products.
Smartphone integration matters to buyers: in Deloitte's 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study, which surveyed over 31,000 consumers in 30 countries, 63 percent of US respondents said CarPlay or Android Auto was somewhat or very important in their next vehicle.
