Let's cut to the chase. The Slate has a 5-foot-long truck bed, capable of holding 35.1 cubic feet, assuming you don't install any mods to extend usable area. That's shorter than the 5.5-foot bed on the cheapest 2026 F-150, and shallower too, since the F-150 supports up to 52.8 cubic feet. The EV also has considerably smaller towing and payload ratings, coming in at 2,000 and 1,550 pounds, respectively, versus the Ford's 13,500- and 2,440-pound figures.

That's hardly the whole story, though, as you can probably guess. For one thing, the Slate has a sizable frunk, adding another 7 cubic feet. Gas trucks lack frunks, since that's where the engine is located. More importantly, a better comparison point is other compact pickups, rather than something a landscaping contractor might park when they're about to redo your entire front lawn.

Viewed in that light, the Slate is very competitive. The base 2026 Ford Maverick for instance is largely on par, equipped for 1,500-pound payloads and 2,000 pounds of towing capacity. It actually has a shorter truck bed, measuring 4.5 feet. For the average person's supply runs at Home Depot, a Slate is the better choice. Especially since you're not going to be spending hundreds of dollars on inflated gas prices.

This sort of vehicle could be a godsend for drivers who just have the occasional heavy load, such as bikes, PEVs, furniture, moving boxes or camping equipment. People do often buy SUVs for that reason, yet the Slate is cheaper than many of them, and a truck bed is clearly easier to load and unload. Besides, you can configure the Slate as an SUV if you're determined to get that form factor.