Slate Auto appoints Peter Faricy as new CEO
Faricy officially took up the role this week, company spokesperson Jeff Jablansky told the US portal TechCrunch. He previously served as vice president of Amazon Marketplace and most recently worked as an adviser at McKinsey and Bessemer Venture Partners. The company said Faricy’s experience building Amazon’s marketplace platform was a key factor in the appointment. A fact that may come as little surprise, considering Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos is one of Slate Auto’s main high-profile backers.
Now-former CEO Christine Barman, a long-time Chrysler executive and the company’s first hire, will move into the newly defined role of President of Vehicles, TechCrunch reports. In this position she will focus on the development and delivery of Slate’s first vehicle programme. According to the company, Barman will oversee efforts to bring the electric pickup to market ‘on time and on budget.’
Slate Auto was built up hidden from public view. It emerged from stealth in April 2025 and has since positioned its first product as an affordable electric pickup aimed at broad market adoption. The pickup, simply named ‘Slate’ can be modified with various add-on kits – including a conversion into a five-seat SUV.
The company announced two battery options: 52.7 and 84.3 kWh, offering 150 and 240 miles of EPA range, respectively. For now, only a single powertrain is planned – a 150 kW electric motor driving the rear axle. The battery cells will be supplied by SK On from a US-based facility. Notably, despite the price point, the cells are not LFP but use a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistry.
Built around a 4.44m-long, 1.80 m-wide, and 1.75m-high platform, the pickup is designed for transformation. Via a catalogue of hundreds of modular kits, the base vehicle can be converted into a five-seat SUV, among other formats. All core vehicle structures are to be manufactured at Slate’s new facility in Indianapolis, while customisation is to be completed off-site – either through retail partners or by the end customer.
The vehicle programme has attracted attention because of its targeted price point. Initially, the company indicated the electric truck would start at ‘under $20,000,’ but that estimate was made before the removal of the federal EV tax credit in the United States. The company is now aiming for a starting price in the mid-$20,000 range. Slate Auto has said it plans to reveal final pricing details in June.
Faricy takes over leadership as the company prepares to convert a large reservation list into confirmed vehicle orders. According to the company, Slate currently holds approximately 160,000 refundable preorders for the electric pickup.
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