Slate Auto is aiming to accomplish what Ford Motor couldn't — to get drivers to swap their gasoline-powered pickups for an electric truck. Slate on Wednesday began taking $300 preorders for its base $24,950 electric pickup truck, a price that is less than half the roughly  $57,000  average cost of a new electric vehicle and well below the average $49,000 price of a new car.  Deliveries of the Slate truck are expected in late 2026. EVs have had a rocky time in recent years, with demand dropping