Jeff Bezos-backed electric truck startup Slate Auto opened the doors to its first-ever brick-and-mortar “experience center” in Chicago’s Near West Side, offering midwest fleet buyers and automotive journalists (Hi!) their first real, up-close look at what promises to be the most affordable new vehicle in America.

For the last few weeks, we’ve been running a sidebar survey asking Electrek readers if they thought the new, affordable Slate electric truck was going to succeed in the ultra-competitive US market. After receiving nearly 3,000 responses, here’s what you told us.

Slate Auto, the EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, finally revealed pricing for its bare-bones electric truck today: $24,950 to start. The company opened preorders the same day.

Slate also boosted the base model’s estimated range from 150 miles to around 205 miles, making the price look even better against a US new-car market where almost nothing starts under $30,000.

As new electric vehicle brands like Scout and Slate search for alternatives to franchise auto dealers, America’s largest online auto retailer is quietly positioning itself to become the future of automotive retail.