Jay Leno Drives a Slate Truck and Has Thoughts 🛻

PLUS: AMG to add third EV, VW battery fire risk, solid-state battery progress.

If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser. Jay Leno Is First to Drive the Slate Truck. So What Did He Think?      Jay Leno has driven and ridden just about everything with wheels. His YouTube channel, Jay Leno's Garage, is one of the most popular review sites on the internet. So when the crew at Slate wanted to let someone drive a pre-production prototype of their first electric pickup truck, Leno was a natural choice for the honor. The Slate pickup truck was officially unveiled to the media last April. The bare-bones entry-level two-seater was meant to fill a hole Slate said existed down at the bottom end of the truck market, addressing a buyer Slate said has been abandoned by legacy truckmakers that have moved way uptown.    Read more here. READ THE FULL STORY Mercedes-AMG Plans to Launch a Third EV in Late 2027        Mercedes-AMG is gearing up to go electric. Although the German automaker has already created AMG versions of the EQE sedan, EQE SUV, and EQS sedan, the performance division will take things a step further by launching its first AMG-exclusive electric car, pictured above, later this year. That sedan, based on the GT XX concept, will be followed by an SUV. Now, Mercedes-AMG will add a third dedicated EV to its lineup with an SUV coupe.    The SUV coupe was confirmed by Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe, who is soon set to move to head up Mercedes-Benz's Top End Vehicle (TEV) Group, which covers Mercedes-Maybach and the G-class. Schiebe, who will be succeeded at AMG by Stefan Weckbach on July 1, said that AMG "will double down on SUVs," which now account for more than half of AMG's sales.    Read more here. READ THE FULL STORY VW Is Recalling Nearly 44K ID.4s Due to Batteries That May Catch Fire       The Volkswagen ID.4 is involved in another recall, this time stemming from its high-voltage battery, which could potentially pose a fire risk. The recall covers 43,881 total copies of the electric SUV, though only the 2023 to 2025 model years are part of that group, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).    Read more here. READ THE FULL STORY Solid-State EV Batteries Take a Step Closer to Production READ MORE Meet Toyota's Electric Pixis Van—but Don't Get Your Hopes Up READ MORE Porsche Begins Production of the Cayenne Electric READ MORE Jaguar Tunes 1,000-Horsepower Electric GT in Extreme Cold READ MORE 2027 Audi Q6 e-tron and A6 e-tron Get Updated with New Tech READ MORE The Hyundai Kona Electric Will Skip the 2026 Model Year READ MORE Spread the word: If you know someone interested in staying on top of the rapidly growing EV segment, feel free to pass this newsletter along. SIGN UP Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Autoweek is a publication of Hearst Autos. ©2026 Hearst Autos, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Autos, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779 https://link.autoweek.com/oc/5e72241397a2142fca606ee4q7154.5ml/7d71cd9f