Carvana secures option to invest in EV startup Slate Auto

According to documents obtained by TechCrunch, online used car retailer Carvana has been granted the option to invest in Slate Auto, an electric vehicle startup backed by Jeff Bezos. Paperwork filed with Delaware’s division of corporations shows that Carvana was given a warrant—a financial instrument giving the right to purchase stock—to buy shares in the startup in 2025. This warrant was issued around the same time Slate Auto was starting to assemble its $650 million Series C round, which is a late-stage venture funding round.

The transaction comes as Carvana explores ways to expand into new car sales. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the retailer has reportedly purchased a number of Stellantis dealerships across the United States. When asked about new car sales on a recent earnings call, Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia III told analysts to stay tuned. This physical footprint could prove critical for Slate Auto. The startup is weeks away from announcing final pricing and taking its first nonrefundable preorders for its low-cost EV, which is expected to start in the mid-$20,000 range, with Slate expected to deliver its first vehicles by the end of this year. Although Slate states on its website that it “won’t have traditional dealerships” and plans to sell directly to customers, it has not detailed how it will manage delivery logistics. A source noted that selling through physical Carvana dealerships could help mitigate some of those logistics headaches for Slate Auto.

A key link between the two companies is investor Mark Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners. Slate Auto, which operated in stealth—meaning it was operating without public disclosure—until last year, revealed in April that Walter’s investment firm, TWG Global, led its Series C round. Walter also holds a significant stake in Carvana, owning 8% of its Class B common stock and 1% of its overall voting power.

While neither company has commented on the specific deal, regulatory filings suggest the financial relationship may already be active. In March, Carvana disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had been granted a warrant to purchase shares in June 2025. Carvana reported that the aggregate value of the warrant was $1.5 million at the end of 2025, and that it vests in tranches through 2029 based on jointly determined performance goals.

Why it matters

The partnership signals Carvana’s strategic pivot toward new vehicle sales, leveraging its physical footprint to solve the distribution and logistics challenges facing direct-to-consumer EV startups like Slate Auto.