Jeff Bezos rep leaves Slate Auto’s board

Source: TechCrunch

The head of Jeff Bezos’ family office has left the board of directors of Slate Auto, the electric‑vehicle startup backed by the Amazon founder, according to numerous state filings reviewed by TechCrunch.

Melinda Lewison, who leads investments at Bezos Expeditions, appears to have stepped down in the last few months, as shown in documents filed with the Delaware, Florida, and Massachusetts secretaries of state. This leaves Bezos with no direct representation on Slate’s board as the company prepares to put its low‑cost electric truck into production later this year. Slate did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and Lewison and Bezos did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Board departure

Lewison’s exit raises questions about Bezos’ support and involvement with the startup at a time when the Amazon founder is apparently focused on robotics at his new venture, Project Prometheus. That company raised more than $6 billion late last year and is reportedly seeking $100 billion for a new fund focused on buying industrial companies in order to automate them with AI.

Bezos’ involvement

The precise level of Bezos’ involvement in Slate has always been difficult to divine. The company has never disclosed how much money the Amazon founder contributed in its first funding round in 2023, which totaled around $120 million. Slate Auto also has not confirmed whether Bezos participated in the Series B round, which brought total funding to roughly $700 million.

Funding history

• Series C (April 2026) – Slate announced a $650 million round, naming TWG Global (run by Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter) as the lead investor. Los Angeles‑based VC firm Slauson & Co, an existing backer, confirmed its participation.
• Earlier rounds – The 2023 seed round raised about $120 million; the Series B round lifted total funding to around $700 million.

Leadership and team

Chris Barman, Slate’s first hire and former CEO, said onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 that Bezos was “pretty hands‑off.”

“We’ve had an interface where we invited him in and he came and joined us once along the journey, looked at the vehicle, and we talked a little bit about what the future might be. But other than that, he’s very hands‑off and really letting us focus on getting the vehicle to market.”

Slate Auto is loaded with Amazon alumni. It was co‑founded by former Amazon Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke. The startup’s new CEO is Peter Faricy, a former VP of Amazon Marketplace. Many of the company’s divisions are led by former Amazon employees.