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YouTuber and engineer Michael Pick converted a BMW i3 REx into a small pickup by removing the rear bodywork and fabricating a cargo bed. The Drive reports that he kept the project below his $10,000 budget, though the custom build is not a production vehicle and its durability and road use details are not established in the source.
Engineer and YouTuber Michael Pick converted a BMW i3 REx into a compact pickup, cutting away the hatchback’s rear bodywork and fabricating an open cargo bed. The Drive reports that the one-off project stayed below Pick’s $10,000 budget, offering an example of a low-cost, heavily modified electric vehicle rather than a ready-made alternative to a production truck.
Pick, a former Lockheed engineer, wanted an inexpensive electric truck and bought a damaged BMW i3 at auction without seeing it first, according to The Drive’s report on the build. Instead of waiting for the planned Slate truck to reach the market, he removed the i3’s rear section and made room for an exposed cargo area. The result retains much of the original car while changing its body into a pickup configuration.
The new bed uses a steel frame joined to the remaining car, with a plywood floor sealed in epoxy and coated with bedliner. The project required particular care because the donor was an i3 REx, with a gas-powered range extender beneath the rear-seat area. Pick made the bed removable to allow access to that engine. The Drive also reports that he sealed the seams against water and coated cut carbon-fiber surfaces in epoxy.
Much of the i3’s original equipment and electronics remained in place. The report says BMW’s systems made it more practical to preserve components such as locks and taillights than to rework the car’s software to account for missing parts and connections. Pick’s overall spending came in several thousand dollars under the $10,000 target, though the source notes that some purchases, including a replacement windshield and a larger-display head unit, were not central to the fabrication.
A Low-Cost One-Off Electric Truck
The project illustrates how an existing electric car can be repurposed for a different job through custom fabrication, but it is not evidence that a similar conversion would be simple, safe, or economical for other owners. Pick’s build involved structural work, electrical-system constraints and weather sealing, along with a removable bed to preserve service access to the range extender.
Its comparison with Slate is chiefly a contrast in approach: Pick adapted a used car for personal use, while Slate is a planned purpose-built truck. The Drive describes the i3 conversion as costing substantially less than half the expected Slate price and retaining more standard equipment, but that comparison does not establish equivalent capability, refinement, warranty coverage or production readiness. The BMW is a single custom vehicle, not a tested consumer product.
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Why the BMW i3 Was a Candidate
The BMW i3 hatchback arrived in 2014 with a carbon-fiber monocoque structure, an unusual feature for a mainstream passenger car. The model did not become a major sales success in North America, where small cars face a market oriented toward larger vehicles. Its light, compact body nevertheless gave Pick a basis for a project focused on building a small electric utility vehicle.
The range-extender version combines an electric drivetrain with a small gasoline engine intended to provide additional range. That engine’s location under the rear seats shaped the conversion: the new bed could not simply cover the area permanently if the engine was to remain serviceable. The Drive’s report presents the removable bed and retained factory electronics as practical responses to the donor car’s design.
Questions About Use and Durability
The source report does not provide independent testing of the modified vehicle, its payload capacity, crash performance, range after conversion or long-term resistance to water and wear. It also does not establish whether the truck is registered for road use in a particular jurisdiction or whether the structural changes received an inspection. The reported price is Pick’s project cost, not a verified estimate for another owner undertaking the same work.
The headline’s comparison with Slate should also be read as framing rather than a measured vehicle-to-vehicle test. The source does not provide a final Slate price, delivery date or specification comparison alongside test results for Pick’s i3. The build’s performance and practicality beyond what is shown or described remain unclear.
No Production Plan Reported
The Drive’s account describes Pick’s conversion as a personal project and does not report plans to sell kits, build additional trucks or put the vehicle into production. No formal launch or follow-up milestone is given. The next useful information would be real-world operating details, including how the modified i3 performs under load and how its custom bed holds up over time.
For now, the project stands as a demonstration of one builder’s approach to reusing an auctioned electric car. Further comparisons with Slate will depend on Slate’s eventual pricing, specifications and availability, as well as any independently documented testing of Pick’s truck.
Key Questions
Who built the BMW i3 pickup?
Michael Pick, a former Lockheed engineer and YouTuber, built the one-off conversion, according to The Drive.
How much did the conversion cost?
The Drive reports that Pick spent less than his $10,000 budget, finishing several thousand dollars below the cap. That figure describes this project, not a standard conversion price.
Why is the pickup bed removable?
The donor was an i3 REx, whose gasoline range-extender engine sits beneath the rear-seat area. Pick made the bed removable to retain access for servicing that engine.
Is this a production electric truck?
No production plan is reported. The vehicle is described as a personal, custom-built conversion, and the source does not report that it is being sold as a product.
How does it compare with the Slate truck?
The Drive frames Pick’s project as a cheaper, more fully equipped alternative, but the vehicles have not been established as equivalent through testing. The i3 is a one-off conversion; Slate is a planned purpose-built truck.
Source: thedrive.com
