Melinda Lewison, who spearheads investments for Jeff Bezos’ private investment firm, Bezos Expeditions, has stepped down from the board of Slate Auto. This electric vehicle startup, known for its significant backing by the Amazon founder, will now operate without direct representation from Bezos on its board. Lewison’s departure, documented in state filings across Delaware, Florida, and Massachusetts, occurs as Slate Auto advances its plans to bring a low-cost electric truck into production later this year.

The reasons behind Lewison’s exit remain undisclosed, as repeated requests for comment to Slate Auto, Lewison, and Bezos’s representatives have gone unanswered. This development raises questions about the depth of Bezos’s continued engagement with the EV startup, particularly as his focus appears to be increasingly directed towards Project Prometheus. This new robotics venture recently secured over $6 billion in funding and is reportedly seeking an additional $100 billion for a fund dedicated to acquiring industrial companies for AI-driven automation.

The precise level of Jeff Bezos’s financial commitment to Slate Auto has historically been unclear. The company never publicly revealed the Amazon founder’s contribution to its initial $120 million funding round in 2023, nor did it confirm his participation in the subsequent Series B round, which brought total funding to approximately $700 million. While Slate recently announced a $650 million Series C round, with TWG Global, a firm led by Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter, as a lead investor and existing investor Slauson & Co also participating, former Slate CEO Chris Barman previously characterized Bezos’s involvement as “pretty hands-off.” Despite this, Slate Auto maintains a strong connection to Amazon, with co-founder Jeff Wilke being a former Amazon Consumer CEO and current CEO Peter Faricy having served as a former VP of Amazon Marketplace, alongside numerous other former Amazon employees leading various divisions within the company.