Telo Truck is a mini electric pick-up with big ambitions

by Janice Allen
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Telo is a new American EV company set out to build a small, modular, electric truck in a country filled with monolithic workhorses like Ford’s F-150 pickup. But while Telo’s truck will be small and cute, it’s still apparently fit for work — the company claims it has “Toyota Tacoma capabilities” but in the footprint of a Mini Cooper. That’s only about 152 inches.

The Telo, like electric vehicles in general, can be easily compacted because it doesn’t need an engine bay in the front and gas tank somewhere in the back. Instead, batteries that power it can be stowed in the floor and motors can fit in a cylindrical area around the axles.

With that saved real estate, the Telo seats five and has a five-foot-tall bed. But you can also carry longer items, such as 4×8 plywood sheets, by opening the center section at the expense of the back seat. Or you can add a third row and turn Telo into a family hauler – truck bed be damned. The vehicle is powered by a 106 kWh battery that the company says is good for a range of 350 miles and can be quickly charged from 20 to 80 percent in 20 minutes.

Compared to a Toyota Tacoma.
Image: Telo

In an email exchange with The edge, Telo co-founder and CTO Forrest North wrote that the company is currently using “off-the-shelf” 21700 cells, similar to many EVs, including Teslas and Rivians, that “meet the needs of the Telo Truck.” North says its package can support current and future cylindrical cells, and the company is discussing volumes with suppliers while keeping an eye out for new battery technology.

The many configurations of Telo.
Image: Telo

According to North, Telo has a working prototype that it will show off this month to demonstrate the truck’s capabilities. After that, the vehicle “enters the validation and homologation process”. North previously founded the electric motorcycle company Mission Motors, which failed due to alleged poaching by Apple. He also hails from an early Tesla team, where he developed the Roadster’s original battery, according to a Telo biography.

And like the Roadster, the first Telo Trucks (about 500 or so) will be hand-built for customer deliveries. They are expected to be ready in 2025, followed by mass delivery in 2026 through scaled production. Telo, headquartered in San Carlos, California, plans to assemble its vehicles in the US.

Telo says it has other notable talent on board as well. Co-founder and CEO Jason Marks has a history with autonomous vehicles and driver assistance testing programs as chief business development manager at National Instruments. And Telo’s head of design and consultant is none other than industrial designer Yves Behar, known for many iconic objects from companies such as Jawbone and Herman Miller.

Telo is still in its early stages, but it has a small truck that could be just the thing many Americans need for light jobs or wilderness escapes. It’s a bit like those sparkly and modular Canoo electric vans, though that company isn’t doing very well and was last seen with a small military contract. But hopefully Telo can pick up the slack and build a small pickup truck because Ford still hasn’t done it despite that the registration of some trademarks almost a year ago.

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