It sure seems like pretty much all the exciting electric vehicle startups in America are focused on trucks. Rivian was the blueprint, but now Slate and Telo have each shown off radically different takes on the truck of the future. America’s car dad Jay Leno has driven the Telo MT1 prototype on a new episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, and the video’s given us some interesting extra tidbits of information about this Mini Cooper-sized crew cab pickup.
To start, the truck uses off-the-shelf 2170 cells, the same size found in the Tesla Model 3, but Telo plans on building the 106 kWh battery packs in-house. It all should add up to a targeted curb weight of 4,400 pounds, which is pretty light for any crew cab truck. That’s less than what a Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road weighs, and that thing’s still powered by combustion. Interestingly, Telo claims to have taken advice from the first Tesla-certified body shop in America on ways to reduce collision repair costs, such as tie rod placement.
Moving to the body, Telo claims the production model will feature mechanical door handles, and the steering column will change for production as the makers of the truck aren’t quite happy with the tilt range. Interestingly, the Telo is homologated as an MPV, opening the door for future body styles, but a crew cab truck is it for now. It’s very cab-forward but it isn’t cab-over, as a look inside with the door open reveals that the driver sort-of goes around the wheel well. Speaking of construction, Telo claims that production body panels for the first 5,000 vehicles will be stamped using low-cost Kirksite tooling, a cast aluminum and zinc alloy that requires very little finishing to create an accurate die, but is mainly geared toward small-batch production.
As for the bed, it measures 62 inches long with the divider up, 48 inches wide between the wheel wells, “about 60 inches” above the wheel wells. However, drop the rear seats, fold down the partition between the bed and the cab, and Telo claims you’ll be able to load a sheet of plywood flat with the tailgate up. While we’re back there, the Telo features a NACS port behind the tail light, and the release to access the charging port seems like it’s going to be mechanical, with a latch replacing the magnets holding the flap closed on the prototype. Oh, and we need to talk about the Rivian-style tunnel under the bed, because Telo has big plans for it. The company eventually wants to build a three-row SUV-style configuration on this platform, and use the tunnel as the footwell for third-row occupants.
Leno’s actually taken the Telo MT1 prototype out for a spin, which is a pretty good basis on whether a vehicle from a new firm is real or not—if someone not employed by the company has driven the vehicle on public roads, there’s a good chance there’s something behind the effort that’s more than hype.This is a pre-production model built by Aria Group in California so it’s definitely not a finished product, but this early glimpse seems a bit noisy on the public roads. There’s plenty of motor noise audible in the video, and you can hear a few rattles, although those vibrations will probably be sorted by production.
Speaking of production, it seems that Telo has modest plans for its sub-$50k truck. As Chief Technology Officer Forrest North told Leno, “We’re not trying to have aspirations of going high-volume manufacturing out of the gates. We want to build small-batch vehicles, small numbers, get them in customers’ hands, scale from there.” Perhaps that modest goal is why, unlike many EV startups, the production timeline for the first customer Telo MT1s has shifted up from 2026 to late 2025. The plan is to build these trucks in America, likely in California to start, so we’ll be watching closely to see where this goes.
Top graphic credit: YouTube/Jay Leno’s Garage
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I’m not buying his explanation of how this is going to pass safety tests. “we’re optimizing this for how the human responds to the crash and not the vehicle.” will be fascinating to see what he means. Depending on which class this car is compared with, it may have OK safety ratings, but no way is it going to be safe in the real world.
Wow that is ugly.
Well it looks vastly better than anything else for sale in the USA, and obviously has better visibility and safety in term of seeing what’s in front of you.
But “A Mini Cooper-Sized Electric Truck” ?? What Mini cooper are we talking about here?
This isn’t selling mainstream. I can design something better drunk. Sorry J
I’m not really a truck person to begin with, but Telo pretty much ruins all other trucks for me, the packaging just seems so perfect and fit for purpose that everything else seems like a compromise (other than if you need to tow, of course, but you could do a lot of the same basic ideas with an ICE also, if you wanted to)
Thank you.
The Telo resembles a futuristic Jeep FC, which is probably why I like it so much. Its compact size, range, and impressive utility features just add to the allure. Assuming Telo can deliver on their goals for this truck, it will be hard to resist. The Slate might make it easier, though – for now – it’s a lot less truck. A lot less money, too. Nice to have two potential choices, anyway.
Give me the Slate or give me Death! F this canoo wanna be!
Agreed, especially given that you could buy 2 Slates for the price of this, but I do love that it can fit a 4×8 between the wheel wells and with the tailgate up. Having done more than my fair share of home projects, 4×8 carrying capability is highly important
I plan on using the slate as my “around town” car. I drive a full size truck mostly and have been searching for a vehicle like this.
Yeah I’m with you, I snagged a reservation for the slate and have no actual desire to own this, but I’m still very happy it exists and see why one would want this and not the slate
I love the quirky styling and hope these make it to production because they’d be cool as hell to see rolling around in traffic. At $50K they’ll probably live in somebody else’s garage though. This one looks cooler but that Slate might be more in my price range.
I like funky-looking vehicles, so the styling doesn’t bother me, but the fully exposed front wheels are a bit odd. As someone who lives where it can be quite cold often, I find the idea of opening up the cabin to the outside to use the bed capacity a no-go.
Thanks for the news Thomas! I’ve been following Telo for a couple years now via their Youtube content, and put down a deposit on an MT1 maybe almost two years now. I like it a LOT (yes, even more than the Slate EV minitruck, but to be fair, the Telo will probably cost at least 50% more than the Slate) especially the unusual snub-nosed design (if it passes crash testing, I won’t worry). The Telo is a lot more powerful/capable than the Slate but again, it costs quite a bit more.
Jay’s looking thinner and older than usual, which of course is not a sin. I’m looking older at a faster rate than he is, so I’ll probably catch up to him soon, and (if I live long enough) even pass him in that regard. 😉 Years ago, I was sitting outside of a Quiznos in Burbank eating a sandwich with my (prior) dog Bela, and Jay comes walking along Magnolia with a posse, and he stopped to play with Bela. I’ve also seen him at multiple annual car shows at Woodley Park in Van Nuys: The Queens English show and The Best of France & Italy show (both highly recommended, and not just because they’re free to attend). From what I’ve seen, Jay is always extremely gracious and friendly, talking with folks and answering questions about whatever amazing esoteric machine that he drove to the show.
I hope both Telo and Slate make it to market and prosper, inspiring others brave enough to found automotive startups. 🙂
IMHO 99 percent of people that stop to pet dogs are genuinely good people.
If the dogs like them back it reaffirms my belief .
Dogs are good judges of character.
I put down a deposit pretty early. I didn’t really know if they’d come to market. Guess I need to prepare myself for them asking me to follow through with the purchase sooner than I expected. Pretty cool that they are coming out sooner instead of pushing the timeline later. Always good to see a company that (hopefully) underpromises and (even more hopefully) overdelivers.