This New Pint-Sized Electric Pickup Is Smaller Than Your Sedan
It looks like the Cybertruck has some competition. Fledgling EV maker Telo unveiled a new electric pickup on Tuesday that appears to be far more practical than Tesla’s long-delayed truck.
The newcomer, known simply as the Telo, measures a scant 152 inches in length yet has the capacity of a standard pickup. The small but mighty design, which is about the same size as a two-door Mini Cooper, will be able to navigate narrow city streets sans emissions and park in even the pokiest spots. (For comparison’s sake, the gargantuan Cybertruck is rumored to span 231 inches from tip to tail.)
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“As the demand for electric vehicles continues to grow across the U.S., we saw a strong need for a vehicle that is suited for both urban environments and active lifestyles,” Telo cofounder and CEO Jason Marks said in a statement. “Now more than ever, urban adventurers want the practicality of a small footprint with the storage capacity and power of a traditional truck.”
Designer Yves Béhar of Fuseproject eschewed a long, sloping nose in favor of a compact front end to increase space without adding length. (The team says Telo is four feet shorter than any other pickup currently on the U.S. market.) The battery packs were also embedded into the truck’s chassis to create extra room in the body. As a result, the four-door Telo is deceptively spacious. In fact, it features a generous cabin with five seats and a 60-inch truck bed (with the tailgate closed).
The truck bed is expandable, too, thanks to a specially designed mid-partition. When folded down, it lengthens the bed towards the interior of the backseat. This means you can store everything from sheets of plywood measuring four by eight feet to nine-foot surfboards. There is also another storage compartment for smaller items that doubles as a seat when down. On top of that, the Telo can be equipped with a truck cap if you wish to have a third row of seats for up to eight passengers or a stellar camping set-up.
In terms of grunt, the pickup will be equipped with a newly developed 106 kWh battery pack. It will reportedly be able to churn out 500 hp, sprint from zero to 60 mph in four seconds, and cover up to 350 miles per charge. (Tesla has touted some aggressive performance numbers for the Cybertruck, such as a sub-three seconds zero-to-60 mph time and a 500-mile range.)
Starting at $49,999, the Telo is currently available for pre-order with a deposit of $152. Telo told Robb Report it is first launching with a prototype to showcase the truck’s capabilities and technologies. From there, the company plans to hand build the first set of vehicles (approximately 500 or so) for customers within the next two years. The team will then scale for mass production, and the truck is expected to be on the road three years from now. Telo is planning for all assemblies to occur within the U.S.
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