- The Telo MT1 electric truck is as long as a Mini Cooper SE, but gets a battery twice as big.
- It’s will offer up to 350 miles of when it goes on sale later this year or early next year, Telo claims.
- It has a standard 5-foot-long bed, which is expandable to 8 feet with a folding midgate.
The graveyard of EV startups is already crowded. And that list could get even longer if America continues with its hostile trade policies. Building a new car company in this economy takes guts. But it’s also true that the EV industry is only now starting to explore the true potential of electric powertrains. Luckily, some startups are counter-programming. Instead of chasing giant, heavy, six-figure electric trucks, they’re aiming for options that are compact, lightweight and affordable.
California-based upstart Telo reached a crucial milestone in March after building its first prototype MT1 electric truck. It has the footprint of a Mini Cooper SE, the bed length of a Toyota Tacoma and battery capacity similar to that of a Tesla Model S. Its CEO Jason Marks claims that it can seat four 6’2” passengers inside. On paper, it sounds great. In Jay Leno’s latest video, Marks revealed that the Telo was inspired by Japanese Kei trucks.
Japan’s Kei trucks are tiny, lightweight utility vehicles that are rugged, cheap to run, easy to fix and versatile. They’re built for tight areas and are super maneuverable—the exact opposite of all modern American trucks. Honda, Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi all have their own Kei trucks and even Americans love them. According to Japanese Used Motor Vehicle data cited by Hagerty, Americans imported some 7,500 kei trucks in 2023. That number climbed to nearly 10,000 units in 2024, Marks said.
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Source: Telo
Our colleagues at Motor1 even published a fantastic feature on Kei trucks last year. According to federal regulations, foreign car imports that are 25 years or older are allowed in the U.S., but their registration depends on individual states. And while some states have blocked such imports—deeming them unsafe for American streets full of hulking SUVs and trucks—most places still allow you to register these things. Many Americans have done just that.
Telo wants to build an American truck for these types of buyers. And the timing can’t be more ripe—automotive imports risk getting hammered from Trump’s tariffs right now.
Plus, the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (IIHS) has said that bigger SUVs and trucks tend to be safer for occupants but more dangerous for pedestrians due to their sheer size and weight.
“Trucks are killing pedestrians,” Marks said in Leno’s video. “I don’t think it’s a good thing to have 5-foot tall hoods and we want to prevent this from happening.”
Telo’s tiny team of just 11 engineers has built two fully functioning prototypes. They claim to have developed a proprietary battery packaging technology, squeezing a 106 kilowatt-hour pack into the truck’s floor using 2170 cells from an undisclosed supplier. (For context, a Mini Cooper SE’s pack is just 54.2 kWh.) It also has a Rivian-like storage tunnel under the rear seats and the Tesla-developed NACS charging port neatly integrated into the rear left taillight.
Small size doesn’t mean small performance. That’s where advantages of an electric powertrain show up. The Telo truck is claimed to deliver 350 miles of range and 500 horsepower from its dual-motor all-wheel-drive set-up. That means 0-60 miles per hour in just 4 seconds. There’s also a 300 hp single motor version. And the utility aspect is impressive on paper, with a 5-foot-long standard bed, expandable to 8 feet after dropping the midgate, GMC Sierra EV and Chevy Avalanche-style.
The entry-level MT1 is expected to start at $41,500 and could drop to the mid $30,000s with the federal and state tax credits if those stick around.
It’s a cool concept with real mass market appeal. But Telo has some big challenges to solve first, like meeting crash safety standards. Unlike the old Japanese Kei trucks, this EV will need to have a sizable front crumple zone, which isn’t apparent with the current design. (The company maintains that it will pass crash tests). And then hitting that price target with a U.S.-made battery and components would be another big roadblock.
Unless you’ve got Saudi money or giant government loans, making it as a newcomer in this space can be brutal. Even century-old brands are struggling to make compelling EVs. But if you want to succeed, Telo is wise to recognize that you have to do something different.
Have a tip? Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com
