If the Telo EV Truck Speaks to You, Time is Now to Place a Deposit

• EV startups are struggling across the board, but a new entrant to the marketplace could capitalize on America's pickup truck obsession.

• Known as Telo Trucks, the brand is promising hand-built, compact-sized, pickup truck-capable EVs from its San Carlos, California, headquarters.

• With 500 hp, a 60-inch pickup bed, and 350 miles of range, the starting price of $50,000 seems like a pretty good deal, though the company has yet to produce a unit.

Another EV startup is stepping up to the plate—a brave move during choppy sales seas. And the origin story behind this one is predictable, with its founders Jason Marks and Forrest North defecting from autonomous tech consulting agency National Instruments and Tesla plus Mission Motors, respectively. But the company, known as Telo Trucks, might have a trick up its sleeve: a good product.

Instead of producing the next iteration of the luxury sedan or trying to compete with Ford for electric pickup truck supremacy, Telo Trucks is following in the footsteps of Japanese manufacturers decades ago, as it reveals its first pint-sized electric MT1 pickup. Akin to the now-hyped Kei trucks, the Telo MT1 Truck is only 152 inches long, matching a four-door Mini Cooper in dimensions.

Better yet, the MT1 features a 60-inch bed and room for a squished five passengers through its four-door design. That's the same bed length as a 2024 Toyota Tacoma and only an inch shorter than a Chevrolet Colorado, as the model has a specially designed mid-partition that folds down into the passenger compartment.

In other words, the MT1 bed is big enough for 4-by-8-foot sheets of plywood, long ladders, and even a 9-foot surfboard with the tailgate closed. It achieves such a packaging feat by scrunching the usable passenger cabin into the size of a compact car, though a cropped front overhang helps improve driver leg room.