TELO, an electrical truck startup based mostly in Silicon Valley that’s designing a tiny electrical truck for the US market, has launched a configurator for its automobiles, with design updates and a lower-than-expected base worth… however don’t get too excited but, as a result of manufacturing remains to be many months away.
We first instructed you about TELO final June, when the corporate introduced it was planning to construct an electrical truck the scale of a Mini however with a mattress the scale of a Hummer’s.
it sounds inconceivable, however there’s plenty of wasted house in automobile designs as of late, particularly vans the place automakers think about an unlimited entrance hood as an necessary a part of design (regardless of the inherent deadliness of this design determination).
TELO went one other route, specializing in a truck with most utility and minimal footprint – and says it is going to be capable of provide utility on par with at present’s mid-size pickup vans just like the Toyota Tacoma, however in a bundle that’s solely 152 inches lengthy.
Within the interim, TELO has constructed a driveable chassis and been hiring some new expertise from elsewhere within the automotive trade, but it surely’s nonetheless very a lot a tiny startup. The corporate has collected round 3,700 preorders as of at present, at $152 a pop – the identical because the truck’s complete size in inches.
However at present we’ve bought information on an exterior design replace and one step nearer to manufacturing – an precise configurator, and with costs connected as nicely.
The TELO configurator is fairly naked bones, with solely 3 selectable choices. TELO says that it’s going to add extra choices and equipment “over the following few months,” so this isn’t the whole lot but, but it surely’s a begin.
Most significantly although, the bottom worth, which TELO beforehand stated could be “underneath $50k,” is fairly a bit underneath $50k, at $41,520 to begin. Even higher, that’s underneath $35k to begin after considering the federal EV tax credit score.
That’s nonetheless definitely a bit of change, but it surely’s lower than different EV vans on the street at present, and it’s fairly a bit underneath expectations – which is nice, as a result of $50k did really feel somewhat excessive on condition that one advantage of a smaller automobile needs to be cheaper price (much less stuff required to construct it, much less battery wanted to push it round, and many others).
Then there are alternatives – a 300hp single motor or 500hp twin motor drivetrain, with the latter costing $46,019 base – a $4,499 premium.
There’s additionally a 260mi “normal” or 350mi+ “lengthy vary” battery choice, with the latter costing an additional $3,980 {dollars}. Battery sizes are 79kWh for the smaller model, and 106kWh for the bigger one.
The configurator additionally has 8 colour choices, although these are all simply renders. There’s no extra price connected to those paint choices (…but).
The renders reveal some small design updates that TELO has been teasing just lately, largely for aerodynamic causes with a purpose to optimize its effectivity.
TELO says it modified the world across the wheel entry/exit, some small modifications on the entrance, and a barely extra rounded roofline all to enhance aerodynamics with out a lot change within the automobile’s form. The corporate used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software program from AirShaper to assist in these design modifications – less expensive than renting time at one of many world’s few wind tunnels.
And probably the most notable change, to our eyes, is relocation of the truck’s “divot” on the aspect to close the entrance wheel nicely as a substitute of alongside the B-pillar. Whereas it was a particular characteristic, it does appear somewhat extra pure in its new place.
We haven’t but seen a bodily prototype with these new design updates, and we think about issues may change extra earlier than manufacturing. TELO says it’s nonetheless on monitor for its first buyer deliveries to begin on the late finish of 2025 – however we’ll should see in the event that they’re capable of persist with that timeline or not, as timelines have a tendency to slide within the EV startup realm. It intends to ramp into bigger contract manufacturing following these first buyer deliveries.
You possibly can view the TELO configurator right here, the place you may also make a $152 refundable reservation for a TELO truck. If you have already got a preorder, you’ll be able to seek for your preorder and add a configuration to your order, although as talked about above, there’ll in all probability be extra choices to configure as time goes on.
Electrek’s Take
We’re fairly enthusiastic about what TELO represents, because the US market merely doesn’t have any small vans, and even the “compact” vans which can be on the market are nonetheless huge – for instance, the “compact” Tacoma is a full 5 ft longer than the TELO.
I’ve written quite a bit about how we have to knock it off with these ridiculous huge automobiles in America (and the way the federal government is lastly doing one thing about it).
So TELO presents a extremely compelling argument right here, a automobile that’s succesful however isn’t inconceivable to park, isn’t extreme by way of materials inputs, and doesn’t contribute to the ever-rising plague of pedestrian deaths from outsized automobiles.
The one factor to uninteresting that pleasure is that, whereas it is promising a truck that isn’t extreme in dimension, it was nonetheless somewhat extreme in different methods. We initially solely heard a couple of 106kWh battery choice, which is across the dimension as in hulking 3-row electrical SUVs popping out as of late, and a $50k base worth didn’t put it beneath the value vary of different EV vans on the market.
So the supply of a smaller battery and a a lot decrease base worth solely makes this all of the extra compelling. Sure, People do have “larger quantity, higher automotive” illness, and to some extent it’s essential cater to that, however given TELO already represents an announcement to counter that perspective, I’d prefer to see the corporate go all-in in that route.
Particularly since top-of-the-line capabilities I can see for this automobile could be for intra-city use. Small companies that want a truck however don’t want a big truck, or that might profit from having one thing extra parkable for city environments, gained’t want 350 miles of vary. There are many small vans like this accessible in the remainder of the world, and companies in Europe and Japan make nice use of them.
If TELO can hit the same or increased stage of intra-city utility as for instance the Ford E-Transit (with an 89kWh battery, 159 mile vary and $51k base worth – the identical because the gasoline model), however beat them on worth as they’ve introduced, there’s definitely a market there.
So, whereas this can be a comparatively small replace at present, it’s nonetheless fairly thrilling to see TELO transferring ahead, and transferring in the appropriate route.
Cost your electrical automobile at house utilizing rooftop photo voltaic panels. Discover a dependable and competitively priced photo voltaic installer close to you on EnergySage, without cost. They’ve pre-vetted installers competing for your enterprise, guaranteeing high-quality options and 20-30% financial savings. It’s free, with no gross sales calls till you select an installer. Evaluate personalised photo voltaic quotes on-line and obtain steerage from unbiased Power Advisers. Get began right here. – advert*
FTC: We use revenue incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
