San Carlos, California, USA

California startup electric vehicle company Telo has unveiled a miniature electric pickup that’s as small as a Mini Cooper, it is a compact, sustainable, and technically advanced truck.

“I think the way Tesla has made loud cars sound slow, we’re going to make any car that has a nose feel old,” said Forrest North, co-founder, and CTO of Telo Trucks.

“Because why would you carry this giant thing in front of you? It doesn’t help you drive; it doesn’t help with safety; it doesn’t help with anything really. And so but we’re just kind of stuck in this paradigm. It’s kind of like the tire on the back of the Oldsmobile fading out over time.”

Named Telo MT1, the 152-inch pickup is being developed around a 500 hp dual-motor all-wheel-drive system and can accelerate to 60 mph in a sports car-like four seconds, according to the company.

The four-door also has a reconfigurable design with a drop-down wall between the cabin and the bed that can extend the cargo floor over the fold-down rear and front passenger seats. 

This mini truck can be converted into a three-row SUV by adding a cap over the bed, which has a third row of rumble-style seats on the floor.

Telo Trucks expects the vehicle to have a range of 350 miles per charge, thanks to its 106 kWh battery pack, which is very large for a vehicle this size. 

Project: Telo MT1
Designer: Telo
Lead Designer: Yves Béhar
Manufacturer: Telo