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The Tesla Cybertruck has become famous for the wrong reasons not because it is quick or powerful, but because it is relatively fragile, it looks like a dumpster, its stainless-steel finish degrades over time, and the folks that drive it are laughed at. The Telo MT1, on paper, is a much better pickup. You can reserve one for around 152 dollars, starting at a reasonable $41K.
However, this kind of EV appears to scare the heck out of Elon Musk, who is aggressively trying to kill the US EV credit so that young EV companies like Telo won’t be successful.
The Telo MT1
This is an amazing little truck, and it reminds me a bit of the Corvair pickup I once drove it terms of creative design. Like the Corvair, it has a cab-forward design, which makes it incredibly easy to see in front of the car and avoid obstacles. While it isn’t positioned as an off-road vehicle, its low overhang, both front, and rear, should give it an excellent attack angle if you ever need to take it off-road, and while it has a bed nearly the same size as a Hummer (which has a less than efficient design) while the entire truck is about the size of a Mini Cooper. That makes me wonder if it is somehow related to the Dr. Who Tardis (bigger on the inside than the outside). Overall dimensions are 152” length, 73” width, and 66” height.
The top horsepower with two motors is 500 HP, giving it a quick but not Cybertruck quick, 0-60 time of 4 seconds. The ride would be rough, with the front seats almost directly over the front wheels. Still, the heavy battery offsets this, so where a light truck in this configuration with a rear engine like my Corvair pickup had, it would be a rough ride, but that battery should significantly reduce the bouncy nature of the front end and make it far more comfortable to ride in.
It has pass-throughs into the cab so you can put longer objects in the bed, allowing it to easily carry 4×8’ sheets of plywood or many surfboards (Kowa Bunga!). Like the Tesla, it has a secure retractable tonneau cover, and while it looks different, it doesn’t look like a trash can (sorry, Elon). Generally, with EVS, 350 miles is the ideal range, allowing you to use it around town and, when needed, take it on a decent-length road trip. This truck has a 350-mile range.
Better Than The Cybertruck
Pickups aren’t supposed to be good at drag racing; they are also good at getting you where you need to go with the stuff you need when you get there. The Cybertruck is good at the wrong things, for while it is insanely fast, it is hard to park because it is vast and relatively expensive, and for an EV Truck, it is relatively unreliable. The Telo MT1 is easy to park, far less expensive, and its design is a lot less complex than the Cybertruck, making it potentially (we won’t know for sure until it ships) more reliable.
The leadership team of Telo is young, suggesting this truck should also appeal to a younger audience, and given its far lower price, it is far more affordable for young people as well.
Wrapping Up:
The Telo MT1 is closer to what I think Tesla should have built than the Cybertruck, a rolling train wreck. In Tesla’s defense, the internal Tesla designers wanted to build something else. Still, they were overruled, and thus Tesla got the Cybertruck, while buyers who wanted far more valuable and affordable cars were left wanting something else.
The Telo MT1 is potentially that something else, let’s hope Elon Musk isn’t successful in killing it.
Rob Enderle is a technology analyst at Torque News who covers automotive technology and battery development. You can learn more about Rob on Wikipedia and follow his articles on Forbes, X, and LinkedIn.
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