TELO, an electrical truck startup primarily based 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 advised you about TELO final June, when the corporate introduced it was planning to construct an electrical truck the dimensions of a Mini however with a mattress the dimensions of a Hummer’s.
it sounds unattainable, however there’s numerous wasted area in car designs nowadays, particularly vans the place automakers think about an infinite entrance hood as an essential a part of design (regardless of the inherent deadliness of this design resolution).
TELO went one other course, specializing in a truck with most utility and minimal footprint – and says will probably be in a position to provide utility on par with immediately’s mid-size pickup vans just like the Toyota Tacoma, however in a package deal 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 immediately, at $152 a pop – the identical because the truck’s whole size in inches.
However immediately we’ve obtained information on an exterior design replace and one step nearer to manufacturing – an precise configurator, and with costs hooked up 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 all the things but, but it surely’s a begin.
Most significantly although, the bottom worth, which TELO beforehand stated can be “beneath $50k,” is fairly a bit beneath $50k, at $41,520 to start out. Even higher, that’s beneath $35k to start out after making an allowance for the federal EV tax credit score.
That’s nonetheless actually a piece of change, but it surely’s lower than different EV vans on the highway immediately, and it’s fairly a bit beneath expectations – which is sweet, as a result of $50k did really feel slightly excessive provided that one good thing about a smaller car ought to be cheaper price (much less stuff required to construct it, much less battery wanted to push it round, and so forth).
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 possibility, 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 shade choices, although these are all simply renders. There’s no extra value hooked up to those paint choices (…but).
The renders reveal some small design updates that TELO has been teasing just lately, largely for aerodynamic causes with the intention to optimize its effectivity.
TELO says it modified the realm 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 car’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 an alternative of alongside the B-pillar. Whereas it was a particular function, it does appear slightly extra pure in its new place.
We haven’t but seen a bodily prototype with these new design updates, and we think about issues would possibly change extra earlier than manufacturing. TELO says it’s nonetheless on observe for its first buyer deliveries to start out on the late finish of 2025 – however we’ll must see in the event that they’re in a position to 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 it’s also possible to 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 are on the market are nonetheless huge – for instance, the “compact” Tacoma is a full 5 toes longer than the TELO.
I’ve written lots 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 very compelling argument right here, a car that’s succesful however isn’t unattainable 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 slightly extreme in different methods. We initially solely heard a few 106kWh battery possibility, which is across the dimension as in hulking 3-row electrical SUVs popping out nowadays, and a $50k base worth didn’t put it beneath the worth 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 automobile” illness, and to some extent you might want to cater to that, however given TELO already represents a press release to counter that angle, I’d prefer to see the corporate go all-in in that course.
Particularly since among the best features I can see for this car can be for intra-city use. Small companies that want a truck however don’t want a large truck, or that may profit from having one thing extra parkable for city environments, gained’t want 350 miles of vary. There are many small vans like this obtainable in the remainder of the world, and companies in Europe and Japan make nice use of them.
If TELO can hit an identical or larger 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 actually a market there.
So, whereas it is a comparatively small replace immediately, it’s nonetheless fairly thrilling to see TELO transferring ahead, and transferring in the fitting course.
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