EVwire brief: TELO, the startup building a tiny electric pickup, has raised the tow rating on its MT1 to 8,000 pounds, up from the roughly 6,600 it first planned. The eye-catching part is the size: the MT1 is only 152 inches long, about the footprint of a Mini Cooper, yet it now out-tows a midsize gas truck.
CTO and co-founder Forrest North said TELO bumped the number up after towing a lot with the truck and getting comfortable with what it can handle. He credited the MT1’s electric drivetrain, whose instant torque makes pulling away on a steep grade easy. Regenerative braking can also hold a trailer down a long descent without cooking the brakes.
TELO says the MT1's instant torque makes pulling a trailer up a steep grade almost effortless. Regen braking helps during descents too.
The MT1 also weighs more than 4,400 pounds, runs four-wheel drive on a steel chassis, and mounts the hitch close to the rear axle for a shorter lever arm, all of which help it stay planted with a load behind it.
It is incredible to be on a hill as steep as you can go and you can just jet forward. It's like you don't even have a trailer behind you.
North was candid about the MT1’s limits. For long hauls, he said, a big diesel truck is still the better tool for now. The MT1's sweet spot is shorter trips, especially towing campers, including a new wave of trailers that carry their own battery packs and solar in the 6,000-to-8,000-pound range.
The 8,000-lb rating covers a new wave of powered trailers, like Pebble's, that carry their own batteries and solar.
Details:
How the pint-sized TELO stacks up against bigger trucks:
Truck | Max towing | Length | Powertrain |
|---|---|---|---|
TELO MT1 | 8,000 lb | 152 in | Electric |
Toyota Tacoma | Up to 6,500 lb | ~213 in | Gas (midsize) |
Ford F-150 Lightning | Up to 10,000 lb | 233 in | Electric |
Rivian R1T | 11,000 lb | 217 in | Electric |
Tesla Cybertruck | 11,000 lb | 224 in | Electric |
The takeaway: the MT1 tows more than a midsize Tacoma and isn't far off the full-size electric trucks, while being 60 to 80 inches shorter than every one of them.
Here’s TELO’s video about the MT1’s updated towing capacity.
Context:
TELO is a California startup building the MT1, a five-seat electric pickup roughly the length of a compact car like the Mini Cooper SE. It pairs a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup making around 500 horsepower with up to about 350 miles of range and a bed that can extend into the cabin, with production targeted for late 2026.
The towing bump is really a marketing point as much as an engineering one. TELO's whole pitch is that a small truck doesn't have to mean small capability, and an 8,000-pound rating in a vehicle this short is the clearest way to make that case.
Source: TELO Trucks on YouTube
DON'T FORGET to subscribe for the day's EV and AV news, and join 14,000+ EV geeks.
