Telo Explains Why Its Minitruck Won’t Get A Range Extender

It’s been a minute since I’ve had the opportunity to write about the Telo MT1, the greatest truck not yet in production. I mean, it’s the size of a Mini Cooper, but it’s also a truck. Oh, and it has similar interior dimensions to a Toyota Tacoma. Whether or not you have any interest in owning a tiny electric truck, how could you not want this company to succeed? The people at Telo are doing something weird and truly unique, and if that doesn’t get you excited, why are you even reading Jalopnik in the first place? 

Apparently, though, the part where the Telo is fully electric has been confusing enough people that Telo decided it was worth making an entire video about it. I would have thought that was obvious, but then again, if you spend much time on the internet, you also see people constantly asking why automakers don’t sell brand-new versions of 60-year-old designs, so it also isn’t the most surprising thing in the world. 

So, for anyone who genuinely wants to know why Telo doesn’t plan to offer its electric minitruck with a range extender or hybrid powertrain, the video below has the answer for you. 

The Scout Terra is electric, and Scout still says you’ll be able to get the Terra with a range extender, so why wouldn’t Telo offer something similar and increase its appeal? As Telo’s spokesperson says in the video, the company’s goal from the beginning was to “shrink the mobility footprint,” and the way Telo sees it, trucks have the most room for improvement in that regard. And if you’re trying to build the smallest truck possible, an internal combustion engine just doesn’t make much sense. It takes up space, adds weight and messes with the packaging.

Telo does have a cargo tunnel in its truck, just like the gear tunnel Rivian added to the R1T, and you might technically be able to fit a small range extender there. But if you get rid of the gear tunnel, there goes your lockable storage. In the suburban Costco parking lots that most full-size pickup trucks in the U.S. call home, that might not be a huge deal, but Telo specifically designed the MT1 for cities, where its compact size will actually be an advantage. And urban drivers are going to get more value out of a lockable storage compartment than a range extender. 

You could also put an engine up front, but all that would do is mess with the weight distribution, make the truck longer and increase the complexity. It would also require completely reworking the crumple zone, since engines are big, heavy and don’t compress well in a crash. Plus, why would a new company want to design a new truck that sticks to the same formula most other truck designs use, especially when this one’s specifically aimed at urban customers? Oh, and you can’t forget about the added cost of adding a range extender.

Obviously, the Telo won’t be for everybody, but that’s fine. Not every vehicle needs to appeal to the largest possible demographic. In fact, I’d argue more cars would be better if they didn’t go for mass appeal and instead tried to solve a very specific problem.