A brand new firm by the identify of Telo has thrown its hat into the electrical automobile startup ring with the revealing on Tuesday of its first product, a subcompact electrical pickup truck that can retail for about $50,000.

Pickup vans have expanded vastly in measurement through the years, and the brand new crop of electrical vans coming onto the market principally goal the full-size phase. California-based Telo, which counts as a co-founder Forrest North, who helped develop the unique Tesla Roadster and co-founded the failed electrical bike startup Mission Motors, sees potential for a small, environment friendly electrical truck for city environments.

The Telo truck measures simply 152 inches lengthy, making it roughly the identical size because the Mini Cooper SE electrical hatch. Regardless of the small measurement, Telo has designed the truck to suit 5 adults in addition to a five-foot mattress. One of the vital standard vans available on the market, the mid-size Toyota Tacoma, includes a five-foot mattress as customary.

Due to a midgate, Telo’s truck matches 4-by-8-foot sheets of plywood, a 9-foot surfboard, lengthy ladders, and different lengthy objects behind the entrance seat, with the tailgate up.

The secret is taking full benefit of an EV’s skateboard-style platform. Telo has eradicated the frontal space of a standard automobile, enabling the cabin to be moved ahead. In response to North, who serves as Telo’s chief expertise officer, having the entrance part, which in lots of EVs includes a entrance trunk or powertrain {hardware}, is not vital and would not truly enhance security.

“It would not assist you to drive; it would not assist with security; it would not assist with something actually,” he informed Inexperienced Automobile Stories in an interview throughout a preview exhibiting of the Telo truck. “The electrical automobile [platform] permits you to do all these configuration modifications that nobody’s actually doing but or popularizing.”

There’s nonetheless lots of improvement to be achieved however the firm is assured it may well cross federal crash security exams, often known as FMVSS 208.

Regardless of being small, the Telo truck additionally presents loads of efficiency. It has been designed with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain producing a peak 500 hp, or sufficient for 0-60 mph acceleration in 4 seconds, a payload of 1,600 kilos, and a tow ranking of 6,600 kilos. The highest velocity is capped at 125 mph.

The battery, which kinds a part of the automobile construction, has a most 106-kwh capability, which is estimated to ship an EPA-rated vary of 350 miles. Charging from 20-80% will take about 20 minutes utilizing a DC quick charger, in response to the corporate.

Telo hasn’t stated when its truck can be prepared on the market however the firm is already accepting pre-orders, which require a $152 deposit.