Telo MT1 claims sustained 400 kW charging
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- Telo confirmed the MT1 will charge at 400 kW sustained — not a brief peak — directly contrasting with the Lucid Gravity, which holds roughly 90 seconds of 400 kW before tapering linearly, and the BMW iX3, which follows a similar taper.
- The MT1 uses a dual 800V/400V split-pack battery that switches between parallel 400V and series 800V configurations, letting it perform strongly on both high-voltage stations and the more common 400V DC fast chargers that dominate today's network.
- CTO Forrest North called the split-pack design "a big packaging challenge" given the MT1's 152-inch footprint — the same length as an electric Mini Cooper — and said pure-800V vehicles get "compromised at 400-volt chargers."
- Schwab Industries, a Michigan Tier 1 automotive supplier, will manufacture the MT1's body-in-white structure, with first customer deliveries of roughly 500 units targeted for late 2026 and broader production aimed at 5,000 trucks per year.
- Telo has raised roughly $30 million — including a $20 million Series A backed by Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning — and accumulated over 12,000 preorders representing more than $600 million in potential revenue.
- The MT1 starts at $41,520 and offers a 77 kWh pack (260 miles) or 106 kWh long-range pack (350+ miles), a dual-motor AWD setup with 500 horsepower and a 4-second 0-60, and a 60-inch truck bed comparable to a Toyota Tacoma despite being five feet shorter.
Why it matters: The 'sustained' qualifier is the real story: most EVs advertising 400 kW peak rates taper within seconds, so genuine sustained 400 kW on a $41,520 truck would undercut luxury EVs costing two to three times as much. But Telo is a $30 million-funded startup targeting late 2026 deliveries — a milestone that has humbled far better-capitalized competitors — and the company is wisely withholding specific charge times until validation is complete.
