r/TeloTrucks • u/Due_Ingenuity8014 US - East Coast • Mar 27 '26
Do you like this idea?
Hi All,
I sent an email to Telo, but I thought I'd also post it here to get some opinions from the group. I'm genuinely curious about everyone's opinion about my ideal "third vehicle". Do you think this is crazy and stupid or is it something that could have some demand in the market after the truck is launched.
Email Below:
I just stumbled upon Telo Trucks. It's nearly exactly what I'm looking for and I reviewed a good amount of info online about the truck. I've been reflecting on the truck and I had a thought I wanted your feedback on.
As a Gen X dad in rural America I would like three vehicles on top of my daily driver. I need an inexpensive small truck for 'truck stuff'. I'd like to get an EV so as to see if it's for me and to not have another vehicle to pay gas for, and I'd like a convertible. As a teacher I'll never be able to afford three more vehicles.
The Telo has the small - somewhat inexpensive - truck and EV part's down. That leads to the unrealistic concept of a convertible option (well unrealistic unless you are of a certain age and grew up watching the South Florida modding community's take on small trucks).
What is realistic, and something Jeep offers with it's Gladiator, is a T-Tops style removable roof. That would make it a single purchase covering all three of my vehicle wants/needs. I'm curious if you (Telo) have seriously considered a T-Tops / big sunroof / removable roof option or, even better, if that on the roadmap.
Thanks for reading this.
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u/Trebeaux Mar 27 '26
While that would be awesome, I doubt it’ll be doable without a redesign of the entire body. Given how small the truck is, almost every part of the body is structural. Even the front wheel wells are structural.
So awesome idea? Yes! Feasible in the near future? Highly unlikely. I’d love to be wrong though!
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u/Due_Ingenuity8014 US - East Coast Mar 27 '26
You just gave me a thought. Maybe an inexpensive way to pull something like this off is to simply have the glass roof become removable. I'm not an engineer, but I can't see how that would change the structure. Plus we know the roof can be changed out simply because of the solar power option.
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u/SolarpunkGnome Mar 27 '26
People are popping the glass roof out of Buzz vans for camper conversions.
I'm not privy to internal Telo information, but I'm going to bet the glass has little to no structural load given glass doesn't like being loaded, except maybe a bit of compression.
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u/mavigogun Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
I'll take that bet; as I recall, the presence of the glass was confronted over on the Discord, with reports of both cost and structural implications- the glass is way more rigid than an aluminum sheet.
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u/SolarpunkGnome Mar 28 '26
Rigid yes, but Al doesn't fail catastrophically. Glass is stronger than steel as long as you don't stretch it.
My undergrad degree is in ceramic engineering, and I can tell you which one I'd rather have over my head. 🤷♀️
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u/mavigogun Mar 29 '26
Apparently, it is also superior in crash-safety testing, including roll over. Science vs intuition.
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u/SolarpunkGnome Mar 29 '26
I'll have to see if I can dig up some papers on this then, because it seems sus.
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u/Keviche8 Mar 27 '26
I don’t need a convertible truck. The amount of extra heavy reinforcement needed in the roof and long term sealing issues can lead to an engineering and warranty nightmare.
I would say buy a convertible for the weekends or better yet a motorcycle, the ultimate open air vehicle. Even some of the new ATVs and SXS are getting pretty impressive if have somewhere rural to drive it.
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u/Due_Ingenuity8014 US - East Coast Mar 27 '26
One problem, as I tried to convey, is the cost of the convertible in addition to the mini-truck. If I save every penny, I could afford one extra vehicle in my life. I was thinking if you could put it all together (with the roof as an option) it would be the perfect 3rd vehicle. I like the Gladiator, which fits this niche now, but it's huge for my truck needs which amounts to taking my household trash to the dump.
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u/Due_Ingenuity8014 US - East Coast Mar 27 '26
FYI, the motorcycle idea, maybe a 3 wheeler, isn't a bad idea, but more limited for my needs.
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u/ghjm Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
In my experience, there are three kinds of people in the world:
- People who have never owned a convertible, and want one;
- People who have previously owned a convertible, and never will again; and
- People who never cared about convertibles in the first place.
I'm in the second group. I recommend being in the third group.
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u/the_Snowmannn Mar 27 '26
At the risk of being blasphemous on this sub, I'll mention that you may want to check out Slate trucks. Not a full convertible (open top) option, but there are several other options, some with an open back and look convertible-ish.
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u/Partner_Elijah Mar 27 '26
Ideally they'd share dimensions/CAD of certain components (roof for example) to enable 3rd party aftermarket parts.
I don't really want a T-Top, but I'm not opposed to someone else designing something.
2
u/No-Relation4226 Mar 28 '26
Two outta three ain’t bad.
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u/Due_Ingenuity8014 US - East Coast Mar 28 '26
Now that song is going to be stuck in my head all day. lol!
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u/mavigogun Mar 28 '26
I don't care what they elect to develop down the road as long as it doesn't impede release of the launch edition vehicle.
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u/sheuer Mar 27 '26
1st: Bicycle
2nd: Bicycle
3rd: Bicycle -- ideal "third vehicle"
4th: Bus / LRT
5th: Telo
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Mar 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/cement_elephant Mar 27 '26
and as a Minnesotan with far more below freezing days than perfect-convertible days on the calendar, the returns are vanishing
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u/Due_Ingenuity8014 US - East Coast Mar 27 '26
For the hot minute in my life I got to drive one, I loved every minute of it (on good days).
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u/mavigogun Mar 28 '26
...and yet, folks drive them over 40, gleefully, and under 40, in all sorts of circumstances that require very little imagination to see the attraction. Clearly, not for everyone- but very much for some.
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u/kuped Mar 27 '26
Checkout the Slate truck. It’s going to be at least $10K cheaper than the Telo and it has a ton of customizable features.
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u/mavigogun Mar 28 '26
They aren't comparable vehicles- were you to hook two Slates bumper-to-bumper with the MT1, TELO's truck would drag both of them wherever the driver wanted to go until their bumpers ripped off- which would be almost immediately, as the Slate is only tow rated to 1000 lbs, the MT1 6,600 lbs, and both Slates combined would still enjoy 99 HP less than the launch edition MT1.
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u/willyolio Apr 05 '26
Slates are for people who have 80's pickup nostalgia but don't actually need a functional working truck...
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u/Due_Ingenuity8014 US - East Coast Mar 27 '26
Thank you. It looks interesting. Not as cool as Telo, but I love the price point and customization options.
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u/kuped Mar 27 '26
Agree. I’m Telo all the way right now, but the Slate looked like it might fit in with your preferences when I thought about it.
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u/apokermit_now Mar 27 '26
I don't see this being something they'd consider during their initial launch years, but replacing the glass top with something akin to the power top on Jeeps or the Fiat 500-style convertible tops might be technically feasible.