Slate vs. Telo

[Luxrage]

I have been seeing people in comment sections talk about how great the Telo looks and how ugly the Slate is, boggles my mind.

I'm curious if they have a future owners forum set up like we do, like a parallel universe but everyone hating on the Slate and trying to figure out the Telo.

 

[cvollers]

I have been seeing people in comment sections talk about how great the Telo looks and how ugly the Slate is, boggles my mind.

I'm curious if they have a future owners forum set up like we do, like a parallel universe but everyone hating on the Slate and trying to figure out the Telo.

No idea what they talk about but whatever it is, there’s not a lot of conversation with only 19 members.

 

[GaRailroader]

No idea what they talk about but whatever it is, there’s not a lot of conversation with only 19 members.

There is a Telo Discord channel which is quite active. The CEO Jason Marks often posts in the Discord channel.

 

[Luxrage]

There is a Telo Discord channel which is quite active. The CEO Jason Marks often posts in the Discord channel.

Forget the instagram influencers, THAT is how you get some engagement with your target market. Would be fun if they had an official one for Slate.

 

[cvollers]

There is a Telo Discord channel which is quite active. The CEO Jason Marks often posts in the Discord channel.

Jason mentioned Discord during the Jay Leno vid. It’s how a JLG producer found Jason and got in contact…at that point the prototype wasn’t finished. I have some experience using Discord at a previous company…not bad software.

 

[ryun]

If the Lightning I own never existed I'd probably opt for the Telo over a Slate since I kinda need the rear seating (I've got a 5 month old), and I want the bed. Plus I love the midgate.

Agree that the Slate looks better though. If Slate ever releases a bench seat, or when the kiddo is on their own Slate all the way though.

 

[skidoofast]

To me the telo is ugly, and I don’t see the buzz like I do with slate, I haven’t seen or heard of a plan to production, facility, seen any marketing (to be fair I haven’t looked or given much thought to them

I’m 45 and love the SLATE

my son is 24 and loves the Telo

So that might at something about the demographic of each company

 

[cvollers]

To me the telo is ugly, and I don’t see the buzz like I do with slate, I haven’t seen or heard of a plan to production, facility, seen any marketing (to be fair I haven’t looked or given much thought to them

I’m 45 and love the SLATE

my son is 24 and loves the Telo

So that might at something about the demographic of each company

I can definitely see the Telo target skewing younger (regardless of price). I also don't see the Telo as a second car, fleet machine, or small business vehicle. Unless the business is making balloon animals at the county fair.

 

[SichuanHot]

I have been seeing people in comment sections talk about how great the Telo looks and how ugly the Slate is, boggles my mind.

I'm curious if they have a future owners forum set up like we do, like a parallel universe but everyone hating on the Slate and trying to figure out the Telo.

There are a lot of questionable design choices on the Telo. Besides the obvious lack of a front crumple zone, the exposed wheels and door handle design that were brought up are a couple of the most glaring.

The other big thing is the price. We all know it won't be $40k if it ever comes to market. Let's say it does come to market and the final price is closer to $55k. At that point, you're nipping at the heels of larger, more capable trucks like the Silverado EV, Rivian, and the Lightning.

Lastly, the Telo doesn't really innovate on anything except for being laden with gimmicks - its size claiming to be the "American Kei truck" the biggest gimmick of them all.

 

[sodamo]

I have serious doubts about the Telo. They have 1 almost preproduction vs how many for Slate? and they have been at it longer. Truthfully I came away from the Jay Leno video more disenchanted.
I would like to see Jay do a similar video about the Slate, as long as it is unbiased. I got the feeling Telo was courting a relationship as much as demonstrating the future product.

 

[GaRailroader]

There are a lot of questionable design choices on the Telo. Besides the obvious lack of a front crumple zone, the exposed wheels and door handle design that were brought up are a couple of the most glaring.

The other big thing is the price. We all know it won't be $40k if it ever comes to market. Let's say it does come to market and the final price is closer to $55k. At that point, you're nipping at the heels of larger, more capable trucks like the Silverado EV, Rivian, and the Lightning.

Lastly, the Telo doesn't really innovate on anything except for being laden with gimmicks - its size claiming to be the "American Kei truck" the biggest gimmick of them all.

I don’t think Telo thinks their market is going to be as big as Slate or other mainstream EVs. One of their advisors was the former CEO of Aston Martin who had to be laser focused on being able to produce low volume vehicles at a profit. There are a lot of people that don’t agree that bigger is better. I would not buy a Lightning, R1T or Silverado EV at any price. Trucks over the years have gotten way too big and I want to do the opposite of that. Pedestrian safety has really deteriorated due to these hoods that are 4 to 5 feet high and have limited opportunity to see a pedestrian or bicyclist before they are run over. I like to keep my vehicles in the garage and having a small vehicle leaves room to work on a bicycle, dirt bike or tractor. Additionally, a small truck is much easier to load. I don’t want to try to load a dirt bike or tractor into the back of the bed that is four feet or more off the ground.

Some of the things on the Telo that I like over the Slate are as follows:

1. 48 inches between the wheel wells. No longer have to keep 2 boards in the garage for bridging over the wheel wells to carry Sheetrock or plywood.

2. Midgate.

3. Smaller tires for better efficiency

4. Monster tunnel.

5. Support for the latest safety tech.(Adaptive Cruise Control/Lane Keeping Assist)

Certainly the Slate shines with the DIY capability and price.

PJ

 

[E90400K]

There are a lot of questionable design choices on the Telo. Besides the obvious lack of a front crumple zone, the exposed wheels and door handle design that were brought up are a couple of the most glaring.

The other big thing is the price. We all know it won't be $40k if it ever comes to market. Let's say it does come to market and the final price is closer to $55k. At that point, you're nipping at the heels of larger, more capable trucks like the Silverado EV, Rivian, and the Lightning.

Lastly, the Telo doesn't really innovate on anything except for being laden with gimmicks - its size claiming to be the "American Kei truck" the biggest gimmick of them all.

I think full of polystyrene foam, the Telo would pass crash tests, but that wheel well certainly risks fractured feet, ankles, and legs in the 45 MPH offset barrier test.

 

[SichuanHot]

I don’t think Telo thinks their market is going to be as big as Slate or other mainstream EVs. One of their advisors was the former CEO of Aston Martin who had to be laser focused on being able to produce low volume vehicles at a profit. There are a lot of people that don’t agree that bigger is better. I would not buy a Lightning, R1T or Silverado EV at any price. Trucks over the years have gotten way too big and I want to do the opposite of that. Pedestrian safety has really deteriorated due to these hoods that are 4 to 5 feet high and have limited opportunity to see a pedestrian or bicyclist before they are run over. I like to keep my vehicles in the garage and having a small vehicle leaves room to work on a bicycle, dirt bike or tractor. Additionally, a small truck is much easier to load. I don’t want to try to load a dirt bike or tractor into the back of the bed that is four feet or more off the ground.

Some of the things on the Telo that I like over the Slate are as follows:

1. 48 inches between the wheel wells. No longer have to keep 2 boards in the garage for bridging over the wheel wells to carry Sheetrock or plywood.

2. Midgate.

3. Smaller tires for better efficiency

4. Monster tunnel.

5. Support for the latest safety tech.(Adaptive Cruise Control/Lane Keeping Assist)

Certainly the Slate shines with the DIY capability and price.

PJ

I understand what you're saying, but the things about Telo that appeal to you doesn't really capture a wide audience if Telo wants to be successful. It's supposed to be a utilitarian EV, not a boutique supercar that's always garaged. You are right that the Silverado EV isn't in the same price bracket as the Telo, but that doesn't mean other EVs like the Kia EV9 won't be cross shopped. The logic of many American shoppers when making a big purchase like a new car is going to be why pay more for less when I can get more for the same money. This is predicting that the Telo will not reach its $40k selling point.

Porsche can get away with charging customers more for less because they have the market for mid and rear engine luxury sports cars. Telo isn't luxury, or offering anything novel beyond its cutsy size and supposed utility.

 

[Luxrage]

To me the telo is ugly, and I don’t see the buzz like I do with slate, I haven’t seen or heard of a plan to production, facility, seen any marketing (to be fair I haven’t looked or given much thought to them

I’m 45 and love the SLATE

my son is 24 and loves the Telo

So that might at something about the demographic of each company

I'm 34 and all of my friends are either my age or in their mid 20s and are all into the Slate over the Telo. The big variable, however, is these are all people that are heavily into autocross / engine-swaps / tuning. They all are very used to having to work around 'too much' technology in cars and appreciate how simple things can be when you are swapping engines in a '74 Maverick or doing extensive track mods to a '98 Subaru Imprezza. I never thought I'd meet a mid 20s Fiero owner in this decade, that's for sure. The replaceable body panels are a big appeal for them.

Funnily enough one friend of mine who is the most into Electric / Battery vehicles/power equipment is also a King of the Hill "Dale Gribble" type in real life, very anti technology and being tracked, down to changing phone #s every year. An EV that doesn't have a cellular connection and requires a physical connection to a phone for updates? It's like they built this thing just for him LOL

 

[Swinefuzz]

I almost feel bad for ragging on the Telo so much. In truth, I really don't hate it. If I were wealthy and had disposable money, it would cross my mind to buy a fun car like this. What I like the most is the tunnel storage. I love that they're taking wasted space and making it useful.

I listened to a year-old podcast today w/ the Telo guys saying that after their concept vehicle "went viral" as the kids say (ok, me), they were contacted by many, many companies needing fleet vehicles. These companies were all saying the same thing: that modern trucks were far too big, so big that they don't fit anywhere, in parking spaces, alleyways, breakdown lanes, parking structures (with their height restrictions), can't flip simple U-turns and so on. Also, modern trucks were far too expensive and overloaded.

I wonder how Telo feels now that the Slate has been announced. And at half the price.

The Telo guys say that their goal was to design a truck that was practical. So glass roof, capacative door handles. Then the 6 headlights. SIX! Each of those headlights is a sealed piece that requires it's own separate housing and it's own connector. That front end complexity is a huge detriment for repair and results in high insurance rates. One reason modern cars have front ends that protect the front wheels is to also protect a pedestrian from getting sucked into the wheels in an impact. The Telo looks like they designed it to do the opposite. They may as well put blades on the rims. Maybe that can be an upsell? The Telo MT1: Garden Weasel Edition.

Telo company can't decide whether they want to make a practical little truck or a tech nerd fan boi truck.