Jason Marks is the Co-founder and CEO at TELO. TELO is developing EV pickup trucks in the footprint of a Mini Cooper with a bed the size of a Toyota Tacoma and the power of a mainstream truck. 

They're focused on urban use cases for pickup trucks, whether that be a weekend adventurer who lives in a city or an organization whose employees need trucks for work in urban environments but are fed up with navigating giant vehicles through traffic, parking, and underground lots.

We were eager to hear Jason’s perspective on why now is the right time to build an electric vehicle from the ground up, what makes TELO’s approach uniquely positioned for a significant market opportunity, and why existing truck manufacturers haven’t pursued this segment. Plus, we dive into the fascinating history of why today’s pickup trucks have become so massive in the first place.

MCJ is proud to support TELO as an investor through our venture capital fund, backing founders like Jason who are reshaping industries to be cleaner, more profitable, and more resilient.

In this episode, we cover: 

• [2:26] Jason's background in automotive
• [4:37] An overview of TELO and its purpose
• [6:13] How pickups have grown significantly larger over the past 15-20 years
• [11:15] The current EV truck market
• [12:47] Truck density in urban environments and challenges
• [15:51] TELO's approach to building EV an pickup
• [17:58] China's EV phenomenon and landscape
• [23:08] Current US EV market
• [24:51] TELO's unique approach to EV pickups
• [28:09] The company's battery chemistry
• [29:49] TELO's progress to date
• [32:05] Big milestones Jason and his team are working towards including homologation
• [35:59] TELO's go to market
• [38:20] Jason's vision for the future of his business
• [39:24] TELO's latest Seed Round led by Neo
• [41:08] Where TELO needs help
• [41:44] Biggest surprises in building a vehicle company

Episode recorded on Oct 4, 2024 (Published on Nov 21, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant