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Sep 24, 2025 8:00 PM

Tesla Co-Founder Takes On Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos With Plans For $41,000 Electric Truck

Marc Tarpenning is one of multiple individuals credited with co-founding electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). While Tarpenning is no longer active with Tesla, he could be making his comeback in the electric vehicle sector.

TSLA stock is racing ahead of the pack. View the charts here.

What Happened: The electric pickup truck market has struggled to produce the same strong sales in America that traditional gas-powered pickup trucks see every year.

The Cybertruck has been labeled a potential failure as its grand ambitions have melted away, and Tesla may sell around 25,000 units annually in America.

Several startup companies are looking to disrupt the electric pickup truck market with new angles. Among them is TELO Trucks, a company targeting the small EV pickup truck market.

TELO Trucks recently raised $20 million, with Tesla co-founder Tarpenning among the lead investors, as reported by Electrek. Tarpenning is on the company's board of directors, according to TechCrunch.

The startup is working on the MT1, a pickup truck that compares to the Mini Cooper in size, with a base price of $41,000 without incentives. ...