Current‐voltage measurements made withp‐type tellurium at 77°K are reported. Voltage pulses sufficiently short to avoid the formation of electroacoustic domains were applied to the sample. The small deviations from Ohm's law at low current densities are interpreted by polar optical mode scattering and scattering by lattice defects. At a field strength of 3 kV/cm there is a region of negative differential resistivity in the transition to current densities an order of magnitude larger. A change in effective mass by intervalley transition of hot holes is discussed.