Report: Lordstown Motors May Not Survive
“Those jobs have left Ohio. They’re all coming back. … Don’t move. Don’t sell your house,” – Trump at a 2017 Youngstown rally.
“Lordstown” Motor Corp (LMC) purchased the 785 acre GM plant in 2019 with a GM loan, hoping to build the boxy, styleless all-electric Endurance pickups at the plant. The GM plant once employed over 13,000.
LORDSTOWN — Lordstown Motors Corp. (LMC) doesn’t have enough money to start commercial production of its battery-powered pickup truck, the Endurance, and has expressed substantial doubt regarding its ability to continue as a going concern over the next year according to a company filing.
Lordstown Motors’ stock (RIDE) has fallen from a high of $31.80 in mid February, before the first of the bad news started rolling in, to a low of $6.69 in Mid May. It has rebounded a bit and closed at $11.23 Wednesday.
At the end of 2020, Lordstown Motors had cash and cash equivalents of about $629.8 million, not enough to “fund commercial scale production and the launch of sale” of the the company’s electric vehicles, the filing states.
LMC lost $124 million last year. Without more capital, CEO Steve Burns said it would cut in half production to 1000 pickups.
All of the financial conditions “raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern” over the next year, according to the filing.
◾️The beginning of a series of bad events for Lordstown Motors started on January 13, 2021 when the prototype of the Endurance pickup ominously caught fire and was totally destroyed in it’s first ten minutes of operation.
◾️The big hit to Lordstown Motors came on March 12, when Hindenburg Research reported that the 100,000 preorders for the Endurance pickup were “fake orders”. They called Lordstown CEO Steve Burns a “con man” and said the pickup project could be years behind schedule. They said LMC is a mirage that misled investors “on both its demand and production capabilities.”
◾️March 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission asked Lordstown Motors for information about allegations that the company misled investors.
◾️On March 18 the first of at least 5 investors filed a lawsuit against Lordstown motors claiming the company defrauded them.
◾️After those fiascos, the Endurance pickup was entered in the San Felipe 250 Race in Baja California on April 17. It completed less than 40 miles of the 280-mile race before having to withdraw and cry no mas.
◾️April 27, it’s reported Lordstown Motors Corp. missed it’s real estate property tax payment in the first half of 2020. CEO Burns claims it was an error.
◾️May 16, Investors accuse Lordstown Motors’ corporate officers of insider trading.
◾️May 19, Ford unveiled the 2022 F-150 Lightning, an all-electric pickup truck. It will sell for $39,974 before tax incentives. Pricing for the Endurance starts at $52,500, RIDE stock price falls.
◾️May 28, 2021, the company receives a notice of delinquency for a late NASDAQ filing.
◾️June 8, 2021 Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE) on Tuesday warned that it does not have enough cash to begin commercial production of its electric vehicle (EV), raising doubts about whether the company will be able to survive.
◾️The “Lordstown” plant is located about 20 miles from Youngstow, NW route.
This has been an update to a series of articles from News Views on Lordstown Motor Corp.
