Coda Automotive
> Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
> Years in business: 2009-2013 bankruptcy protection
> Current status: After exiting bankruptcy became energy storage company Coda Energy and was eventually acquired by Exergonix in 2016
At one point, Coda Automotive raised $344 from investors, including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. After selling fewer than 100 of its electric-powered sedans, it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013. Its five-passenger car, introduced in 2012, had a range of 125 miles on a single charge and was priced at $37,250.
Electric Last Mile Solutions
> Headquarters: Troy, MI
> Years in business: 2019-2022
> Current status: Mullen bought company
Electric Last Mile Solutions, which had been developing a commercial electric vehicle and went public through an SPAC deal in 2021, was valued at $1.4 billion at the time. But the company has been under investigation by the SEC. The company’s chairman and CEO resigned in February 2022, and ELMS announced it was running out of cash. It filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June last year.
Mullen Automotive, an electric car startup that also went public in an SPAC merger, acquired Electric Last Mile Solutions in October of last year. Mullen’s share price (NASDAQ: MULN) declined 64% in the past year.
Faraday Future
> Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
> Years in business: 2014-
> Current status: 1-yr stock performance (NASDAQ: FFIE): -82%
Beset by internal turmoil, including executive departures, and government investigations, Faraday Future announced it had secured enough funding in February to start production of its sport utility vehicle, the FF 91 Futurist, in March. The company’s major stockholder, FF Top Holdings, has reportedly agreed to a plan to increase the auto manufacturer’s outstanding stock to raise capital.
Fisker Automotive
> Headquarters: Anaheim, CA
> Years in business: 2007-2014
> Current status: Defunct
Fisker Automotive raised $1.4 billion in private and public investment, including a $529 million Department of Energy loan in 2009. However, it repeatedly missed production deadlines, and production of the Fisker Karma, a luxury plug-in sports car, was suspended in November 2012 after only building about 2,450 units. A year later, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and in 2014, Wanxiang Group, China’s largest auto parts company, bought the assets of Fisker Automotive.
The founder of Fisker Automotive, Henrik Fisker, launched Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR) in 2016 and the company is collaborating with Foxconn to produce EVs.
Lordstown Motors Corp
> Headquarters: Lordstown, OH
> Years in business: 2018-
> Current status: 1-yr stock performance (NASDAQ: RIDE): -55%
Two years after the EV pickup maker was founded, Lordstown Motors went public through an SPAC merger. According to Crunchbase, it raised a total of $1.1B in funding over five rounds. By March 2022, GM sold its stake in the company, and by May, the company said it would need more financing if it was to stay in business. In November, Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group indeed invested $170 million in the company, which started production though at a slow rate. It announced that it had produced 31 vehicles for sale as of Jan. 3, of which six had been delivered to customers.
