Back in May, Lightship announced its entry into the market as “America’s first all-electric recreational vehicle company,” on a mission to make RVing easy, accessible, and more sustainable. This relatively unknown startup is now $23 million richer and on its way to fulfilling that dream.
If you haven’t heard about Lightship until now, don’t beat yourself up, neither have we, as this is a new company on the RV market. But here’s what we know about the startup so far: it was founded by Toby Kraus and Ben Parker, both of them former Tesla employees who worked on the Model 3 and Model S. Kraus was also vice president of the California-based electric bus manufacturer Proterra.
With 1 in 10 American households now owning an RV (as reported by Lightship), and with 90 percent of them being towable, coming up with more reliable and sustainable solutions is a must, as RVing is currently hindered by gas and fossil fuels. For the Lightship founders, it all began after they tried to pull a travel trailer from Colorado to California and they had to hit all the chargers along the way. They also had to drop the trailer at one point and return to get it after recharging. It is when they realized there has to be a better way.
What Lightship aims to do is reimagine RVing from the ground up by creating a “seamless, connected, and delightful experience for EV and non-EV owners alike.”
We don’t know much about what they envision at this point, but what they plan to do is build a travel trailer just like an electric vehicle. Lightship promises radical improvement in both aerodynamics and vehicle efficiency, beyond anything on the market.
The Lightship trailer will enable long road trips, combining an EV powertrain with a residential-scale solar system. It could also serve as a stable source of backup power for your home and your other EVs.
Lightship announced recently that it successfully closed a $23 million Series A funding round and it plans to launch its first product next spring. You can find out more about Lightship and its founders in the video below.
Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars. Full profile
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