Photo: Lordstown Motors
Apparently, Steve Burns decided he could no longer run Lordstown Motors. The CEO and the company’s CFO, Julio Rodriguez, resigned on June 14 after the company disclosed that it would need more funding to reach production with the Endurance electric pickup truck.
Burns was also accused of artificially inflating the reservation numbers for the Endurance. With a large number of pre-orders, investors would feel more comfortable putting money in the company to help it develop the vehicle.
The now-former Lordstown CEO also said that the Ford F-150 Lightning was a sign that the Endurance was on the right path rather than a threat to its electric pickup truck. In Burns’ words, the fact that it was not a “wild-looking vehicle” – a clear reference to the Tesla Cybertruck – meant that the Endurance would be successful.
According to Reuters, Burns will be temporarily replaced by Angela Strand, its lead independent director. Rodriguez’s job will be with Becky Roof, an executive that has served as interim CFO at numerous other companies. It is not clear when the company will appoint final names for both positions.
When Trevor Milton resigned from Nikola Motor Company, he was not directly involved with the engineering of the vehicles. On the other hand, Steve Burns was the former CEO of the Workhorse Group, and he was personally involved with buying the intellectual property of the Workhorse W-15 electric pickup truck. The Endurance would be based on that vehicle.
Hindenburg Research caused both resignations. The investment research company not only accused both companies of wrongdoing but also said it would short sell them due to that. If you are not familiar with financial market jargon, short-sellers bet that the stock price of a given company will drop. If that really happens, they can make quite a profit.
On March 11, 2021, before the Hindenburg Research report was published, the stock price of RIDE (Lordstown Motors shares) was at $17.71. On June 14, after the resignations became public, its value is $9.15.
The now-former Lordstown CEO also said that the Ford F-150 Lightning was a sign that the Endurance was on the right path rather than a threat to its electric pickup truck. In Burns’ words, the fact that it was not a “wild-looking vehicle” – a clear reference to the Tesla Cybertruck – meant that the Endurance would be successful.
According to Reuters, Burns will be temporarily replaced by Angela Strand, its lead independent director. Rodriguez’s job will be with Becky Roof, an executive that has served as interim CFO at numerous other companies. It is not clear when the company will appoint final names for both positions.
When Trevor Milton resigned from Nikola Motor Company, he was not directly involved with the engineering of the vehicles. On the other hand, Steve Burns was the former CEO of the Workhorse Group, and he was personally involved with buying the intellectual property of the Workhorse W-15 electric pickup truck. The Endurance would be based on that vehicle.
Hindenburg Research caused both resignations. The investment research company not only accused both companies of wrongdoing but also said it would short sell them due to that. If you are not familiar with financial market jargon, short-sellers bet that the stock price of a given company will drop. If that really happens, they can make quite a profit.
On March 11, 2021, before the Hindenburg Research report was published, the stock price of RIDE (Lordstown Motors shares) was at $17.71. On June 14, after the resignations became public, its value is $9.15.
Google News