Canoo's electric dreams fade as EV startup files for bankruptcy

The EV landscape is filled with still-smoking remnants of companies that dared to dream big. Ultimately, a bunch of them failed to navigate the challenging road to profitability. The latest casualty to join this growing field is Canoo. The electric vehicle startup just filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving behind a collection of debts and broken promises.

Canoo's short but eventful journey began with a burst of optimism in 2017 under the name Evelozcity. Rebranded as Canoo in 2019, the company captured attention with its unconventional "Lifestyle Vehicle" prototype, a boxy, futuristic van designed for both personal and commercial use. However, despite securing high-profile partnerships with the likes of Walmart and even government agencies like NASA and the Department of Defense, Canoo couldn't overcome the financial hurdles that plague many EV startups.

The company's financial woes were no secret. Canoo had been burning through cash at an alarming rate, accumulating over $900 million in losses since 2022 while generating next to no revenue at all. In fact, their revenue in 2022 was a stark $0, with $900,000 earned in 2023, a significant portion of which came from a single customer – the State of Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, Canoo's desperate attempts to secure funding from the US Department of Energy's loan program and foreign investors failed. Lack of resources forced the company to furlough employees and pull the plug on its Oklahoma facility. Despite promises of creating 2,000 jobs, this site actually never produced a single vehicle.

With liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million and less than $50,000 in assets, Canoo's fate was sealed. The company admitted in its bankruptcy filing that the inability to secure funding was the primary reason for its demise. Many questions remain unanswered, including the fate of the $100 deposits placed by hopeful customers and the $1 million investment made by the State of Oklahoma.

The EV industry will only grow bigger, and there will be more casualties along the way. It's a sobering reminder of the high stakes and unforgiving nature of the automotive landscape.

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