In an official announcement released at 8:15PM last night, Walmart-backed electric van company Canoo filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code and will cease operations immediately.
Despite some early signs of promise with pilot programs at the USPS, US Army, and even a highly-publicized collaboration with NASA, the electric van company either failed to find a place in the market, failed to get enough vehicles produced to meet demand, or just failed to deliver in general. Regardless, the chapter 7 filing seems to be the end of the road for Canoo.
“We would like to thank the company’s employees for their dedication and hard work,” said Tony Aquila, Canoo CEO and one of the company’s largest investors (according to the press release). “We know that you believed in our company as we did. We are truly disappointed that things turned out as they did. We would also like to thank NASA, the Department of Defense, The United States Postal Service (‘USPS’), the State of Oklahoma and Walmart for their belief in our products and our company. This means a lot to everyone in the company.”
As a result of the chapter 7 filing, Canoo will cease operations effective immediately, 8:15PM on 17JAN2025. The next step in the company’s dissolution will see a court-appointed trustee manage the liquidation of the company’s remaining assets.
Electrek’s Take
Rumors fueled by outspoken former employees of Canoo began circling late last year, with furloughed employees urging Oklahoma state leaders to “hold the electric vehicle company accountable” after it shuttered the OK production line that had received more than $100 million in state incentives.
The same employee claims that the company was being wildly mismanaged, and that what few Canoo vehicles the company said it had built in the Oklahoma plant were actually built in Texas, and that no vehicles were actually ever built in OK. “Nothing was functioning,” the unnamed employee said, speaking to local news channel KFOR. “There was no, there was not one robotics line that actually worked to fabricate a part.”
You could argue that the employees should also be held accountable for happily collecting paychecks without actually producing anything this whole time, but that’s a conversation for another day. For now, I’ll be mourning the loss of what could have been a fun little domestic off-roader, and hoping Canoo’s employees find a soft landing and better jobs elsewhere.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Canoo; KFOR.