Lordstown Motors, which just lately declared chapter, is an organization that was constructed on a lot of guarantees, the first one being that it will make the Endurance, an EV pickup, and it will promote lots of Endurances, and that will make Lordstown’s traders some huge cash, together with the shareholders who purchased into Lordstown after it went public in 2020.
In the middle of attempting to do all of that, Lordstown entered into an settlement with Foxconn, greatest often known as the producers of Apple’s iPhone, to assist make the vehicles, which, just lately, additionally turned the main focus of a lawsuit. Lordstown had beforehand promised to supply 1000’s of Endurance pickups by now on the Ohio plant that GM used to run, however, to this point, solely 65 have been produced.
This has all been extra of a sideshow than any urgent concern for anybody other than Lordstown traders and their staff, who’ve in all probability been searching for different investments and jobs for years now, in the event that they haven’t jumped ship already.
Nonetheless, final 12 months, Lordstown may nearly plausibly argue that they nonetheless had a shot at making and promoting all these vehicles, or at the least had been going by means of the motions of attempting. On this vein, Bloomberg reported Wednesday about an episode final 12 months about Lordstown’s CEO attempting, on this case going to Taiwan and hanging out for days and never getting a key assembly he flew there to get.
From Bloomberg:
Lordstown Motors Corp. govt Ed Hightower flew to Taiwan from Detroit final 12 months for conferences with leaders of Foxtron, an organization affiliated with iPhone assembler Foxconn Expertise Group, for talks he thought would kick off growth of a brand new electrical car. The CEO ghosted him.
Hightower spent three days in isolation on account of Covid-19 protocols earlier than he may meet with the Taiwanese executives. He acquired face time with Younger Liu, Foxconn’s chairman, and a few of his lieutenants. However the essential work was to be achieved with Foxtron, which Foxconn majority owns. The thought was to associate on a mid-size crossover SUV that will be constructed within the Lordstown, Ohio, plant previously occupied by Common Motors Co.
The Foxtron boss refused to fulfill, Hightower mentioned in an interview. Hightower couldn’t get engineering drawings, knowledge and important licensing agreements wanted to get the venture going. Liu was chair of each corporations, however mentioned he couldn’t compel Foxtron to fulfill with Hightower. After nearly two weeks, the American govt mentioned he gave up and flew residence.
“I made the journey to Taiwan to interrupt the logjam,” mentioned Hightower, who was Lordstown’s president on the time of the journey and is now its chief govt officer. “Lots of instances it’s about relationships,” Hightower mentioned, however on this case, “I used to be not capable of meet my goal.”
Now, in our fashionable society, it’s nonetheless attainable to overlook a name, to have a miscommunication a few time and a spot, to overlook a enterprise assembly since you forgot otherwise you had been taking a dump or one individual simply didn’t really feel prefer it and begged off, as a result of life is brief and generally you’d moderately take a protracted lunch or, god forbid, do one thing enjoyable, as an alternative. However, like within the previous days, such excuses solely go thus far, and, when there’s a man who has traveled midway internationally to see you and has been ready for nearly two weeks, the message is evident: You bought his messages about assembly up and have determined to not.
For the jilted Lordstown CEO, I hope he at the least ate some good meals in his time abroad. By the point this type of factor occurs, you in all probability already knew the connection was over anyway.
