Lordstown Motors loses CEO and CFO in wake of financial report
The EV truck company, which just last week published a pessimistic financial finding, has lost a pair of key executives.
More bad news for fans of electric trucks with hub motors. Lordstown Motors, a fledgling electric pickup truck-maker we've been watching stumble closer to production, has announced that CEO Steve Burns and CFO Julio Rodriguez have resigned, in a development that might help clear the runway for the Ford F-150 Lightning.
Steve Burns founded Lordstown back in 2018, picking up on some prior work done by Workhorse in the EV truck space. Last year, the company debuted its Endurance truck. It featured a radical design placing electric motors right in the wheels, freeing up room within the chassis for more batteries while simultaneously making every automotive engineer raise questions about excessive unsprung weight.
This year, though, the company has been dogged by pessimism. Hindenburg Research published a report back in March, claiming the company had misrepresented all manner of figures, incluing the number of preorders and the overall financial health of the company. Last week, Lordstown's future was called even further into doubt with the publication of an even more damning report, which questioned whether the company has the funds to make it to production.
Today comes the news of the executive departures. Lordstown's board thanked Steve Burns for his "passion and commitment to the company" and stated "complete confidence" in Angela Strand, Lead Independent Director who will step up to Executive Chairwoman, and Becky Roof, who will serve as interim CFO.
With the EV truck wars heating up, the Rivian R1T inching closer to production and the Ford F-150 Lightning looking set to light up the world next year, it's inevitable that there will be some casualties along the way. Hopefully Lordstown doesn't become the first.
