Electric Vehicle Startups Face Cash Crunch

Startup makers of electric vehicles were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the SPAC party of 2020–21—and that fete is now well and truly in the hangover phase.

At least a dozen EV startups have gone public since 2020, mostly by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, with grand ambitions to reinvent the way people and freight moved around. Now, at least three—Canoo, Lordstown Motors and Faraday Future—are on life support. All three said in their most recent quarterly filings that there is “substantial doubt” about their ability to survive another year unless they raise additional capital. Canoo even said it probably wouldn’t be able to raise additional capital.