Lordstown Motors has emerged from bankruptcy with a new name and a near-single focus: continuing its lawsuit against iPhone maker Foxconn, accusing it of “destroying the business of an American startup.”
The company announced in a regulatory filing late Thursday that it has implemented a Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which was recently approved by the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. That makes it one of the first EV startups to survive bankruptcy proceedings in some form, albeit at a significantly reduced scale. Electric Last Mile Solutions liquidated Chapter 7 proceedings in 2022, while IndiEV’s Chapter 11 proceedings are still ongoing in California. Fisker Automotive and Coda sold themselves to other buyers a decade ago in Chapter 11 reorganizations.
The reorganized version of Lordstown Motors, now known as Nu Ride Inc., will also pursue a “potential business combination,” although it did not say what type of merger it is seeking. The company exists in name only. It sold a former General Motors plant it once owned to Foxconn; assets related to its electric pickup trucks were snapped up by Lordstown founder Steve Burns.
With the restructuring plan taking effect, Nu Ride is now led by a new board of directors and senior executive team. It will now trade on the OTC market as “NRDE”.
In addition to its dispute with Foxconn, the newly named company also needs to resolve two federal investigations and other lawsuits. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently accused the company of misleading investors about the potential success of its discontinued electric pickup truck, forcing Lordstown to set aside $25.5 million to help resolve some ongoing shareholder lawsuits. That investigation remains ongoing, as does that of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, according to the agency.
Lordstown Motors sued Foxconn in June 2023, when Foxconn initially filed for bankruptcy protection. It claims the Taiwanese conglomerate misled the startup about plans to collaborate on a range of electric vehicles. Lordstown’s lawsuit is more or less on hold while the Chapter 11 proceedings wind down.
Foxconn, which now operates the factory it once owned in Lordstown, even built dozens of the startup’s electric pickup trucks before having to recall them. Foxconn’s efforts to become a contract manufacturer of electric vehicles in the United States have so far mostly failed. Two of its four potential customers – Lordstown and IndiEV – filed for bankruptcy, while Fisker (which was reportedly considering filing) recently distanced itself from the group, saying it would rather work with an established automaker. The only product Foxconn makes at its Ohio plant is tractors for California-based Monarch Corporation.
