Nu Ride Inc.

Nu Ride Inc.

Formerly	Lordstown Motors Corporation
Company type	Public
Traded as	Template:OTC Pink Nasdaq: RIDE (2020–23)
ISIN	US54405Q1004
Industry	Automotive
Founded	2018
Founder	Steve Burns
Headquarters	New York, New York , United States
Key people	William Gallagher (CEO)
Revenue	US$0 (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020)
Website	https://investor.lordstownmotors.com/

Nu Ride Inc., previously known as Lordstown Motors Corporation, is a U.S.-based electric vehicle manufacturer that was initially headquartered in Lordstown, Ohio. The enterprise utilized the former General Motors Lordstown Assembly facility. Renowned for producing the Lordstown Endurance electric pickup, the firm rebranded as Nu Ride Inc. in March 2024 following its emergence from bankruptcy proceedings and shifted its main office to New York City.

Lordstown Motors

Established in 2018 by Steve Burns, who formerly served as CEO of Workhorse Group, Lordstown Motors secured ownership of the GM Lordstown plant in November 2019 after an earlier agreement that year. The acquisition was facilitated by a $40 million loan from GM.

In March 2020, the company acquired intellectual property rights from Workhorse Group’s W-15 pickup design for $12 million, granting Workhorse a 10% ownership share.

On October 23, 2020, Lordstown completed a merger with the SPAC DiamondPeak Holdings and began trading on NASDAQ with an approximate valuation of $1.6 billion. Concurrently, GM released Lordstown from mortgage commitments related to the plant acquisition.

The firm inaugurated its initial service center beyond Ohio in Irvine, California, in January 2021, targeting an area with substantial incentives for electric vehicle adoption.

March 2021 marked a turbulent period when short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the company of providing misleading information about order volumes and manufacturing capacity. The report alleged that numerous pre-orders were non-binding and raised concerns regarding insider stock transactions. Subsequently, the SEC commenced an investigation. Additionally, a prototype vehicle fire triggered further apprehensions about production practices.

By June 2021, the company announced it lacked adequate capital to initiate commercial manufacturing and faced potential insolvency. Amidst scrutiny over exaggerated pre-order figures and financial stability, CEO Steve Burns and CFO Julio Rodriguez stepped down.

In August 2021, Daniel Ninivaggi, formerly CEO of Icahn Enterprises, was appointed as the new chief executive officer.

October 2021 brought a $230 million agreement to transfer ownership of the Lordstown facility to Foxconn Technology Group. Foxconn also invested $50 million in common stock and assumed responsibility as contract manufacturer for the Endurance truck.

The transaction finalized in May 2022; Foxconn and Lordstown established MIH EV Design LLC to collaborate on electric vehicle development and planned to utilize the plant for producing Foxconn’s Fisker PEAR model.

General Motors terminated its involvement with Lordstown after investing $75 million in 2020 and holding board seats but divested its holdings by late 2021.

Edward Hightower assumed the CEO role in July 2022 amid executive restructuring. By November 2022, Foxconn pledged an additional $170 million investment aimed at expanding production capacity for the Endurance model.

Bankruptcy

On June 27, 2023, Lordstown initiated legal action against Foxconn for failing to fulfill its $170 million investment commitment and simultaneously sought protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy to enable a potential sale.

Subsequently, on September 27, 2023, Lordstown reached an agreement in bankruptcy court to transfer assets associated with the "design, production and sale of electric light duty vehicles" targeting the commercial fleet sector to LAS Capital, a Delaware-based firm predominantly owned by Lordstown’s founder and former CEO Steve Burns, for $10 million. This transaction received court approval on October 18, 2023; notably, despite objections from the U.S. Justice Department, the court reserved the authority to pursue legal actions against Lordstown’s board members. The asset transfer encompasses all vehicles, equipment, documentation, and development plans, with the purchaser assuming responsibility for customer warranties, product liabilities, and recall duties concerning Lordstown Endurance trucks.

Vehicles

The Lordstown Endurance represented an all-wheel-drive (AWD) electric pickup truck equipped with independent wheel hub motors on each wheel. This AWD hub motor configuration minimizes mechanical components by removing traditional axles and transmissions. Initially slated for a late 2020 launch in the U.S. market at a price point of $52,500, its introduction faced several postponements: first delayed to September 2021, then pushed back again to no earlier than April 2022 following the sale of the Lordstown manufacturing facility to Foxconn, which assumed contract manufacturing responsibilities.

In October 2021, Foxconn revealed three new electric vehicle prototypes: the Model C SUV aimed at Taiwan’s market in 2023, an electric bus designated for limited urban trials in 2022, and a new electric sedan model.

By August 2022, Lordstown announced additional delays in Endurance production due to the necessity of securing significantly more funding to achieve their original target of producing 500 units. Manufacturing commenced in the third quarter of 2022 but was suspended in February 2023 following a recall triggered by an electrical connection defect that posed a risk of propulsion failure.

In June 2023, amid ongoing conflicts with Foxconn and bankruptcy proceedings, Lordstown halted Endurance production entirely and proceeded with the sale of the project in September 2023.

See also

• Lordstown Assembly
• Workhorse Group