Lordstown Motors Fails to Endure at Baja
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Lordstown Motors Corp.’s all-electric Endurance pickup truck completed less than 40 miles of the 280-mile Score International San Felipe 250 track Saturday before withdrawing from the race.
The electric vehicle startup had hyped its entry into the Baja, Mexico event for weeks, releasing renderings, videos of the truck in production and a sleek photograph. There was no explanation given as to why the vehicle was withdrawn.
“What a ride we have had getting to the SCORE International San Felipe 250,” the company’s Facebook page read. “The Endurance’s hub motors, battery pack and software performed very well today, and everything we did and experienced in Mexico has provided us with valuable insights into how the Endurance’s technology performed and responded to the demanding and treacherous conditions.”
According to race results, the Endurance went 39.8 miles before withdrawing from the race. Out of the 270 entrants, just 187 were able to finish.
“We are stopping here and taking our incredible learnings back to Lordstown. Thank you to everyone at Lordstown Motors, our partners at Brenthel Industries and Elaphe Propulsion Technologies, and all of our champions – your hard work, dedication and passion for the Endurance is the reason we made it to Mexico, and the reason we’ll keep going as we continue into our Beta builds ahead of start of production in September.”
Matthew Blanchard of Salem drove the Endurance at San Felipe. A second EV entry also did not finish the brutal race.
Reaction posted to the company’s Facebook page was mostly enthusiastic, cheering on the small startup EV motor company. Others wanted more explanation as to why the vehicle didn’t finish the race.
“The lessons learned in the desert will become part of the Endurance’s DNA, and help us to meet the rigorous performance expectations and requirements of our customers,” the Lordstown Motors’ post concluded.
Lordstown Motors is in the process of beta testing the Endurance, billed as the world’s first all-electric pickup. In recent weeks, the company has come under scrutiny after a blistering short-seller report questioned the validity of the more than 100,000 pre-orders the company claimed to have secured.
The share price of Lordstown Motors dropped by more than 16% after the report was issued and has since failed to recover.
It was also disclosed last month that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has requested documents and information related to those pre-orders orders and its merger with DiamondPeak Holding Corp., the special purpose acquisition company that took Lordstown Motors public in October.
The developments have triggered a handful of class-action lawsuits against the company by investors claiming they purchased Lordstown Motors stock at “artificially inflated” prices.
Last week, the company’s stock value continued to drop, dropping 13.8% from its opening price on April 12 to the market close April 16.
Pictured: The Lordstown Motors Endurance lined up with other vehicles ahead of the Score International San Felipe 250. (Image: Lordstown Motors Facebook)
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
