Lordstown Motors Unveils Endurance Pickup Beta Versions

Lordstown Motors Corp RIDE on Wednesday unveiled the Beta models of the company's all-electric Endurance Pickup.

What Happened: The Ohio-based Lordstown released a video of two Endurance Beta trucks rolling off the assembly line towards a crowd of on-looking employees. The company said it is on track to produce the rest of the 57 Beta trucks, and focusing on beginning production in September.

Lordstown had earlier said it would be building the Beta testing trucks, crucial for Government crash testing, by the end of March.

The Endurance pickup is expected to have a target range of 250 miles (400 km) and price of $52,500 ($45,000 after reducing the $7,500 federal tax credit). The pickups are made at a manufacturing facility previously operated by General Motors Co GM.

For its battery supply-chain, Lordstown has signed a multi-year agreement with LG Energy Solution.

Why It Matters: The unveiling comes at a crucial time for the electric vehicle startup which went public through a merger with a blank-check company DiamondPeak Holdings in October last year.

Lordstown has been under investor scrutiny after short seller Hidenburg Research published a report accusing the company of fudging order data and production capabilities. 

Shares of the company dived 12% in March after the electric truck maker disclosed that it had received a request for information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding accusations by Hindenburg related to its order book.

The company said in January it had received more than 100,000 non-binding production reservations from commercial fleets for its electric truck. Hindenburg had said Lordstown’s orders are largely fictitious and used as a prop to raise capital and confer legitimacy.

Price Action: Shares of Lordstown, which have fallen 42% since the beginning of the year, closed 1.64% higher at $11.77 on Wednesday and were up 4% in extended hours. Nikola shares closed 1.07% lower at $13.89 and were up 1.15% in extended hours.

Photo: Courtesy of Lordstown Motors