ElectraMeccanica

ElectraMeccanica was a Canadian designer and manufacturer of electric vehicles, known for its single-seat three-wheeled SOLO EV.¹³⁹ The company recalled and bought back nearly all SOLO vehicles sold in the U.S. due to a defect causing loss of propulsion, and it ceased production of the SOLO.¹²³⁵ ElectraMeccanica was acquired by electric truck company Xos, which wound down its remaining operations and scrapped the vehicles.²⁵⁷

Timeline

Money raised

ElectraMeccanica raised $20 million at $2 per share on June 12, 2020.¹² In December 2020, ElectraMeccanica filed a prospectus to issue up to $200 million in equity securities.¹² As of September 30, 2021, ElectraMeccanica had $228.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term deposits.⁹ ElectraMeccanica estimated that the buyback of SOLO vehicles would cost $8.9 million.³ ElectraMeccanica had 800 unsold SOLO units with a total value of $13.8 million in unrealized sales.³ The SOLO EV had an MSRP of $18,500.¹³⁵⁸⁹ ElectraMeccanica had a deal with Zongshen to make 75,000 EVs over a three-year period.¹² ElectraMeccanica's market capitalization was $553 million as of December 2020.¹²

Investors named in the sources: Zongshen Industrial Group⁹¹², Robert Bosch LLC⁹.

What happened

ElectraMeccanica was founded in 2012 by Henry Reiser, the son of Frank Reiser who started coachbuilding company Intermeccanica.⁵ ElectraMeccanica was a Canadian designer and manufacturer of electric vehicles.³⁹ The company's flagship vehicle was the SOLO, a single-seat three-wheeled electric vehicle.¹³⁵⁹ The SOLO was positioned for urban commuters who drove alone.⁴ The SOLO had a top speed of 80 mph and a range of 100 miles.⁵⁹¹³

The SOLO was priced at $18,500.¹³⁵⁸⁹ The first SOLO EV was an adaptation of the Corbin Sparrow, entering production in 2017.⁵ Some 180 units were hand-built in Canada, but less than 40 ever made their way to customers.⁵ In 2018, the first vehicle made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show.⁵ The first customer unit was reportedly delivered in 2018.¹

In 2019, ElectraMeccanica turned to China's Zongshen for production help with the SOLO.³⁵ Of the 400 units shipped from China in 2019, only one was sold, and the others were examined and discarded.⁵ ElectraMeccanica had a deal with Zongshen to make 75,000 EVs over a three-year period.¹² In 2020, ElectraMeccanica raised $20 million at $2 per share.¹² In December 2020, ElectraMeccanica filed a prospectus to issue up to $200 million in equity securities.¹²

In February 2021, ElectraMeccanica announced that the location of its US facility was down to Phoenix and Nashville.⁶ In 2021, ElectraMeccanica announced it would focus on the North American market, relocating with help from a Chinese partner.⁵ ElectraMeccanica planned to introduce other variants of the SOLO, including a cargo version, a refreshed and higher-tech version, and custom models.⁵ On October 4, 2021, ElectraMeccanica held its 'Key Moment' event marking first commercial deliveries of SOLO EVs.⁹ ElectraMeccanica delivered 21 SOLO EVs to reservation holders and fleet customers during October 2021.⁹

Since August 2020, ElectraMeccanica had produced 182 SOLO EVs.⁹ ElectraMeccanica signed a strategic agreement with Robert Bosch LLC to establish a pilot service network for the SOLO EV.⁹ Zongshen Industrial Group exercised 1.4 million warrants of ElectraMeccanica into common stock.⁹ As of September 30, 2021, ElectraMeccanica had $228.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term deposits.⁹ In August 2022, ElectraMeccanica received a complaint from a customer that their Solo had lost propulsion while driving.²

More reports followed in September 2022.² ElectraMeccanica's engineering team determined that a defect in the motor controller and inverter or the battery controller may cause the electric motor to shut down, but they could not determine how to fix it.² In February 2023, ElectraMeccanica initiated a recall for almost every vehicle sold to customers in the United States, totaling 428 Solos.²³ In April 2023, ElectraMeccanica notified customers it would be buying back all affected vehicles.¹²³ ElectraMeccanica estimated that the buyback would cost $8.9 million.³

ElectraMeccanica ended Solo production both in China and in Arizona.¹ ElectraMeccanica shut down InterMeccanica, cutting 98 jobs.³ ElectraMeccanica had 800 unsold SOLO units.¹³ ElectraMeccanica planned to produce vehicles for Volcon at its Mesa, Arizona facility.³ ElectraMeccanica planned to introduce a four-wheel model to its lineup.¹³

In October 2023, ElectraMeccanica pulled the plug on its plan to merge with electric truck maker Tevva.⁸ On November 9, 2023, the Arizona District Court dismissed ElectraMeccanica's complaint against Tevva due to lack of jurisdiction.¹⁸ In April 2024, ElectraMeccanica shut down after failing to find a buyer for its operations.⁴ ElectraMeccanica was purchased by electric truck company Xos.²⁵ Xos showed no interest in repairing the Solos to resell them.²

Xos wound down ElectraMeccanica's few remaining operations.²⁷ The vehicles were disposed of partly via a facility in Gilbert, Arizona.² In August 2024, videos showed dozens of ElectraMeccanica Solo EVs piled up at a scrapyard in Gilbert, Arizona.²⁵ An employee of the junkyard allegedly told a visitor that the destruction of the Solos had to be supervised.² The entire production series would be crushed, both the recalled units and the 800 that hadn't yet been delivered.⁵

Legal outcomes

• dismissedElectraMeccanica filed a complaint against Tevva in Arizona District Court, which was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.¹⁸

Where the founders are now

Jerry Kroll was ElectraMeccanica's co-founder and director.³ Henry Reiser founded ElectraMeccanica in 2012.⁵

Sources

1. Why Quirky Three-Wheeler Startup Electrameccanica Is Buying Back Almost All Of Its Customers' Cars - The Autopian, The Autopian, 2023-04-24
2. Cheap EVs From Failed Startup Are Piling Up in Arizona Scrapyard, The Drive, 2024-08-01
3. ElectraMeccanica Is Buying Back Every Three-Wheeled EV It Sold Since 2019 | Carscoops, Carscoops, 2023-04-21
4. Why ElectraMeccanica Failed: Unit Economics | Startup Autopsy, UnicornBurn, 2024-01-01
5. Dozens of New EVs Piled Up at Junkyard Spell the Sad End of the SOLO Three-Wheeler, autoevolution, 2024-08-04
6. ElectraMeccanica chooses city for US plant, announcement to follow, Electrek, 2021-02-16
7. Odd EVs Piled in an Arizona Scrapyard Are Set to Be ..., hemmings.com, Aug 9, 202
8. The small and affordable EVs we lost in 2023 | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2023-12-19
9. Home - ElectraMeccanica, stage.electrameccanica.com, Nov 9, 202
12. ElectraMeccanica Still Needs More Capital to Get Its EVs Made, InvestorPlace, 2020-12-15
13. ElectraMeccanica gets price target boost from Roth as SOLO EV shows commercial promise, Proactiveinvestors NA, 2020-11-24
18. Update on ElectraMeccanica Litigation Dispute With Tevva, businesswire.com, Nov 9, 202

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