Will Lordstown Manage to Produce a Vehicle This Year?

Lordstown says its electric pickup truck should be ready for buyers by September, but with all the tricks the company’s pulled in the past, should we believe it?
Written by Andrew Koole
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Lordstown Motors expects to deliver its first
electric vehicle
, an pickup truck called the Endurance, to drivers by September 2022. But with all the public controversy and struggle the company’s endured over the last two years, the projection is being met by plenty of skepticism.
Since going public in late 2019, Lordstown has been marred by prototype-testing mishaps, faked pre-orders, and accusations of shady stock sales
Major changes were made after Lordstown founder Stephen Burns was forced out in June 2021. Will it be enough to get the EV truck maker back on track?
Jerry
, your car-ownership
super app
, took a closer look to find out.

The twisted tale of Lordstown Motors

Lordstown, Ohio has relied on automaking since General Motors (GM) arrived there in 1966. Things were not looking good for the town of 3,200 when the automaker shut down the facility in 2019. But it all was not lost thanks to a new EV startup, the aptly named
Lordstown Motors
In deal a with GM, Stephen Burns acquired the plant along with $25 million in startup cash for a 5% stake in the new company. The investment was a good start, but to get Lordstown off the ground, Burns and his team needed to raise a lot more funds.
They did that by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) which put them on the stock market, giving them access to public investors. The move raised Lordstown’s value to $4 billion dollars, enough for Burns & Co. to project production to begin by the end of 2020. 
MORE: Is the Rivian Amazon Van Going to Be Replaced?
Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
No spam · No long forms · No fees
Find insurance savings

COVID-19 created chaos for Lordstown, but not on its own

The pandemic did plenty to stall Lordstown’s progress, but like many things, it also revealed problems that were already there. In fact, by the end of 2020, it looked like the new company was weathering the global crisis pretty well. 
In September 2020, Lordstown Motors had a peak market value of $6 billion. By January 2021, the company said it had secured over 100,000 pre-orders for the Endurance. But that same month, a prototype of the
electric pickup
caught on fire during testing. 
The incident was followed by a damning
Hindenburg Research
report about the company that claimed, among other things, that the 100,000 pre-orders were faked. By May, Lordstown had lost millions of dollars. By mid-June, Burns and his CFO Julio Rodriguez were out.
MORE: Rivian vs. Cybertruck: What You Need to Know

Can Lordstown survive getting burned by Burns?

The loss of its founder and a sinking stock value spurred Lordstown to reach out to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn for support. A deal was signed in November 2021.
With the giant tech firm behind them and a
new CEO
, Lordstown hopes to have the Endurance ready for drivers by the third quarter of this year—two years later than originally anticipated.  
Even if Lordstown manages to reach its goal, the Endurance will be entering a much more crowded field than it would’ve in 2020. 
Rivian delivered its electric pickup, the R1T, to consumers last year, the
Ford F-150 Lightning
will be out this spring, and pickups from Chevy, GMC, and Tesla are expected in 2023.
There are still a lot of mountains left for Lordstown to climb, and with such a turbulent history, investors seem hesitant to bet on the EV builder. As of March, the company was worth $412 million, a fraction of its peak value. 
Whether Lordstown lives up to its pickup truck’s name is anyone’s guess at this point.
Are you overpaying for car insurance?
Compare quotes and find out in 45 seconds.
Try Jerry

Easiest way to compare and buy car insurance

√
No long forms
√
No spam or unwanted phone calls
√
Quotes from top insurance companies
Find insurance savings