Wild 3-wheeled electric vehicle teetering on brink of bankruptcy. Here’s why
Arcimoto was once the darling of the electric vehicle startup world, riding a green wave of EV investments to a $1 billion valuation in 2021. But the Eugene, Oregon-based electric automaker has since experienced a slow and arduous fall from grace. After multiple bumps in the road, a potential sinkhole may have opened in front of the company in the form of looming bankruptcy.
Arcimoto’s three-wheeled electric vehicles, dubbed the Fun Utility Vehicle or FUV, were once touted as cost-effective alternatives to pricier luxury electric cars.
The $20,000 three-wheelers weren’t actually full-fledged cars, at least not according to the local DMV. Despite reaching highway speeds, the trike design put them in the motorcycle (and sometimes autocycle) category with reduced regulatory hurdles. That helped keep prices down compared to “real” electric cars, but it never seemed to manifest into the kind of demand that Arcimoto had hoped for.
The company had hoped that reaching mass production would help it drop the price to $12,000, but despite lofty promises, that mass production never materialized.
Arcimoto moved into a larger production facility last year but has now been forced to pause production entirely due to insufficient funds. Arcimoto fell short of its production goals last year, and in the last six months produced just 252 vehicles. Only 115 vehicles were delivered to customers, according to The Oregonian.
Despite laying off and furloughing over 100 employees last year, the company’s expensive US-based production could no longer be sustained.
In a last-ditch effort to raise funding, yesterday Arcimoto announced the sale of $12 million in stock at just $3 per share, or less than half of the stock price at the time. That caused the publicly traded company’s stock price to plummet. Despite closing at $6.21 per share on Tuesday, Arcimoto’s price on the NASDAQ had dropped to just $2.48 at market close the next day.
The company explained in a regulatory filing accompanying the raise that without funding, the company’s future was at stake. Arcimoto explained that it had “halted our production of vehicles and will require substantial additional funding to resume production.” The company continued by stating that if additional funding was not raised, “we will be required to cease our operations and/or seek bankruptcy protection.”
The devastating news comes at a time when Arcimoto had been in development of a new three-wheeled micro-mobility vehicle designed to improve up on the stability of more conventional electric bicycles. Many had hoped that this new three-wheeled leaning e-bike could have have found much more mass-market appeal than the larger FUV.
We’ve reached out to representatives for Arcimoto for comment, but have not heard back by the time of publishing.
Electrek’s Take
The news of Arcimoto’s precarious financial standing is unfortunate, but not altogether surprising considering the FUV’s inability to find the demand it required for mass production.
It’s not that the vehicle wasn’t impressive. I’ve taken test spins in FUVs multiple times and have always enjoyed the experience in what felt like a high-power street-legal go-kart. Electrek’s Jameson Dow also wore a big grin after his own test drive experience (see below).
The problem is that the FUV never seemed to break out of that “funmobile” niche, despite Arcimoto’s extensive efforts to roll out utility, delivery, and first responder versions of the vehicle.
Average commuters didn’t seem to embrace the idea that such a fun, open-air vehicle could be a true car replacer. Most owners used their Arcimotos as second and third vehicles, taking the FUV out for joyrides or using it for specific tasks that fit a two-seater open-air vehicle.
As something of a compromise between a car and a motorcycle, the FUV still suffered from the downsides of both as well, being too wide to lane split during traffic jams but too small and exposed to provide the extra safety and protection benefits of a car. And while I personally have always had a blast driving Arcimoto vehicles, the company just doesn’t seem to have been able to translate the joy of driving into a thick order book and deliveries.
I’d love to see Arcimoto find the right funding or a buyer in the 11th hour to turn things around and save the company. But if that doesn’t happen and things go south, I’ve got no doubt in my mind that the FUVs already on the road will eventually become collector’s items. They’re just too cool and too rare not to. Think of Tuckers, DeLoreans, and other cars from out-of-the-box and forward-thinking car makers that just couldn’t find the financing to sustain production for more than a few years. So if you’ve got one now, you might want to hold onto it.
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Environment
EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member’s Festival
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
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Tesla is losing another top talent: its long-time head of software, David Lau, has reportedly told co-workers that he is exiting the automaker.
Tesla changed how the entire auto industry looks at software.
Before Tesla, it was an afterthought; user interfaces were rudimentary, and you had to go to a dealership to get a software update on your systems.
When Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, it all changed. Your car would get better through software updates like your phone, the large center display was responsive with a UI that actually made sense and was closer to an iPad experience than a car.
Tesla also integrated its software into its retail experience, service, and manufacturing.
David Lau deserves a lot of the credit for that.
He joined Tesla in 2012 as a senior manager of firmware engineering and quickly rose through the ranks. By 2014, he was promoted to director of firmware engineering and system integration, and in 2017, he became Vice President of software.
Lau listed the responsibilities of his team on his LinkedIn:
- Vehicle Software:
- Firmware for the powertrain, traction/stability control, HV electronics, battery management, and body control systems
- UI software and underlying Embedded Linux platforms
- Navigation and routing
- iOS and Android Mobile apps
- Distributed Systems:
- Server-side software and infrastructure that provides telemetry, diagnostics, over-the-air updates, and configuration/lifecycle management
- Data engineering and analytics platforms that power technical and business insights for an increasingly diverse set of customers across the company
- Diagnostic tools and fleet management, Manufacturing and Automation:
- Automation controls (PLC, robot)
- Server-side manufacturing execution systems that power all of Tesla’s production operations
- Product Security and Red Team for software, services, and systems across Tesla
Bloomberg reported today that Lau told his team he is leaving Tesla. The report didn’t include reasons for his stepping down.
Electrek’s Take
Twelve years at any company is a great run. At Tesla, it’s heroic. Congrats, David, on a great run. You undoubtedly had a significant impact on Tesla and software advancements in the broader auto industry.
He is another significant loss for Tesla, which has been losing a lot of top talent following a big wave of layoffs around this time last year.
I wonder who will take over. Michael Rizkalla, senior director of software engineering and vehicle firmware, is one of the most senior software engineers after Lau. He has been at Tesla for 7 years, and Tesla likes to promote within rather than hire outsiders.
There are also a lot of senior software execs working on AI at Tesla. Musk has been favoring them lately and he could fold Lau’s responsibilities under them.
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Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.
Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March
In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.
The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.
Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.
The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.
Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.
With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.
Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.
Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.
For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.
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