The Lordstown Motors plant is where GM once operated in Lordstown, Ohio, on October 16, 2020.
Megan Jelinger | AFP | Getty Images
Lordstown Motors said on Wednesday that it had received a request for information from the US securities regulator on allegations of a short-term investor and accused electric start-ups of misleading consumers and investors. .
Last week, Hindenburg Research revealed that it held a short position in Lordstown Motors, accusing the company of using “false” orders to raise capital and claimed that its future truck was three to four years away from production.
“We’re cooperating with this investigation,” Steve Burns, CEO of Lordstown Motors, said during a earnings conference call, referring to a request for information from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
He added that his board had formed a special committee to look into the matter.
Short sellers have bet that the price of a share will fall by borrowing shares, hoping to buy them back at a cheaper price and pay the difference.
Shares of Lordstown Motors fell 5% in extended trading on Wednesday.
The company, which in 2019 acquired a General Motors lock factory in Ohio, said Wednesday that it is on track to start producing the Endurance electric truck in September, as planned, with a plan to build its vehicles. testing by March.
It also intends to unveil the demonstration model of its second vehicle, an electric van, this summer, with the aim of starting production in the second half of 2022.
It reported a loss of 23 cents per share in the October-December quarter. He said he plans capital expenditures of up to $ 275 million this year, including investments to expand annual production capacity to 60,000 vehicles next year.