Listen: Execs Flee EV Startup
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Automotive News is calling it a \\u201ctalent drain,\\u201d as it revealed this week that more executives have left the EV startup, Canoo.
Canoo gained an early foothold in the EV startup race with its unique designs including \\u201clifestyle vehicles.\\u201d These electric options, described by Canoo as a \\u201cloft on wheels\\u201d pair 250 miles of range with configurable interiors that feature wraparound backseats, better-than-average legroom and a bubble-like cockpit. Canoo also offers block-shaped delivery vans and pickups that are set to come after the lifestyle vehicle debuts later this year.
But design chops are only one piece of the puzzle in automotive and in this case, Canoo has struggled with a tumultuous year that\\u2019s been highlighted by the abrupt departure of its CEO, an SEC investigation and ongoing volatility with its stock price.\\xa0
That\\u2019s a lot to take for a company that was just formed in 2017\\u2026 and now there\\u2019s more.
Automotive News has reported that Canoo is hemorrhaging talent, citing several \\u201ckey executives\\u201d who have fled the company in recent weeks. Departures, identified by an Auto News source who wished to remain confidential, include vehicle program lead Nicolas Leblanc as well as Richard Walker, who oversaw software controls. The source also said Mike de Jung and Steven Offutt, engineering experts who were some of the company\\u2019s earliest employees, are also departing.
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