VectoIQ

Nikola’s latest hire puts its SPAC sponsors in full control

The hiring of Mary Chan as chief operating officer at Nikola Corp. puts the key players in the special purpose acquisition company that brought the electric truck maker public in charge from the boardroom to the factory.

When Chan takes on the newly created role on Oct. 9, executives of the SPAC sponsor VectorIQ will occupy the chair, CEO and COO roles. She was president, COO and a managing partner at VectorIQ II, a follow-on SPAC that refunded investor money following the bursting of the SPAC...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/nikolas-latest-hire-puts-its-spac-sponsors-in-full-control

Truck Tech: ArcLight’s next act edition

Blue Truck Tech logo

Don’t tell ArcLight Capital Partners that clean energy transport companies are out of favor. The SPAC sponsor of electric bus and charging infrastructure developer Proterra is investing $50 million in electric trucks as a service near Los Angeles International Airport while preparing for a shareholder vote next week on taking renewable natural gas developer Opal Fuels public.

Investing after SPACs

With one SPAC complete and another up for shareholder vote next week, ArcLight Capital Partners is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-tech-arclights-next-act-edition

What made the froth in transportation SPACs go flat?

Special purpose acquisition companies targeting startups to take public have not gone away. On the contrary, more than 500 SPACs are currently searching for targets across all sectors. But in almost all cases, SPACs that have completed mergers with transportation companies are performing more like risky investments than they did in 2020. 

What happened?

FreightWaves spoke on background to SPAC experts who agreed to share insights without attribution. They laid out several reasons for the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-made-the-froth-in-transportation-spacs-go-flat

Nikola execs play the long game and take $1-a-year post-SPAC salaries

Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) CEO Mark Russell and other top executives of the startup electric truck company are playing the long game, accepting $1 a year in salaries and stock-based compensation that could bring huge payouts if the scandal-battered shares regain value.

The company’s proxy statement issued Wednesday shows that all executive compensation is at risk for three years. But if the stock returns to $55 a share by then, CEO Mark Russell could realize a $2.2 billion payout. Other named...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/nikola-execs-play-the-long-game-and-take-1-a-year-post-spac-salaries

Are SPACs redirecting blank check love to self-driving truck startups?

As the special purpose acquisition companies’ (SPACs) love affair with electric vehicle startups cools, infatuation backed by blank check-writing investors may blossom for self-driving truck startups.

After several months of stock price run-ups in SPAC-sponsored electric vehicle and infrastructure companies, prices have fallen dramatically in recent weeks. In some cases, they are edging close to their original $10-per-share offering price.

One target in the shift from electrification appears to...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/are-spacs-redirecting-blank-check-love-to-self-driving-truck-startups?

Self-driving truck technology startup TuSimple nears stock offering

Self-driving truck technology developer TuSimple expects to file a prospectus to sell public stock as soon as next week, according to published reports and people close to the situation.

The company, with offices in San Diego and Beijing, has 50 Level 4 autonomous trucks running paid freight in Southwestern states. Those trucks still have a safety driver who can assume control of the vehicle if necessary. TuSimple is partnering with Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) to sell a long-haul...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/self-driving-truck-technology-startup-tusimple-nears-stock-offering

FreightWaves Truck Talk: Clearing the air edition

This week, we’re looking at standardizing more convenience in over-the-air updates; 108 million breathe-safe N-95 masks from Cummins’ repurposing of engine filter material; and public self-determination for TuSimple.

Over-the-air updates (with convenience) … Mack Trucks is following sibling Volvo Trucks North America in standardizing the convenience of over-the-air (OTA) updates. Mack says the driver download activation feature will be included in factory-equipped models built since last Nov....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-truck-talk-clearing-the-air-edition

The Daily Dash: Lost opportunity for J.B. Hunt

The Daily Dash is a quick look at what is happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, congestion played a role in J.B. Hunt Transport Services posting a worse year-over-year intermodal margin growth than expected. Plus, even preparation sometimes isn’t enough to stop a ransomware attack, and business-to-business activity has rebounded well from early 2020.

Lost opportunity

Congestion and gate restrictions from rail partners hampered J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ (NASDAQ: JBHT) Q4...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-daily-dash-lost-opportunity-for-jb-hunt

VectoIQ, U.S. Xpress leaders included on TuSimple executive advisory board

Self-driving truck company TuSimple announced Wednesday the establishment of a high-powered executive advisory board, releasing a list of names in regulatory and transportation circles that reads like signposts in a compressed history of autonomous and electric trucking.

On the board is Steve Girsky, the former vice chairman of  General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and managing partner of VectoIQ, an investment firm that has become synonymous in freight circles with the SPAC craze and led the reverse...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/vectoiq-ux-xpress-leaders-included-in-tusimple-executive-advisory-board

FreightWaves Truck Talk: A ‘SPAC-tacular’ new year

Welcome to FreightWaves Truck Talk, a weekly newsletter adding perspective, context and commentary to industry news and trends. 

The SPAC train keeps on rolling. Odeon Capital is keeping track of the growing hunting party of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). It counts 149 suitors seeking business combination targets. Odeon Capital analyst Alex Arnold puts the collective bankroll of blank checks at $57 billion. SPAC Insider lists 248 SPACs filed in 2020. In the first week of the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freightwaves-truck-talk-a-spac-tacular-new-year

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