Workhorse Group

Reverse stock splits: Often a path to oblivion

The reverse stock split, a form of financial engineering that artificially boosts a company’s stock price, often sounds a death knell, especially for startups that exhausted funds in mergers with special purpose acquisition companies.

The widespread carnage of failed advanced technology startups, especially in electrification and autonomy, is remarkable. With a few exceptions, companies opting for a reverse split end up on a path to oblivion.

All hat, no cattle

According to the independent Financia...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/reverse-stock-splits-often-a-path-to-oblivion

How a moonshot is giving voice to truck parcels

Smart labels are one of those buzzy technology terms that have a lot of meanings. The ones logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel are rolling out with Chorus — one of Alphabet’s X moonshot factory entities — address questions some might not even think to ask.

More than RFID

It’s one thing to know through a radio frequency ID tag – wireless communication incorporating electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling – where a particular parcel is located and maybe even some details about its condition. But Swiss...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-a-moonshot-is-giving-voice-to-truck-parcels

Will Nikola’s best year ever be good enough?

Nikola broke a nine-day stock price losing streak a week ago when it posted record second-quarter revenue. CEO Steve Girsky still enthusiastically believes 2024 will be the best year in company history. Yet, the electric truck maker has only enough cash on hand to last through the end of the year without further diluting investors by converting more shares.

Sweeping away the underbrush

Nikola no longer talks about convicted founder Trevor Milton, who recently dropped his $1 billion suit against...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/will-nikolas-best-year-ever-be-good-enough

After ELMS bankruptcy, James Taylor resurfaces as CEO of Bollinger Motors

James Taylor, the former CEO of Electric Last Mile Solutions, kept a low profile following the bankruptcy sale of the company’s assets to Mullen Automotive. This week, he resurfaced as CEO of Mullen-controlled Bollinger Motors, a maker of electric trucks.

Longtime automotive executive James Taylor (center) became CEO of Bollinger Motors on Tuesday. Siva Kumar (left) became chief strategy officer. Bryan Chambers (right) became president and chief operating officer. (Photo: Bollinger Motors)

Was...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/after-elms-bankruptcy-james-taylor-resurfaces-as-ceo-of-bollinger-motors

Dueling approaches to AI in autonomous trucking

Autonomous trucking pioneer Chris Urmson and relative latecomer Raquel Urtasun see AI as critical to making autonomous trucking successful. But they do not see eye to eye on the best way to apply it.

Urmson led Google’s Self Driving Car Project that eventually became Waymo. He co-founded Aurora Innovation in 2017.

When Uber sold its Advanced Technologies Group to Aurora in January 2021, Urtasun was Uber ATG chief scientist and head of research and development. She and Urmson know each other’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dueling-approaches-to-ai-in-autonomous-trucking

Workhorse on the bubble, or is it worse?

Less than three months after my generally upbeat visit to Workhorse Group’s refurbished plant near the Ohio-Indiana border, the electric truck maker’s situation appears dire.

Layoffs and furloughs

Workhorse has laid off 20% of its workforce. Much of the rest is on unpaid furlough and could be called back to work. 

The company is choked with inventory. It has less than $7 million in cash on the books and accounts payable for more than twice that amount. At a projected burn rate less than Q1’s $5.5...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/workhorse-on-the-bubble-or-is-it-worse

Aurora’s driverless trucks show they are for real

After numerous rides in autonomous trucks monitored by safety drivers in case of a mishap, I found it almost surreal to climb into Aurora Innovation’s Class 8 driverless truck, buckle up, hear the engine rumble to life and the air brakes disengage, and feel the truck move under its own power — with no one in the driver’s seat.

While two of three Americans still fear autonomous vehicles, according to AAA’s latest survey released Thursday, my three-quarter-mile ride around an Aurora test facility...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/auroras-driverless-trucks-show-they-are-for-real

Diesel distancing propels alternative fuel options

Renewable natural gas, battery-electric and hydrogen-powered trucks all target fleets switching from diesel ahead of coming regulations requiring costly additional emissions after-treatment. Which alternative will win? Possibly all of them.

Vouchers make first Nikola fuel cell trucks ‘cheaper than a diesel’

Back in 2018, Anheuser-Busch placed an initial order for up to 800 Nikola fuel cell trucks. Ever so slowly, that is becoming a reality.

After numerous missteps and setbacks, Nikola produced 42...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/diesel-distancing-propels-alternative-fuel-options

Postal Service begins rolling out electric mail trucks

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The U.S. Postal Service really didn’t want battery-electric delivery trucks, but some White House...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/postal-service-begins-rolling-out-electric-mail-trucks

Electric trucks should shake off setbacks in 2024

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Meaningful volume growth eluded heavy-duty electric trucks last year for several reasons: Charging...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/electric-trucks-should-shake-off-setbacks-in-2024

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