Lordstown Motors Founder Launches New EV Startup Featuring Familiar Trucks

The ousted founder of the now-bankrupt electric vehicle (EV) startup Lordstown Motors, Steve Burns, has launched a new venture named LandX Motors. The company prominently showcases the same electric pickup truck that was once positioned to compete with Tesla, Ford, and General Motors. Burns, who acquired most of the remaining assets of Lordstown Motors during its bankruptcy proceedings, claims that LandX Motors will shape the "future of mobility" and intends to build a range of vehicles on the platform that was initially associated with the Endurance.

While the new company does not explicitly refer to the trucks as the Endurance, a video on the LandX Motors website features EV trucks with the Lordstown badge. A source familiar with the company's plans stated that the focus is more on the underlying platform, software, and engineering than the specific Endurance truck. However, given the prominence of the former Lordstown trucks on the website, the extent of the plan's development remains unclear.

The website does not provide details on how Burns plans to address key challenges that Lordstown Motors faced. One crucial issue was the cost to manufacture the Endurance, which reportedly exceeded the $60,000 retail price. Additionally, there is no information on the manufacturing location or process for the trucks. A LandX Motors spokesperson responded to an email but did not offer further information or address specific questions.

This isn't the first time Burns has ventured into a new electric vehicle company linked to a previous one. He founded Lordstown Motors in 2019 after departing from another struggling EV startup, Workhorse. Burns struck a deal with Workhorse to license designs for a pickup truck project that eventually became the Endurance. After purchasing a shuttered GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio, Lordstown Motors went public in a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in 2020.

However, by early 2021, Lordstown Motors faced a federal investigation for allegedly misleading investors about the number of orders secured for the Endurance. Burns and the CFO resigned, and the company struggled, eventually selling the factory to Foxconn. The troubled partnership led to a recall of Endurance trucks. Lordstown filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2023, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking $45 million from the company for violations of federal securities laws.

Late last year, Burns purchased Lordstown's assets for around $10 million through his holding company, LAS Capital. LandX Motors appears to be a reunion of sorts, with 13 out of 16 employees listing Lordstown Motors as their previous employer on LinkedIn. Duane Hughes, a former executive at Workhorse, is also involved in the new venture, indicating a continuation of the electric vehicle journey for Steve Burns and his associates.

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