Lordstown Motors

Lordstown Motors was born from the ashes of GM's closed Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio. CEO Steve Burns acquired the factory and merged with DiamondPeak Holdings SPAC in October 2020, promising the Endurance — an electric pickup truck aimed at commercial fleets.

The company attracted political attention, with the Trump administration touting it as a manufacturing revival story. Burns claimed 100,000 pre-orders for the Endurance, a figure that became central to investor enthusiasm and the company's $5 billion valuation.

In March 2021, Hindenburg Research published a report alleging that the pre-orders were largely fabricated — many were non-binding expressions of interest from entities that had no intention or ability to purchase trucks. The SEC and DOJ opened investigations. Burns and CFO Julio Rodriguez resigned in June 2021.

New management tried to salvage the company, eventually producing a small number of Endurance trucks. But with fewer than 40 vehicles sold and manufacturing costs far exceeding revenue, the math never worked. Lordstown sold its factory to Foxconn in a contentious deal, then filed Chapter 11 in June 2023. The DOJ later filed fraud charges related to the pre-order misrepresentations.