What Happened to Proterra?

Proterra was one of the more legitimate SPAC stories — the company had been building electric transit buses since 2004 and had real government and municipal customers. It merged with Dune Acquisition Corp in June 2021 to fund expansion of its battery and bus manufacturing operations.

The company had genuine revenue (over $200M annually) and a real product. Its Catalyst electric bus was deployed in cities across the US, and its battery technology powered vehicles from other manufacturers. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm even served on Proterra's board before joining the Biden administration.

But Proterra's economics were brutal. Each bus cost more to build than it sold for, and the company couldn't achieve the scale needed to bring costs down. Supply chain disruptions from COVID and the chip shortage further hampered production. The company was burning through cash far faster than expected.

By 2023, Proterra was running out of runway. Despite its real products and government backing, the company filed Chapter 11 in August 2023. Its bus and battery divisions were sold separately in bankruptcy, with Phoenix Motorcars acquiring the battery business. It was a cautionary tale that even legitimate companies could be destroyed by the SPAC structure's emphasis on growth over profitability.