According to media reports, Steve Burns, the founder and former CEO of electric vehicle startup Lordstown, has sold all of his shares in the company, as the company is currently struggling to repair its faltering partnership with Foxconn.
A regulatory filing on June 21st revealed that Burns, who had been steadily selling shares, sold 581,000 common shares on May 23rd at an average price of $0.27 per share. This occurred just before the company implemented a reverse stock split. On May 24th, he sold an additional 200,000 shares at an average price of $3.74 per share, and on June 16th, he sold the remaining 591,752 shares at a price of $4.99 per share.
Burns resigned as CEO of Lordstown in 2021 after the company's board discovered evidence of inaccurate statements regarding pre-orders. As of mid-June this year, he has sold Lordstown stock worth approximately $66 million.
On May 1st, Lordstown announced that Foxconn was taking a reserved position on an investment in the planned venture. Lordstown stated that if the dispute between the two parties cannot be resolved, the company may be forced to cease operations and file for bankruptcy. In early June, Lordstown revealed its plan to file a lawsuit against Foxconn over their disagreements.
In 2022, Foxconn acquired a former General Motors factory from Lordstown for $230 million and agreed to assist in the production of Lordstown's electric pickup trucks. However, Lordstown has struggled to bring down the production costs of the trucks below the target price of $65,000. Earlier this year, the company expressed the need for assistance from a larger automaker to achieve this goal.
