The electric vehicle startup Alpha Motor Corporation posted a video this week that showed the “launch” of its Alpha Wolf electric pickup concept.
In it, Joshua Boyt and Jay Lijewski appear together on stage, riffing on ideas the way we’ve seen Silicon Valley types and executives do in a wide range of product debuts. No titles are given, but it’s no stretch to interpret them as designer and CTO recalling how they arrived at the idea behind the vehicle. Underscored with tech-bro sensibilities, they say the electric pickup should be fun to drive and futuristic, while evoking the nostalgia of watching Saturday morning cartoons.
Joshua Boyt and Jay Lijewski at Alpha Motors
“As we ramp up production lines here in the United States, we anticipate that the Wolf electric truck will be available by the end of 2023,” stated Lijewski. “More information on vehicle test drives and delivery dates will be available closer to production.”
The Wolf is indeed eye candy—a nostalgia trigger, and the sort of EV conversion Burners would sign on to. At about 190 inches long, it’s roughly the length of Ford Rangers, Nissan Hardbodys, and Toyota Trucks of the 1980s and into the ’90s, and it’s irresistibly sweet bait for technology, automotive, and electric vehicle editors who know the audience. Affordability, ruggedness, retro looks, Tesla-style door handles, and the stock-market craze over electric pickups from the Cybertruck to the Rivian R1T. It’s all there.
So is a claimed range of 275 miles that beats any other electric vehicle currently on sale in the U.S. today outside of the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla vehicles. Ehem.
A 75-kwh lithium-ion battery pack yields that estimated range, Alpha claims, with a boost back to an 80% charge possible through DC fast charging in about 30 minutes. Additionally, Alpha claims a maximum towing capacity of 3,000 pounds and acceleration to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds.
Not surprisingly, the Wolf has earned all manner of breathless, effusive media coverage—with very little of it critically discussing who Alpha Motor Corporation actually is, why it exists, or how this vehicle might be designed, developed, and built in less time than other startups.
Joshua Boyt and Jay Lijewski at Volvo stand, NY auto show
Boyt and Lijewski know something about serving the automotive audience what it wants. They worked U.S. events and automotive shows with Volvo prior to this and made small talk with the automotive press—us included. But they were not working on the automotive side of things: They were baristas from Seattle brewing up top-notch coffee and espressos.
Some realities in the filings
The Wolf concept is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in L.A. this week. To the best of our knowledge at the time of writing, Boyt and Lijewski have no significant role in the product itself.
And now the part that the fanboy press probably doesn’t want to hear: Alpha Motor Corporation hasn't yet shown evidence of the kind of corporate footprint necessary—hundreds if not thousands of employees—to develop and deliver a vehicle in just over two years.
For a U.S.-market vehicle that complies with DOT and safety standards, it costs in the vicinity of $2 billion to cover design, development, and engineering, and get past the validation stage of production. For instance, Byton—a recent startup with Chinese connections and funding from an industrial giant, a U.S. presence, a German technology grounding, and a nearly fully baked product—couldn’t quite pull it off with funds well in excess of that amount when you consider its assembly plant cost $1.5 billion alone.
Co-working space - corporate address for Alpha Motor and Neuron EV
Alpha lists its corporate address as a co-working space adjacent to the Spectrum Mall in Irvine. That's not a likely place where it would be able to do its top-secret vehicle development work and build its IP. It's possible, of course, that Alpha is doing that work elsewhere or will use contract manufacturing services.
To make some essential statements clear: Alpha Motor Corporation declares that it is a sole entity unrelated to any other entity or organization, that it doesn't share a business address with any other EV company, and that it is a private company unrelated to any other entity or sources of finance. And as a private company that hasn't requested any money from potential customers, it's under no obligation to show its cards.
That said, we'd be remiss to mention that the address is exactly the same one, down to the suite, as what was formerly listed by the U.S. arm of Neuron EV, a here-and-gone company that was reportedly based both in Shanghai and Los Angeles.
Neuron EV debut
There's also another apparent coincidence: Paperwork for Alpha Motor Corporation and Neuron Corporation includes—albeit in different time frames, not overlapping—what appears to be some of the same names, some in signature.
To take a step back, Neuron New Energy Vehicle was founded by Gang Zheng, a venture capital investor in China, and Neuron Corporation, known as Neuron EV, was registered as a California company in 2018, signed by Edward Lee, with Lee and Michelle Quan as executives.
One startup went dark, another sparked
Neuron’s website followed a similar design and layout to Alpha’s, and it originally put out sustainability-rich language that is close to Alpha’s messaging—although Neuron’s model itself, with a full line of modular trucks, including a Class 8 semi, was far more vast and ambitious. Then at some point later in 2019 it went silent. Green Car Reports tried to get in touch with Neuron EV around that time to check the status of its projects and received no reply; sometime soon after, its website was taken offline.
In June 2020, paperwork was posted for the dissolution of Neuron Corporation. Then two more things happened. Neuron EV was registered separately as a new California company in August 2020, indicating a corporate address in an office building in adjacent Tustin, near John Wayne Airport—with Gang Zheng as a director. Alpha Motor Corporation was incorporated in Delaware that same month, with Michelle Quan and Edward Lee listed as executives, then registered at the same Irvine address in September 2020.
Under the new incarnation, Michael Adam Smith—a financial advisor—initially plugged in as the executive officer. Then in a Statement of Information to California in January 2021, the company lists a different Lee, Kevin Lee (signed), as its CEO with Michelle Quan the secretary, CFO, and agent.
Despite all the apparent coincidences featuring Lee and Quan, Alpha Motor Corporation asserted to Green Car Reports—now in multiple emailed statements—that it is unrelated to Neuron. It also stated that the Wolf is not based on an existing production vehicle, current or past. And it stated that it is not funded by Gang Zheng.
There are a few things about the Wolf launch that don’t entirely impress as statements made by those who are EV-savvy. A release accompanying the video used peculiar language for an EV startup, noting that the Wolf is “a versatile pickup truck motorized by an all-battery electric power system.” It said the company “is set to accelerate vehicle development by automating the latest digital efficiencies,” and mentioned a “precision virtual validation” enabled by the AMD Threadripper Pro.
No, that’s not referring to a manufacturing system or a solution involving robotics; the Threadripper Pro is a high-end processor for gaming and design workstations. Design software like Catia would be needed to design a complete electric vehicle and would likely be even more costly.
Who is the "we" behind Alpha?
The most disjointed part of the video launch of the Alpha Wolf concept is the coffee guys, Boyt and Lijewski. They spoke with a “we” consistently enough to indicate that they’re a part of the automaker. They appear to be forming a corporate voice in lieu of the actual people behind the vehicle.
Lijewski and Boyt, presenting Alpha Wolf electric truck
Calls left to Boyt’s consultancy, which appears to primarily serve coffee customers, went unanswered. Then the company replied to Green Car Reports late Wednesday with the following piece of insight, via email: “Joshua Boyt and Jay Lijewski are representatives of Alpha Motor Corporation’s “Move Humanity” movement. “Move Humanity” is an initiative to build a community that supports positive change and support other relevant causes through innovation.”
“The company first connected with Jay and Josh through an event to raise awareness for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen,” Alpha added.
Yet based on a LinkedIn post from Lijewski, the two appear to be doing the marketing, presentation, and/or social entrepreneurship work for Alpha under the same name, Advanced Placement, that they used when making coffee for Volvo.
From Yemeni coffee to short circuits
Alpha is listed by the California Employment Development Department as having an unknown number of employees.
Since February we’ve asked Alpha four times for more information about the company and its executive officers, or to interview its designers.
It’s not unusual for electric vehicle startups to enter a so-called “stealth mode,” in which the company maintains a very low profile while it works through initial funding, on the way to present a first concept and business plan. What makes this different is that the company has already presented seven vehicles in detailed rendering and one is a physical concept, on display at a renowned auto museum.
Yes, it’s great that a startup is making giving back a part of the culture. But where are the company resources and employees? Who are these U.S. executives? Do they have more funding than Neuron? Or are they relying on crowdfunding a nostalgic-looking design, only to discover how difficult it really is to deliver a vehicle?
The Petersen Museum confirmed to us that the concept has arrived and will be on Level 2 of the building until November. The museum, which instantly adds legitimacy to Alpha by displaying the concept, hasn’t yet replied about whether Alpha Motor was vetted as part of its acceptance. Further questions from us to the company relayed through Petersen’s PR agency—about a release Alpha put out—have not yet received a reply. This is an unusual way to introduce a company.
We don’t know anything about Quan or Lee and their capability to design or build vehicles. Time is ticking away for more assurance behind the design that's driving EV enthusiasts wild.
Based on what’s material and verified firsthand, the most we know about anyone we’ve met who’s associated with Alpha Motors so far is this: They make a damn fine cup of coffee.
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UPDATE 2: 11:30 a.m. ET, 8/30/2021
In a second request, Alpha Motors revealed the following: "The CEO of Alpha Motor Corporation, Edward Lee is an American automotive designer of Korean descent, with 18 years of industry experience. He has worked for several automotive companies including Audi, Toyota, and Lexus, designing such cars as the Lexus LC."
Considering that late confirmation, we note that this statement from the closing of the piece is no longer true: "We don’t know anything about Quan or Lee and their capability to design or build vehicles."
The piece has otherwise been left intact, including its original timestamp and publish date.
Company-provided media assets have also been removed.
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UPDATE 1: 4:35 p.m. ET, 8/28/2021
Upon the request of Alpha Motor Corporation, language was clarified in several places to make abundantly clear that it is a sole entity, a private company, and unrelated to other entities or sources of finance.
