Former Lordstown CEO Given Permission to Buy Back Company Assets for $10 Million

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to sell its remaining manufacturing assets to a company owned by its founder and former CEO Stephen Burns for roughly $10 million.

LAS Capital, owned by Stephen Burns, will reportedly receive Lordstown's intellectual property, business data, and any machinery used for manufacturing. However, Taiwan’s Foxconn will retain the factory itself after a financial dispute which ultimately left Lordstown filing for bankruptcy last June. 


However, Burns got out before that. The company’s founder abandoned his role as CEO in 2021 after claims were made that Lordstown has seriously overstated its ability to manufacture vehicles while simultaneously over-hyping the technology involved. Burns eventually sold off his remaining equity in the company.


Following the SPAC merger with DiamondPeak Acquisition Corp. that inflated Lordstown Motors’ valuation in October 2020, Burns owned about 25 percent of the company stock. But he began selling that off in chunks immediately after the lockup period on the IPO expired. It’s estimated he made roughly $60 million from share sales, which include a large sale made just days before Lordstown filed for Chapter 11. 


He’s now buying what’s left of the company via LAS Capital for $10.2 million. 


Lordstowns former CFO, Julio Rodriguez, is also reported to be involved with LAS Capital as a minority owner and manager. She left the automaker at roughly the same time as Burns. 


According to the relevant SEC filing, Lordstown began seeking buyers via court-sanctioned selling entities immediately after filing for bankruptcy in June. The bankruptcy court approved the necessary bidding procedures and received a qualifying bid from LAS Capital LLC. While LAS Capital has no formal affiliation with Lordstown Motors, it didn’t take long for people to notice that Burns was involved. 


With so many EV startups turning out to be little more than legal Ponzi schemes, many felt Lordstown had a real chance of producing something tangible. It had a physical factory it purchased at a massive discount from General Motors and a business plan that ended with all-electric pickups being produced in meaningful volumes. But it all kind of fell apart with Burns somehow managing to pick up the pieces after making a bundle offloading shares. 


The plan for Lordstown Motors’ remaining assets is unknown. However, Automotive News reported on Wednesday that LAS Capital's attorney Jennifer Madden stated that it was not purchasing any Endurance pickup trucks for resale to the public. The business also has no plans to repurchase any vehicles that have already been sold to customers and are subject to recalls from the U.S. Department of Transportation.


[Image: Lordstown Motors]

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Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Burns ; "Hey FEDS can I buy back a company I ####ed into the ground using money I got from hitting the golden parachute for pennies on the dollar to resell to some other schmuck and make more more moneies???"


    Feds ; "sure .. why not" (edit, it is funnier if you read burns question as burns from Simpsons)













  • Jeff Jeff on Oct 19, 2023

    Whatever happened to the Elio? Might be time to resurrect the Elio for a Ponzi scheme.

    • See 1 previous
    • Jeff Jeff on Oct 19, 2023

      I remember the 3 wheeled BMW Isetta growing up and you did not see a lot of them. Rumor has it that the Elio is going to make an EV Elio starting at 17k but I will believe it when I see one on the street.


  • Master Baiter If you rear-end someone, it's your fault, period. If motorcycles need more time to stop, then riders need to increase their following distance.
  • Master Baiter Until recently, virtually every cell phone and computer was made in China and no one seemed to care. The majority are still built there. I'm not a fan of tariffs as it just gives domestic makers a price umbrella to sell their garbage products to U.S. consumers at higher prices.
  • Teleedle It would seem that if the Chinese made cars and trucks are ready to compete on the world market that they should be able to compete without the need for government help through subsidies. That's never going to happen with the mindset of their leadership. The rate at which they've transferred the ability to copy to the rate of their abilities to innovate isn't really astounding, but it is truly indicative of their inherent abilities to see through problems and overcome without a lot of fuss. They just have a different way that seems to continually baffle the Western mind. It only goes back a few thousand years. The rest of the world just has to catch up... Without tariffs, three Seagulls could be bought for the price of one loaded Toyota Corolla. I would settle for a nice small pickup truck that can get 30-35 mpg, if the Chinese want to build something with real durability and value. I'm sure they can do that for about $10-12k US, too, dumping them all the way to the bank. Neither Trump or Biden or Bugbrain want that, though. Restrictive 'targeted' tariff ideas indicate that they all want protectionism and the Chicken Tax to continue. The price of living in freedum in the non compete world... and the hallmark of one upmanship by the political class towards more and more expensive transportation related needs. All costs are ALWAYS passed onto the end consumer. Tariffs are the burden of the extra cost. Tariffs are punitive, remember... as intended. The political class is still living off the backs of their constituents throughout the world... same as it ever was.
  • Theflyersfan One day, some of these sellers will come to the realization that cars are not houses and putting expensive upgrades into one doesn't equal a higher selling price down the road. $29,000? The only Challenger that has a chance of value down the road, and only with low miles, is the Hellcat.
  • SaulTigh The Cyclone engine was really powerful, but with a fatal flaw. Ask me how I know.
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