Tesla Semi deliveries delayed again

The long-awaited debut of the Tesla Semi is running late, according to Electrek, which obtained a letter from Ryder to California’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC). The letter is part of a 28-month contract extension request with MSRC, which awarded Ryder funding to deploy Tesla Semis and Megachargers to two California facilities. According to the letter, “This extension is needed due to delays in Tesla product design, vehicle production and dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics. These delays have caused us to reevaluate the current Ryder fleet in the area.”

Additionally, Ryder reduced its commitment from deploying 42 Tesla Semis to 18. For EV infrastructure, work will resume in Q3 2025 for site inspections, with groundbreaking targeted for Q2 2026. One of the reasons for the infrastructure delay was Tesla’s requirement for 600kW chargers instead of the originally engineered 750kW units. Clean Trucking reports the Tesla Semi was originally priced back in 2017 at $150,000 for the 300-mile range version and $180,000 for 500-mile range.

The delay comes against the backdrop of Tesla’s continuing to build out its Gigafactory Nevada for the Semi expansion, slated to start production sometime in 2025.

Nikola founder Trevor Milton looks to buy his bankrupt startup’s assets

Trever Milton, founder of Nikola who was recently pardoned after being convicted of securities fraud, is looking to reunite with his former company by buying some of its assets from its bankruptcy. Tech Crunch reports that according to court filings and a person familiar with the matter, Milton placed a bid but got a “frosty reception.” The filings, reported by the Phoenix Business Journal, showed Nikola stopped Milton from personally inspecting Nikola assets at its Coolidge, Arizona, facility earlier in the month. 

According to a filing on April 4, a Nevada entity known as ISSO LLC submitted a bid for Nikola assets on March 21. Tech Crunch adds, “As part of the bid process, Nikola agreed to let ISSO inspect the factory. But the company refused to allow video or pictures to be taken and prohibited a specific ISSO representative from entering the factory.” The name of the representative was redacted from the filing, but other documents in the past submitted by ISSO LLC in state filings had Milton’s father, Lance Milton, and one of Milton’s lawyers, Troy Wallin, listed. 

The bankruptcy auction was held on Monday but at the time of writing it is unknown if ISSO LLC was successful in securing any assets.

Former Canoo CEO wins battle over bankrupt company’s assets

EV startup Canoo is again in the news, but this time it’s over who gets the recently bankrupt company’s assets. Canoo filed for bankruptcy in January after unsuccessful attempts to get financing from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office. By March, Tech Crunch wrote that according to court filings, an entity controlled by Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila offered to purchase “substantially all” of the assets for $4 million in cash, also wiping away the over $11 million debt Canoo owed to Aquila via a financial firm he ran that lent the startup money during the final months of its operation. 

By the end of March, EV medium-duty truck maker Harbinger filed an objection to the sale of Canoo’s assets to Aquila and accused Canoo of hiding assets including ones from Arrival, another bankrupt EV company that Canoo had purchased in March 2024. Tech Crunch reported, “The objection is the latest twist in the rocky relationship between Harbinger and Canoo. Harbinger was created by a handful of former Canoo employees in 2021. Canoo sued Harbinger in late 2022, alleging that those employees absconded with trade secrets.”

By Thursday, the judge overseeing Canoo’s bankruptcy case approved the sale of Canoo’s assets to Aquila for around $4 million in cash. The judge cited his belief that the process was fair, as no one but Aquila had made a bid.

With the purchase approved, the pending lawsuit takes another twist. The trade secret case with Harbinger was still active at the time of Canoo’s bankruptcy, with Aquila gaining an interest in any settlement if Harbinger is required to pay Canoo. Compounding the confusion, Tech Crunch adds, “One particular clause of the purchase agreement states that Aquila and the trustee have effective approval over any settlement in the Harbinger case. Harbinger argues this could violate the Department of Justice’s handbook for Chapter 7 trustees.”

Briefly noted …

A recent report by NGO Energy Vision found that renewable natural gas is the most suitable replacement for diesel trucks. Commercial Carrier Journal reported that the study looked at non-fossil fuel alternatives including battery electric, renewable diesel from vegetable oils and animal fats, and compressed natural gas trucks running renewable natural gas from organic waste. Of those options, the RNG made with organic waste was the winner. 

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. announced Friday it had reached an agreement to acquire select facilities and assets in Arizona that previously belonged to Nikola Corp. The deal does not include acquisition of Nikola’s business, customer base or technology related to Nikola’s hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks. Lucid also plans to offer employment to over 300 former Nikola employees in roles across Lucid’s Arizona facilities. Lucid takes over Nikola’s former Coolidge, Arizona, manufacturing facility as well as its Phoenix facility, which was Nikola’s headquarters and product development center.

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