- Canoo is finished in California and will now be headquartered in Texas
- Two of the three founders have left Canoo
- Canoo has changed its business model to focus on commercial applications.
According to two separate reports from TechCrunch, Canoo is planning to move out of its original headquarters in California and replace one of its founding executives.
Website reported On Thursday, Canoo told employees in an all-hands meeting that it would Los Angeles office closedwhich was Canoo’s original headquarters when the electric vehicle startup launched in 2017. Canoo plans to move its headquarters to Justin, Texas, where the company has maintained a corporate office since CEO Tony Aquila took over a few years ago.
Canoo Lifestyle delivery vehicle with Walmart logo
As TechCrunch notes, Canoo previously attempted to move its headquarters to Bentonville, Arkansas, because it flirting with walmarthas announced a Order 4,500 electric cars from startup in 2022. Canoo has also tried to establish a small-scale manufacturing facility in Arkansaswith larger scale production to take place in Oklahoma.
Canoo is no closer to increase production than when it announced those production plans in 2021, but the company is offering the option for 137 of the 194 employees in its Los Angeles office to move to Oklahoma or Texas, TechCrunch reported, while the remaining employees will be laid off.
USPS Canoo LDV 190 Truck
Employees have reportedly “long expected” the LA office to close, especially after Canoo co-founder and chief design officer Richard Kim left the startup in 2023. Kim is now being joined by CTO Sohel Merchant. TechCrunch reported Sixth, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the matter. That leaves only one of the first executives Canoo’s founder still works at the company—chief engineer Christoph Kuttner.
Canoo originally intended to sell a stylish EV on a subscription basis, but revolves around commercial vehicles under current CEO Aquila. Since then, the company has provided vehicles to NASA, the U.S. Postal Service, and the U.S. Army for testing, but has yet to produce EVs in significant numbers. Earlier this year, the company announced the acquisition The rest of EV startup Arrivalincluding manufacturing equipment that could help the company increase production.
