What happened
The situation at Lordstown Motors (RIDE -0.58%) is not as dire as some fear, according to the company's executives, helping the shares to rebound Tuesday after a miserable performance a day earlier. Lordstown shares traded up as much as 14% on Tuesday on hope the electric vehicle maker will have enough cash to bring its truck to market.
So what
Lordstown has been traveling down a rough stretch of road of late. Back in March the company faced accusations from short-seller Hindenburg Research that it was overstating its preorders, and the company last week warned it might not have enough cash to stay in business for another year.
Lordstown's Endurance pickup. Image source: Lordstown.
The stock crashed another 19% on Monday after CEO Steve Burns and CFO Julio Rodriguez resigned following a board investigation that indicated that at least some of Hindenburg's accusations are on target.
On Tuesday, the remaining execs went on the offensive to reassure investors. According to CNBC, company executives speaking at an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit said the company has enough funding to operate through May 2022 and remains on track to begin limited pickup truck production later this year.
They also said the company is actively seeking to raise additional cash.
Now what
The sky might not be falling immediately, but the forecast is still not great. Regardless of whether Lordstown overstated demand or took other improper actions the company still faces the uphill challenge of trying to sell its pickup truck into a market where Ford Motor, a longtime favorite of pickup buyers, has recently introduced an attractive alternative.
Lordstown shares gave back much of the initial jump on Tuesday, trading up about 6% on the day as of 3 p.m. EDT. The shares are still down more than 10% for the week, but are up 36% over the last 30 days. If anything, the share price and the corresponding $1.7 billion market capitalization for this start-up still means there is a lot of risk that is arguably not yet priced into the shares.
