Electric Bus Company With Ties to Energy Sec. Granholm and Touted by Biden Admin Files for Bankruptcy
“We have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale”
Proterra, the electric bus company promoted by the Biden administration, is now filing for bankruptcy. Does everyone remember Solyndra, the green energy company that was promoted by Obama and then flopped? Here we go again.
Reuters reports:
EV firm Proterra files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Electric-vehicle parts supplier Proterra (PTRA.O) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, making it the latest company to go belly up in an industry grappling with supply chain constraints, slowing demand and a funding drought.
The move comes weeks after Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale after failing to resolve a dispute over a promised investment from Foxconn.
Proterra, whose shares nearly halved in value after the bell, listed its assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. The company had a market value of $362 million as of last close.
In January 2021, Proterra was valued at $1.6 billion, including debt, in a merger deal with a blank-check firm.
“We have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale,” CEO Gareth Joyce said in a statement.
Proterra has ties to Biden Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. She was forced to sell her interests in the company when it became public knowledge.
Politico reported in May:
Jennifer Granholm sells holdings in electric bus maker after Republican criticisms
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm sold her holdings in electric bus maker Proterra this week, DOE confirmed to POLITICO on Wednesday, following criticism from Republicans that she might be profiting from the administration’s push for electric vehicles.
The details: Granholm cleared all of her Proterra holdings in the sales on Monday, providing her with net capital gains of $1.6 million, DOE said. The move fulfills the last of her obligations under her ethics agreement three months before an August deadline. She had been a board member for the company, but resigned before becoming secretary.
Here’s a clip of Biden speaking with Proterra in 2021:
Biden, Apr. 20, 2021, to Proterra: "When you start making a thousand busses a year, you're going to need more room for customers" pic.twitter.com/DQ5hrYLPHt
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 8, 2023
And again:
During his first two years in office, Biden repeatedly promoted the company Proterra, including virtually touring their factory. He touted the company as the “future.”
Yesterday, Proterra declared bankruptcy. pic.twitter.com/snkcvYf6KM
— GOP (@GOP) August 8, 2023
Granholm needs to answer some more questions about this, too.
FLASHBACK: Joe Biden's Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm cleared a $1.6 million profit when she sold her shares of Proterra. https://t.co/G1TsyYjcCs pic.twitter.com/reYfxFK3rD
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 7, 2023
Featured image via YouTube.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
All it takes is overhead wires. Cut out the battery stuff.
Ahh, yes. Where is the Brill division of American Car & Foundry when you need them?
Or, how about those buses (busses)? that, every several stops, connected to an overhead electrical source to spin up a large flywheel, and the energy stored in the flywheel propelled the bus to the next several stops?
“He touted the company as the “future.”
Yesterday, Proterra declared bankruptcy.”
His future, God willing.
So if I’m reading this right, Ethical Granholm ethically sold her shares to “heed Republican ethical criticism” right BEFORE they tanked? How conveeeeeeenient!
Right. My question is, how much were those shares when she bought them, presumably before Biden publicized the company and announced they are the “future”?
Because if she were ethical, that’s the price at which she would have sold them, to avoid the appearance that she profited from insider trading due to her government connections.
The appearance of impropriety is often as bad as impropriety … unless you’re a Democrat, in which case both are OK.
Sounds like a case of Republicans pouncing again.
As many turn away from what does not work, Biden spreads the cash to cronies that prove it.
“We have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale”
Translation: Our “business plan” was another absurd Nude Green Eel with zero chance of market success in the absence of massive government subsidy and graft.
More correct translation: We can’t get any more money from the government to keep us afloat. So long, suckers.
These scams always seem to go through the exact phases.
–We have this brilliant idea nobody ever thought of and we’re putting together an organization.
–We just received a huge chunk of government cash and have greased the palms of the appropriate legislators (not necessarily in that order) so now we need to build some hardware to look like we’re working. Anybody got a welder?
–First prototypes are waddling off the floor and they don’t catch fire every time now, but they’re fifty times the price we promised. Time to get more government money and cash from stupid people looking for green investments.
–Price per unit is down to ten times what we promised, volume is still stubbornly low due to reality, and we can’t shuffle money around the dummy projects fast enough to keep ahead of even a casual audit. Time to skim off as much money as we can, get the debts poised over people who won’t track us down and kill us if we default, cut off political contributions *unless* more government cash is incoming, and ease toward the door.
–The collapse, otherwise known as “Nobody saw this coming.”
Excellent comment.
“An electric bus company failed? Aha! Trump’s fault! Vast right wing conspiracy!”
Seems absurd, I know. But I won’t be surprised if somebody says it.
Move along, nothing to see here. These are not the droids you’re looking for.
How many of these outfits are sincerely making an effort at a viable product and how many have been formed up as some sort of the tax dodge, or money laundering?
Sincere, approaches zero, schemes, approaches infinity.
Any gibsme that gets offered, someone will organize to milk the gibsme.
Back in the late ’80s, we had several new clients buying our computer systems, all of them educational startups (in the DeVry mold) devoted to milling degrees for whomever it was who got a big mudball of government program money at that time (veterans? layoffs? non-English speakers? I forget who the mules were back then). Every one of the orgs failed and/or got sued by the fedguv as scammers. Some of them were found to have enrolled more phantoms than real people. Every system sold got repossessed, and the salesmen had to refund the commissions. It was a real bloodbath for several of our district offices.
Didn’t they used to run electric trolleys in some cities? Wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier to set up a track system that provides the power rather than a stupid ass lithium ion battery? Plus, it’s good to hear that our crooked Secretary of Energy got all over money out of it before it collapsed.
You don’t want high-current conductors on the ground. Even if you could isolate them so that the train could reach them but people couldn’t, rain could reach them.
Well they always could do overhead lines and have the trolleys get the power from above as well, it’s a little bit harder for people to get on to those
I rode home from Jr Hi on what I called “the electric bus” on 3rd Street in Los Angeles. It’s turnaround loop ran very close to my house and most of the drivers let me ride into the turn loop. 3rd to I forget which street, down to 4th for a block, right again on I forgot which street, then back onto 3rd to head for downtown. Quiet, good acceleration, old as can be but still tight and in good shape.
… immediately before shite hit the fan for the company.
How very serendipitous for her.
I don’t want to cause no fuss
But can I buy your magic bus?
Just like Solyndra. Somebody’s buddy got tax payer money and the rest is history.
If this company was the so called future one wonders what the present is like
If they really want electric busses then use electric trolley busses like they have in San Francisco. The power is from overhead lines down to the bus and they have worked for decades.
Electric Vehicles running on batteries that require charging and batteries that can catch fire plus are expensive and toxic. EVs whether they are cars, trucks, or busses are heavy and cause damage to roads and wear out tires extra fast.