Rad Power Bikes’ CEO secretly exits amid more layoffs, uncertain future

Phil Molyneux, CEO of Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes, has left the company under unclear circumstances, marking another major leadership shake-up for the embattled e-bike brand.

Molyneux, who previously held executive positions at Sony and Dyson, had been leading Rad Power Bikes since late 2022. Molyneux’s LinkedIn profile now lists his tenure at Rad Power Bikes as having recently ended. In addition, his LinkedIn status has been updated to “considering what next”.

Despite Molyneux apparently signaling his departure, Rad Power Bikes has not made an official announcement. The company has also not yet responded to Electrek’s requests for comment.

The leadership change comes as Rad Power Bikes continues to navigate a series of financial and operational challenges. The company has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs, the most recent publicly-announced round occurring in mid-2024, in an effort to stabilize its business. In addition, Rad exited the European market in mid-2023, focusing solely on North America after years of aggressive expansion.

The only remaining C-level executive at Rad Power Bikes now appears to be the company’s CFO, Stephanie Roberts.

Now Molyneux’s exit raises questions about the company’s future direction, as Rad has faced increasing competition from a growing number of direct-to-consumer e-bike brands and mounting pressure from evolving e-bike regulations across the U.S.

Adding to the uncertainty, a review of employees on LinkedIn also seems to indicate that another round of layoffs has recently taken place or is currently ongoing. It remains unclear whether Molyneux’s exit was part of a planned transition or the result of deeper struggles within the company.

Molyneux originally took over as CEO from Rad Power Bikes founder Mike Radenbaugh, who stepped down from the role in November 2022 but remained involved with the company as a board member. At the time, the leadership change was framed as part of a move to strengthen Rad’s operational efficiency amid supply chain challenges and shifting consumer demand.

Once a dominant force in the U.S. e-bike market, Rad Power Bikes was one of the most well-funded micromobility startups, raising over $300 million in venture capital to fuel its expansion. However, its rapid growth was followed by cost-cutting measures, layoffs, lawsuits related to product safety concerns, and the recall of thousands of e-bikes due to brake defects.

The uncertainty comes at a time when several other once-leading electric bicycle companies have shuttered their doors after becoming overextended and unable to raise sufficient capital to cover their liabilities.

With Molyneux now out, the company faces an uncertain road ahead. Rad Power Bikes’ next leadership move will be closely watched as the e-bike industry continues to evolve in an increasingly competitive and regulated environment.

[Update: Rad Power Bikes responded to a request for comment with the following statement to Electrek:

“Rad Power Bikes recently announced a leadership transition, with Phil Molyneux stepping away from the company. Over the past three years, Phil has helped Rad achieve significant milestones, from launching new products to advancing safety innovations, and we thank him for his leadership and expertise. CFO Stephanie Roberts, who joined Rad alongside Phil, will assume the role of interim CEO while a search for the next CEO is underway. Phil will continue to advise Stephanie to ensure a smooth transition.

While it is always challenging to make these decisions, we are approaching this transition with empathy and unwavering support for our talented team members and are confident that this pivot will better support our riders and the advancement of our mission going forward. Our priorities remain delivering great products and service for our riders, supporting our retail partners, and encouraging more people to Ride Rad.

In addition, Rad Power Bikes continued its strategic pivot to support a more significant focus on physical retail, which required downsizing our teams involved in the direct-to-consumer business. The best experience for our customers is when they can see and test ride our ebikes at a local bike shop or Rad Retail location near them. Our Rad Retail and retail partner teams remain fully intact and ready to support new and existing riders, as well as local bike shops.”]

Electrek’s Take

It’s unclear what is happening at Rad Power Bikes (and the fact that my PR contacts were sadly part of the recent layoffs isn’t helping me make the matter any clearer). However, the writing has been on the wall for some time. We’ve essentially lost count of the number of rounds of layoffs at Rad since the company quickly stopped publicizing them, but its quite obvious that sales and operations have significantly reduced over the past few years.

The general industry has been hurting during that time, but several other direct-to-consumer companies like Lectric Ebikes and Aventon seem to have weathered the storm well, either by doubling down on accessibility and affordability for the former or with the support of major Chinese financial backing for the latter. Rad has also raised major capital over the years but had a burn-rate unmatched in the industry due to its incredibly large workforce, meaning the company has racked up its liabilities at an alarming rate. Even after many rounds of layoffs, it doesn’t appear that the company has been able to recatch the wave that propelled it to the top of the industry just a few short years ago.

At the same time, the company still has its creditors who can’t wait forever for their investments (or to continue writing checks into perpetuity). All of this is to say that despite Rad not yet sharing insight into the current situation, the simple fact of the matter is that it doesn’t look good in Seattle.