EV startup Canoo continues its occupation of the news cycle this week with an announcement that the United States Army has selected Canoo’s Multi-Purpose Platform for analysis and demonstration as it looks to incorporate scalable EV technologies into its programs.
Canoo ($GOEV) was founded in 2017 by two former employees of Faraday Future who helped develop several EV concepts the startup has been working to bring to production, including a multi-purpose delivery van, and the Canoo Pickup Truck.
The first EV Canoo has been planning to launch is the Lifestyle Vehicle, which was chosen to transport future astronauts on the Artemis Missions to the launch pad under a contract recently awarded by NASA.
Following a lawsuit to recoup $61 million in “short swing” profits allegedly made Canoo’s second largest shareholder behind CEO Tony Aquila and a damning Q1 report that included a net loss of $125 million, Canoo began expressing “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue.
That was until earlier this week when Walmart agreed to buy at least 4,500 EVs from Canoo in a purchase agreement that allows for a purchase up to 5,500 more after that, in exchange for exercisable warranted shares totaling 20% of the entire company.
Now, Canoo is getting chummy with another government agency by delivering an EV to the US Army.
In the Army now: Canoo to supply at least one EV to military
Canoo has managed to stay at the top of news feeds with its latest press release, announcing the US Army has awarded the startup the opportunity to supply it with one EV for “analysis and demonstration.”
According to the release, “this contract supports the US military’s focus to incorporate scalable and adaptable capabilities in operational and garrison environments.” The release is more of a blurb than anything, only offering the details above along with this quote from CEO Tony Aquila:
As an American company based in the heartland, it is an honor to be selected by the US Army. This is another opportunity to prove our proprietary technology – which is customizable and adaptable for multiple use cases and special environments.
The release mentions both Canoo’s Multi-Purpose Platform and “an EV,” so it’s unclear at this time if the startup is supplying a platform to the Army or if there will be a “top hat” EV body atop it. We’ve asked Canoo for clarification (and God willing, any more details please!)
Electrek’s Take
There’s no such thing as bad publicity, and Canoo is soaking it up this week on the heels of a potentially life-saving deal with Walmart. This news, however, feels more strategic than anything.
While it’s cool that the US Army is looking at EV technology, acquiring one single platform for analysis is really nothing to gawk over at this point. Yet, here I am writing about it so I guess you win this round, Canoo.
Given the lack of meat in this press release, we’re skeptical of its motivation, but if this new relationship potential for a relationship with the Army blossoms, we should have some more exciting and noteworthy details to share in the future.
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