Re: Rise & fall of a government Unicorn

"Electric-vehicle startups were struggling before the election. Donald
Trump’s victory could send them into a tailspin.
Several high-profile companies, including electric SUV maker Fisker and
bus manufacturer Arrival, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Swedish-based battery maker Northvolt became the latest casualty last
week, filing for Chapter 11 after BMW canceled a key order.
At least a dozen other startups, specializing in electric vehicles or
batteries, are at risk of running out of cash by next summer, according
to a Wall Street Journal analysis of their most recent filings.
Even shares of more stable startups, such as Rivian Automotive and Lucid
Group LCID 0.46%increase; green up pointing triangle
, are down nearly 50% this year as they face an increasingly challenging
outlook. Rivian this week got conditional approval for a government loan
of up to $6.6 billion to boost production capacity, but investors are
still worried about costs and the prospect that the electric-truck maker
might not get the money if it doesn’t complete the deal by Inauguration
Day.
Many of these young companies have been hammered by cooling demand for
electric cars, rising costs and supply-chain obstacles that have
hindered their ability to put out new products quickly. Collapsing stock
prices have vaporized billions of dollars in market value.
The shifting political landscape is putting at risk planned investment
in the U.S., some of which has been aided by state and federal
subsidies.
“It’s just a disaster out there with consumer demand going down,” said
Ted Brandt, chief executive of clean-energy focused investment bank
Marathon Capital.
A Journal analysis of 54 publicly traded EV and battery startups shows
an increasingly dire financial situation. Seven companies have already
filed for bankruptcy. Of 36 operational companies with sufficient data
for analysis, three-quarters are losing money and 13 are projected to
run out of cash by next summer."
https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ev-startup-failures-trump-ffeea1fb