Autonomous Trucks
In the world of electric vehicle and autonomous trucking startups, the picture of winners and losers is far from complete. Hundreds of companies conducted reverse mergers with special purpose acquisition companies created solely to merge with promising startups. Mullen’s acquisitions include a 60% stake in electric truck maker Bollinger Motors. Mullen financially engineers its survival with moves like its 1:25 reverse stock split in May followed by Thursday’s announced $25 million stock buyback. Waymo Via, the autonomous trucking successor of the Google self-driving car program, is on hiatus after parent Alphabet Inc. cut workers from its “Other Bets” area.