In May 2019, former President Donald Trump he tweeted that Workhorse, an electric vehicle manufacturer, would buy the closed GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, causing an increase in Workhorse’s stock. Workhorse shares have been rising almost since then, along with the presumption that it could occur the next USPS mail truck. Friends, it won’t be.
The US Postal Service announced On Tuesday, instead, Oshkosh Defense, a Wisconsin-based contractor, will halve the price of Workhorse shares almost instantly. Wednesday, Workhorse published the following statement, which is identical to the statement I issued in high school after asking someone to do a prom and be rejected:
On February 23, 2021, the USPS issued a press release announcing that it has awarded an award under the NGDV contract to a competing finalist, details of which can be found here. After being informed of the USPS decision, the company has requested, in accordance with the rules of the bidding process, additional information from the USPS and is awaiting a response at this time. The company intends to explore all avenues that are available to unawarded finalists in a government bidding process. As more updates are provided, Workhorse intends to share this information through the appropriate communications channels to the extent that the company is allowed to do so.
According to the New York Times, Workhorse had revenues of less than $ 1 million in the first three quarters of 2020, while Oshkosh earned $ 8.4 billion in revenue in 2019. Workhorse also has only about 130 employees, while Oshkosh has more than $ 14,000. Meanwhile, the mail truck contract requires up to 165,000 new mail trucks in ten years, meaning it’s possible that Workhorse’s small size has condemned it alone.
All of which means it’s a big, possibly fatal, failure for Workhorse, though it still has its other lines of business, in addition to its ten percent investment in Lordstown Motors, the electric truck maker that made its resistance known to Trump’s White House. That day, thanks to his investment in Lordstown, Workhorse he saw his shares rise 16 percent. It’s good that Trump is still in the White House to give him a boost … hope I feel the opposite … hmm.