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Mullen Automotive

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Mullen Automotive
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: MULN
ISINUS62526P1093
Industry
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
FoundersDavid Michery
Headquarters
Brea, California
,
United States
Area served
North America
Key people
Products
Services
Revenue$0
-US$740.32 million
-US$740.32 million
Total assetsUS$302.59 million
Total equityUS$156.95 million
Number of employees
118 (2023)
Websitemullenusa.com

Mullen Automotive, Inc., is an American automotive and electric vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Brea, California. Its products include passenger electric vehicles and commercial vehicles. The company is primarily involved in rebadging Chinese captive imports such as the Mullen Campus, Mullen One, Mullen Three, Mullen Go, and Mullen GT lines. The company intended to field a luxury vehicle, the Mullen Five, then pivot to all-consumer electric vehicle models.[1] Development of the Mullen Five was cancelled in 2024.[2]

History

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The Mullen Automotive brand was created by David Michery by combining the companies Mullen Motor Cars with Coda Automotive. Michery planned for rapid expansion of the company, but as of 2023 the company hasn't released a single vehicle since its inception except for imported Chinese vehicles.[3] Mullen originally intended to launch the Dragonfly K50 luxury sports car, now called the Mullen GT and GTRS, in the U.S. by 2021.[4] However as of March 2023, the company is still finalizing engineering.[5] The vehicle is based heavily on the Qiantu K50.

On June 15, 2020, Mullen Technologies announced a merger agreement with payments-as-a-service platform Net Element, Inc.,[6][7] which was completed in November 2021.[8] This reverse merger resulted in Mullen becoming a subsidiary of Net Element, and Net Element changing its name to Mullen Automotive, Inc.[9]

On March 17, 2021, Mullen Technologies announced that they would open a factory in Memphis, Tennessee for the manufacture of their Mullen FIVE crossover SUV, with plans to sell these models as early as 2024.[10] However, in November 2021, Mullen purchased a facility in nearby Robinsonville, Mississippi instead, forgoing the Tennessee site.[11]

In February 2022, an article by Fuzzy Panda Research presented Mullen acquisition and bankrupt commercial EV manufacturer Electric Last Mile Solutions[12] as an "EV Pretender – Passing Off Chinese Imports as "Made in the USA"; Booking Fake Revenue of Fully Returnable Products".[13] In April 2022, an article by Hindenburg Research presented Mullen as one of "the worst [electric vehicle] hustles" in recent history.[14]

In September 2022 Mullen purchased a controlling stake in Bollinger Motors, a manufacturer of EV pick-ups and SUVs, for $148.2 million[15] This valued pre-revenue Bollinger Motors at $247 Million. In June 2022, Bollinger had little more than a month left of cash to cover operating expenses.[16]

Vehicles

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Mullen Go

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Xiaohu FEV, the vehicle Mullen Go was based on

The Mullen Go is an electric city car unveiled by Mullen Automotive in October 2022. Being essentially a rebadged Chinese Xiaohu FEV, the Go serves as a last mile delivery vehicle.[17]

Mullen One

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The Mullen One is a rebadged version of the Wuling Motors G100 van. An unhomologated version of the Wuling G100 van, titled Mullen Campus, is sold for use only on private property, without the safety improvements added to the Mullen One.

Mullen Three

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The Mullen Three is a three-seat, cab-over class 3 last-mile delivery truck with a 60/120Kw (rated/peak) Jing-jin electric engine generating 150/320Nm of torque. It is manufactured by Yuejin, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor, a state-owned enterprise of China.

Mullen GT and GTRS

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The Mullen GT and GTRS are rebadged kit versions of the Qiantu K50.

Mullen FIVE

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Mullen FIVE

Mullen has been developing a premium compact SUV titled Mullen FIVE, but development was cancelled in 2024.[2]

Bollinger B4

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Mullen's acquired subsidiary Bollinger Motors has begun deliveries of its Bollinger B4 truck in 2024.[2]

Controversies

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CEO compensation and awards

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Despite Mullen Automotive Inc being unprofitable, Michery has continued with a base salary of US$750,000 per year and received a number of performance awards totalling over $40M as of September 2023.[18] At Mullen's 2023 annual shareholder's meeting, Michery was granted further 2023 performance awards.[19][20] On August 31, 2023, Michery, along with Wes Christian, appeared on Fox Business's Making Money show hosted by Charles Payne to discuss the Mullen "Naked Shorting" lawsuit filed against TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and National Finance Services, in which Michery alleged illegal short selling of Mullen stock by the defendants. In the second half of the interview, Payne asked Michery about his compensation. Michery did not respond with an explanation before technical audio issues occurred. Charles Schwab has denied all of the charges.[21]

In a press release the following day by Mullen, the company responded to the question of $31M in General and Administrative expenses for the company's third quarter but did not answer the question about the CEO's compensation.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Abby (2020-06-15). "Mullen Technologies' road to sell electric sports cars is paved by Tesla's success". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  2. ^ a b c Lekha Gupta (October 7, 2024), "Mullen Automotive tightens belt with 20% workforce cut and revenue push", Benzinga
  3. ^ "The wild saga of a convicted fraudster, a troubles EV company, and the promise of a perfect battery", FastCompany, July 5, 2023
  4. ^ Eisenstein, Paul A. (18 April 2019). "Chinese electric sports car Dragonfly K50 by Mullen coming to US roads next year". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  5. ^ "Qiantu K50 electric sports car revamped for US as Mullen GT". KRON4. 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  6. ^ GmbH, finanzen net (15 June 2020). "EV News: Mullen Technologies to Merge With Net Element (NETE)". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  7. ^ "Net Element Enters into a Letter of Intent to Merge with Electric Vehicle Company Mullen Technologies". finance.yahoo.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  8. ^ MarketScreener (2021-11-04). "Mullen Technologies, Inc. completed the acquisition of Net Element, Inc. in a reverse merger transaction. -November 03, 2021 | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  9. ^ "nete20210726_defm14a.htm". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  10. ^ Bailey, Tom (17 March 2020), "Tax incentive approved for first Tunica Mississippi automaker in 63 years", Daily Memphian
  11. ^ "Whatever Happened To: Mullen's plans for a West Plains electric-vehicle manufacturing plant | Spokane Journal of Business". www.spokanejournal.com. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  12. ^ "Mullen Buys Bankrupt ELMS And Its Indiana Plant For $240 Million".
  13. ^ "ELMS – EV Pretender – Passing Off Chinese Imports as "Made in the USA"; Booking Fake Revenue of Fully Returnable Products?". Fuzzy Panda Research. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Mullen Automotive: Yet Another Fast Talking EV Hustle". Hindenburg Research. 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  15. ^ "Mullen Automotive Acquires Controlling Interest in EV Truck Innovator Bollinger Motors, Inc". globenewswire.com. 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  16. ^ Boigon, Molly. "The EV startup boom is over. Companies are now trying to avoid a bust". Automotive News. Crain Communications. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  17. ^ GAUTHIER, MICHAEL (24 October 2022), "Mullen Go Revealed As A 46 HP Last-Mile Delivery Vehicle For Europe", Carscoops
  18. ^ "Performance Stock Award Agreement". SEC.gov. SEC. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Performance Stock Award Agreement". SEC.gov. SEC. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  20. ^ "8K - 2023 AGM Results". SEC.gov. SEC. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  21. ^ David Michery Live Interview with Charles Payne on Fox News, retrieved 2023-12-21
  22. ^ "Mullen Automotive CEO Responds to Fox Business Question". Bloomberg. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
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