loses

LMP Automotive Holdings loses $2 million deposit

By Michael J. Moody 5 months ago

LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. has lost a more than $2 million deposit after its deal to buy an 85 percent stake in 10 franchised dealerships in Florida was terminated last month.

The publicly traded Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company, in a Wednesday regulatory filing, said dealer Alan Wildstein “was entitled to retain earnest money deposits” totaling $2,000,500 because asset purchase agreements were terminated Feb. 16.

Wildstein declined to comment.

It marks the second seven-figure deposit the group has forfeited in recent months amid acquisition deals falling through. In that deal, LMP lost a $1.5 million deposit after its plan to buy five import dealerships in Texas from Steve McGavock was terminated Jan. 31.

Last month, LMP said it planned to cancel its pending dealership acquisitions because it was unable to obtain financing to pay for them. At least one other of LMP’s seven pending deals has been terminated, for Chantz

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Apple Loses Key Self-Driving Car Engineers To Rivals

By Michael J. Moody 8 months ago

As Flannery O’Connor definitely didn’t say, a good self-driving car engineer is hard to find. 

They’re apparently even harder to hold on to, as Apple ( (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report) has lost three engineers key to its ongoing self-driving car project to Silicon Valley rivals working on so-called “air taxis.”

Eric Rogers, who has been billed as Apple’s chief engineer for radar system on the self-driving car project, left to join Joby Aviation Inc. ( (JOBY) – Get Joby Aviation, Inc. Report.) , an “Electrical Aerial Ridesharing” company that is developing an aircraft that takes off and lands vertically, and looks sort of like a cross between a helicopter and a small plane. 

Apple also lost both Alex Clarabut, an engineering manager for the team’s battery systems group, as well as Stephen Spiteri, an Apple hardware engineering manager to Archer Aviation

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Apple Car Suffers a Setback as the Project Loses Key Managers

By Michael J. Moody 1 year ago
Apple Car

Apple Car, the iPhone manufacturer’s secretive EV program, has suffered a massive setback that has brought to the fore the supposed lack of viability of the entire project.

According to the reporting by Bloomberg, at least three members of the Apple Car team have left the project so far this year. David Scott, who was leading the robotics team vis-à-vis the Apple Car, constitutes one of the most high-profile departures in recent times. Mr. Scott is now slated to become the CEO of Hyperfine, a medical tech company. Similarly, the lead manager on the Apple Car’s safety and regulations team, Jaime Waydo, also left Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to become a CTO at Cavune, an autonomous transportation startup. Finally, back in February, Benjamin Lyon seriously undermined the team when he became the chief engineer at the satellite company Astra. Bear in mind that Mr. Lyon helped formulate the original

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Electric-car sales jump to record 54% market share in Norway in 2020 but Tesla loses top spot

By Michael J. Moody 2 years ago

Electric-car sales jumped to a record 54% of all new-vehicle sales in Norway last year, but Tesla’s Model 3 lost its place as the country’s bestselling vehicle despite a late surge.

It is the first time a country has recorded more sales of electric cars than those powered by petrol, diesel and hybrid engines over an entire year.

The Norwegian government plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025, and has used incentives and tax breaks in recent years to encourage an electric-car boom.

Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) made up 54.3% of new passenger-car sales in 2020, up from 42% in 2019, according to figures published by the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) on Tuesday.

December was a bumper month for car sales in the Nordic country — the best on record — as more than 20,000 new vehicles were registered. Of these, 66.7% were electric vehicles and

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