The EV startup is ceasing operations shortly after moving to Texas

The seven-year-old company, which makes pod-shaped electric vehicles, announced late last week that it had filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. As a result, Canoo will liquidate its assets in a Chapter 7 proceeding in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court.

Canoo’s financial difficulties only became apparent in August, when the company implemented an “employee restructuring plan” that required most of its Los Angeles-area employees to relocate to Texas or Oklahoma. The plan also called for nearly 60 more employees to be laid off rather than offered to relocate.

The company eventually moved its headquarters to Justin, Texas, a town of about 5,000 in Denton County. Before the move, Canoo already had an 8,000 square meter facility in Justin. The original lease was for three and a half years and expired March 31, 2026. Signs of activity already disappeared last week when Reddit users noticed a Canoo billboard outside the North Texas office being taken down.

Canoo showed further signs of trying to stay afloat ahead of its bankruptcy filing. In December, Canoo furloughed 82 hourly and permanent employees and said its Oklahoma factory would be idle while the company tried to raise capital.

Canoo also said it sought financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office, which issued loans in the final days of the Biden administration.

“Given that these efforts were unsuccessful, the board has made the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy,” Canoo said in Friday’s announcement.

Canoo CEO Tony Aquila praised high-profile partners like NASA and Walmart, as well as Canoo’s employees, in his bankruptcy announcement.

“We would like to thank the company’s employees for their dedication and hard work,” said Aquila. “We know that you believed in our company as much as we did. We are really disappointed that things turned out this way.”

Canoo’s most recent quarterly report, ended Sept. 30, showed its operating loss in the period was about $165 million. Now the bankruptcy filing for Canoo and its subsidiaries shows that the company owes money to hundreds of creditors.