When Bollinger Motors closed last Friday, there were some who still hoped that better days lay ahead for the electric vehicle startup – but recently revealed internal emails tell a grim story, and it looks like this is really the end.
Electric truck startup Bollinger Motors seemed to be circling the drain earlier this summer, but a fresh investment from Mullen Automotive and a new face at the helm seemed to breathe new life into the medium-duty EV startup.
That fresh investment from Mullen settled the company’s debt with its namesake, Robert Bollinger, and meant that Mullen had formally acquired an additional 21% of Bollinger Motors, Inc., bringing its total ownership to 95%. That deal had followed an initial, $148 million cash and stock investment from Mullen in 2022, along with promises to revive the tough-looking B1 and B2 concept trucks.
The internal emails reviewed by the Detroit Free Press last week were reportedly sent by Bollinger’s Human Resources Director, Helen Watson, after 59 claims of unpaid wages were revealed to be pending with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The last email, in particular, seemed to be the final nail in the coffin.
“We received word late last night that the day has arrived, we are to officially close the doors of Bollinger Motors,” the email read. “Effective today, November 21st, 2025.”
Watson has reportedly informed employees in another email that David Michery, the CEO of Bollinger Innovations (Bollinger Motors’ parent company) intends to, “make us whole with regards to the remaining monies” after the company missed payroll for the last two pay periods, though exactly how that was going to happen remains to be seen.
Here’s hoping Bollinger’s employees find some more to be thankful for in the days ahead.
Electrek’s Take
Bollinger factory floor; via Bollinger Industries.
There have been plenty of ill-fated EV startup brands over the years that seemed, in hindsight, after the dust had settled, to be little more than cynical attempts to accumulate orders and pump the stock before dumping it and retiring to Costa Rica or some other non-extradition country. That said, Bollinger always felt different, and the B1, B2, and even the B4 teams all seemed to genuinely want to bring manufacturing back to the Michigan and Indiana areas they grew up in.
It’s too bad, for them, that things worked out the way they did. Here’s hoping things turn around somewhat sooner than later.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Bollinger; Detroit Free Press.
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