We haven’t heard much from Local Motors lately and it appears there was a good reason for this as former employees have taken to LinkedIn to reveal the company is closing up shop.
First noticed by The Drive, Local Motor’s former Vice President of Sales, Chris Stoner, posted a message saying the company will “cease to exist as of January 14.” Stoner added that while he was only with the company for a few months, he made “some great friends, both locally and globally, which makes it worthwhile.”
He was far from alone in confirming the news as Meghan Charlton, a former Inventory and Procurement Specialist, made a post saying “It was very sad news today to hear of LM shutting down operations.” Colleagues responded to her post, wishing each other the best.
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Local Motors has been tight-lipped about the situation, but a source told the publication that a lack of funding is behind the shut down. That’s a bit surprising given that Local Motors was an established company and tons of money has been flowing into automotive startups, but at the end of the day, not everyone can come out a winner.
That’s sad news, especially for former employees, but the company had some bright spots over the years including the iconic Rally Fighter, which was introduced in 2009. The crowdsourced off-roader went into production a year later and was powered by a GM-sourced 6.2-liter V8 engine.
It’s not immediately clear how many were produced, but the model was reportedly phased out in 2016 as Local Motors turned its attention to autonomous shuttles. These were deployed in cities across the globe, but it appears interest waned and the company ran out of cash.
