Both on the campaign trail and during occasional public appearances, President Joe Biden has continued to sing the praises of electric vehicles as our pathway to the future. We will all benefit from these technological advancements while saving the planet by eliminating dirty, carbon-emitting gas-powered cars and trucks. And one of the companies Biden has frequently cited as a shining example of these advances is Proterra, a California-based manufacturer of electric buses. In fact, Biden is so impressed with this outfit that he appointed Proterra CEO Gareth Joyce to a prestigious White House advisory panel. That’s why it might be a bit jarring for him to learn that one of his favorite electric car companies just filed for bankruptcy. But don’t worry. The CEO is assuring us that everything is just fine. (Fox News)
Proterra, the electric bus company repeatedly celebrated by President Biden, filed for bankruptcy Monday, blaming various market “headwinds” for its financial struggles.
The California-based company filed a voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the District of Delaware to “strengthen its financial position.” Proterra said it would continue to operate its business as normal – including paying employee salaries and benefits, and compensating vendors and suppliers – during the process.
“The foundation we have built has set the stage for decarbonization across the commercial vehicle industry as a whole, and we recognize the great potential in all of our product offerings to enable this important transformation,” Proterra CEO Gareth Joyce said in a statement. “This is why we are taking action to separate each product line through the Chapter 11 reorganization process to maximize their independent potential.”
If Gareth Joyce is being completely open about this, the situation may not be all that dire. He claims that production is continuing and there are no layoffs planned. This is more of a “streamlining” maneuver designed to maximize the efficiency of each of their different product lines. Perhaps, but those are also a collection of phrases that we hear in “corporate-speak” when a company has some potentially bad news that they don’t want to announce yet.
The announcement is also in contrast with statements that the company put out this January when they said that they would in fact be cutting jobs and combining some production lines in South Carolina to further reduce costs. It’s also worth noting that Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s Energy Secretary used to be on the board of directors at Proterra and continued to hold stock in the corporation even after she was confirmed to her position until the press noticed and pointed it out.
Joyce is claiming that the reorganization is required because his company has been facing “various market and macroeconomic headwinds.” Could any of those “winds” be caused by the flames when his batteries keep catching fire? Just saying…
Keep in mind that Proterra is going through all of these reorganization activities and a bankruptcy filing despite being the recipient of massive amounts of taxpayer-funded subsidies designed to promote electric vehicle development and conversion. Much of that was generously funded by you through the hilariously-named “inflation reduction act” and previous climate bills. If this technology was so definitively proven and our “path to the future,” shouldn’t it be able to compete in the marketplace and survive on its own without us propping them up to the detriment of manufacturers of vehicles that actually work and are less prone to go up in flames?
Keep in mind that electric vehicles still cost considerably more on average than their gas-driven (and less flammable) counterparts. And that’s with a federal subsidy of $7,500 per vehicle returned to you. That subsidy is going to fail to be renewed at some point and the prices will shoot up even further. But by that point, it may be almost impossible to find a gas-powered car. You’re having the wool pulled over your eyes and we need to put a stop to this.
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