How EV startup's cheap cars all wound up in a huge pile in Arizona scrapyard
- This funky-looking vehicle is called the ‘Solo’
- It was made by an Arizona startup, ElectraMeccanica
- Due to an engineering failure they couldn’t fix, all the cars are now scrapped
Published on Aug 05, 2024 at 3:21 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Aug 06, 2024 at 7:08 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Images of cheap EV cars rusting away in the desert of Arizona, US, have been going viral for a few days.
Ironically, a lot of people had no idea what these were until these pictures were posted across social media.
But then they surfaced and now everyone’s having a retroactive ‘oh no that’s so sad’ reaction.
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The pictures were initially shared on Instagram by a content creator who goes by the username, startupslick.
The worst part is that the expressions ‘stacked up’ or ‘pile’ of abandoned cars are generally used metaphorically.
But in this instance, it is a literal description of what’s going on.
Who made these vehicles?
The car called the ‘Solo’, was designed by an Arizona-based start-up called ElectraMeccanica.
The idea was to build agile three-wheeled EVs that people could use for short trips in the city.
They looked a bit funky, and they’re definitely not what you’d call a spec monster, but the startup still managed to sell a few hundred in the first few years, including some overseas.
How these vehicles ended up in a scrapyard in Arizona
When startups go bust, it’s usually because they run out of cash.
That’s probably what happened with the Chinese startup that bought brand-new Teslas over a decade ago and never actually took delivery of them because it failed.
But with ElectraMeccanica, things went a bit differently.
The startup sold 428 vehicles in total, which is probably nothing to write home about but still a good number for such a weird-looking vehicle coming out of nowhere.
It was all going well until it all went wrong.
In 2022, one of the customers got in touch with the company and told them their vehicle had suddenly lost propulsion for no apparent reason.
That’s the last you want to hear from a customer but ElectraMeccanica didn’t have time to worry about that, or react, because shortly thereafter several customers complained about the very same thing.
But the worst came after because the only thing worse than an issue affecting (nearly) every single one of the products you sold is having an issue that you can’t fix.
The company gave up trying to find a solution, and these EVs ended up piled one on top of the other in the Arizona desert.
Pity.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
