Atlas Technologies, the operating company responsible for the production of the Lightyear solar cars, has now been declared insolvent by a Dutch court. What will happen to the entire project is now very uncertain.
A few days ago, Lightyear had already announced the stop of production for the Lightyear 0 in order to concentrate on the Lightyear 2. The application made at that time to open suspension of payments proceedings for Atlas Technologies has now been approved by the court and an insolvency administrator has been appointed, who is now to examine “how the Lightyear concept can be continued”.
“Lightyear regrets having to make this announcement for all employees, customers, investors and suppliers and will work closely with the curator and all the people who are involved and hope for their understanding and support,” the brief statement said.
Although the bankruptcy proceedings formally affect only the manufacturing company and not the parent Atlas Technologies Holding, which owns Lightyear’s intellectual property, the future of Lightyear 2 also appears unclear. On the career network LinkedIn, some Lightyear employees are already preparing for the end of the startup. “Along with over 600 people, I will soon be without a job, and many of us may struggle to meet our basic needs. But what has to be emphasized now is that the greatest assets the company has are its people, and so my earnest appeal to you all is to please share your hiring recommendations for my extremely talented colleagues,” an emphatic post there reads.
The Lightyear 2, intended for the mass market and priced from €40,000, is not due to be launched for a few years, so it is not yet fully developed. It is not known how much capital would still be needed for this. According to earlier information, there are already 40,000 reservations for the vehicle from private individuals and more than 21,000 pre-orders from fleet operators.
lightyear.one, linkedin.com
Keyword: Lightyear operating company Atlas Technologies declared insolvent