FUELL files for bankruptcy
PSB has learned that electric bicycle and e-motorcycle startup FUELL Inc., built with the help of motorcycle visionary Erik Buell, has filed for bankruptcy.
Electek.com’s Micah Toll writes that he tried to chase down answers from FUELL regarding its Flluid-2 and Flluid-3 e-bikes when he received a direct reply to an inquiry to the company’s CEO, Francois-Xavier Terny.
The reply was from a lawyer representing FUELL in its bankruptcy proceedings.
Below is a copy of the letter emailed to Toll:
October 17, 2024
To the creditors of Fuell Inc,
I am currently representing Fuell Inc. in a chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on October 16, 2024 as case #24-25492. A trustee has been appointed to liquidate the assets of the Company. All creditors will be advised to file claims in that proceeding as it appears that there may be assets for payment of unsecured claims after all of the secured claims are paid or otherwise dealt with. A copy of the Notice of the Case is posted nearby.
Management regrets the Company has been forced to take this path. Unfortunately, the Company lacks funds to pay for the labor costs and other required services necessary to assemble and ship products to its customers, and additional funds could not be raised to pay the Company’s outstanding current liabilities or to pay for the assembly and shipment of pre-ordered electric bicycles. I hasten to add that the Company has on hand what it believes to be the parts necessary for the assembly of the bulk of, if not all of the pre-ordered electric bicycles.
After consultation, management has determined that a promptly filed chapter 7 was the best way to provide value for the significant assets held by the Company including, but not limited to, a purchase from the bankruptcy trustee of substantially all of the assets of Fuell Inc. by an interested party who may subsequently, with effort and negotiations, potentially restart the operations and move forward. Obviously, this is the route preferred by management, but it is complicated and fraught with risk. Any creditor or interested party that has such an interest should be contemplating retaining experienced bankruptcy counsel to negotiate with the Trustee for such a purchase.
As the Company has little to no funds, and no employees, it is unable to directly answer creditors’ questions concerning specific orders. Creditors may direct questions to the Trustee who will be apprised of the situation. Since there are no employees at the Company to respond to questions at this time, current inquiries to the company will go unanswered.
All known creditors will receive the notice of the bankruptcy filing and advised to file claims. If you have placed a deposit for the purchase of a product, your claim may be entitled to priority to an extent. You may want to consult with a lawyer on this issue.
Great effort is being made to provide enough information in the bankruptcy schedules so that there is at least a possibility that a potential purchaser of the assets may be able to restart the Company or otherwise redeploy the assets to produce the product intended. Current equity will lose everything that is been invested in the company through this chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
We trust that this information may be of some cold comfort to you as a creditor of the Company and will certainly give you an idea of what you can expect in the immediate future. As indicated above, you will be notified of the bankruptcy filing as a creditor or other interested party.
If you have an interest in purchasing the assets through the bankruptcy process or know of anyone who may have such an interest, you may contact the Trustee or the undersigned to discuss potential avenues to accomplish that.
Sincerely,
PAULG. SWANSON
Attorney at Law
The deadline for submitting claims has been set for December 26, 2024, as described in a notice that accompanied the letter from FUELL’s lawyer.
FUELL Inc. was founded in 2019 and took off after the unveiling of the Flluid-1, which was regarded as a success. Erik Buell helped start the company, which he says was focused on combining sleek design, advanced technology, and sustainability.
Toll writes that he was trying to find out about FUELL’s Flluid-2 and Flluid-3 models, which raised over $1.5 million in crowdfunding through an Indiegogo campaign but failed to deliver at scale.
With several other high-profile e-bike bankruptcies recently, fuel was added to the fire, as Toll says in his report.
Source: Electrek.com
