"NASA purchased three of Canoo's EVs in 2023 with the intention of using the vans to shuttle astronauts to the launchpad for its Artemis missions to the Moon. The space agency told TechCrunch that Canoo "was no longer able to meet our mission requirements." As of October, NASA said it is leasing the Airstream-built "Astrovan" from Boeing that the aerospace company commissioned for its own crewed space missions."
"Canoo filed for bankruptcy in January 2025 after years of financial struggles and failing to establish a market for its electric vans. Soon after, former CEO Tony Aquila made a $4 million bid for the startup's assets in March. Aquila told the bankruptcy trustee that a "principal motivation" for buying the assets was his "desire to honor [Canoo's] commitment to provide service and support for certain government programs.""
"Meanwhile, the USPS said in an emailed statement the six vehicles it purchased "for evaluation purposes" in 2024 "are no longer in use." The "evaluation has been completed," the postal service wrote, and "no further investments are anticipated." The USPS declined to share any details or final results of the evaluation. Canoo also provided at least one demonstration vehicle to the Department of Defense (DOD) before its bankruptcy. The DOD did not respond to emailed requests about whether it has continued using the van."
NASA bought three Canoo electric vans in 2023 to shuttle astronauts to Artemis launchpads but concluded Canoo could not meet mission requirements and now leases Boeing's Airstream-built "Astrovan." The USPS purchased six Canoo vehicles in 2024 for evaluation and has taken them out of service, stating the evaluation is complete and that no further investments are anticipated. Canoo provided at least one demonstration van to the Department of Defense before filing for bankruptcy in January 2025 after years of financial struggles and weak sales. Former CEO Tony Aquila submitted a $4 million bid for Canoo's assets, citing a desire to honor service commitments to government programs; a judge approved the sale in April.
Read at TechCrunch
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