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YoY shift: Neutral
Year-over-year tone shift - average net-tone change across Risk Factors and MD&A vs the prior 10-K. This filing is -0.14pp more bearish than last year's.
Why YoY instead of absolute: the LM lexicon has ~6.6× more negative words than positive (legal/risk-disclosure language is heavy on hedging), so every 10-K reads bearish on raw tone. Year-over-year change strips that bias and surfaces the actual shift in management's framing.
Tone shift by section
The two components the gauge averages: how Risk Factors and MD&A each shifted in net tone versus last year's 10-K. The headline above is their average, so a green needle over a soft section just means the other section carried it.
Risk Factors
-0.16pp
Flat
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
MD&A
-0.12pp
Flat
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
Per-snippet highlights
Sentence-level sentiment highlighting with category and subcategory filters is coming once the snippet-scoring pipeline lands. For now, dig into the actual section text on the Sections tab.
Language change vs prior 10-K
Risk Factors (Item 1A) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase
Negative rising
concern+2
delist+2
claims+1
defend+1
delisting+1
Positive rising
regain+1
despite+1
Risk Factors (Item 1A)
22,825 words
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should consider carefully the following risk factors, as well as the other information set forth in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto. The following discussion of risk factors includes forward-looking statements and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” The disclosures of a risk should not be interpreted to imply that such risk has not already materialized. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and growth prospects. In such an event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Unless otherwise indicated, references in these risk factors to our business being harmed will include harm to our business, reputation, brand, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Language change vs prior 10-K
MD&A (Item 7) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase
Negative rising
losses+6
against+4
concern+2
delisted+2
doubt+2
Positive rising
benefit+2
effective+1
achieved+1
best+1
MD&A (Item 7)
4,890 words
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Overview
Our mission is to power the future of sustainable transportation by creating stylish, innovative and cost-efficient premium electric vehicles centered around differentiated designs and solutions tailored for every lifestyle. We are a technology innovator and a developer of premium electric vehicles (“EVs”). We have developed several proprietary technologies which are the building blocks of the Thunder Power family of EVs.
Four models are currently featured in our phased development and roll-out strategy: the limited-edition coupe, (the “Coupe” or “488”), long-range Sedan (the “Sedan”), compact city car (the “City Car” or “Chloe”) and the long-range SUV (the “SUV”, and together with the Coupe, Sedan, and City Car, the “Models”). We intend to target not just consumers who desire EVs, but consumers who desire practical and innovative EVs, as well as consumers who seek a luxury experience. We believe that by leveraging our modular integration concept starting with the modularized chassis system patented by us, we are creating a family of EVs (excluding the City Car) which share common parts and modules which we believe require lower investment and reduced design and production time as opposed to those of traditional automotive manufacturers. We intend to first create the initial design for our Sedan and then scale upwards to create the Coupe and scale to create the City Car. In time, we expect to round off our offering with the SUV.
Risks Related to Thunder Power’s Business and Industry
Our limited operating history makes evaluating our business and future prospects difficult and may increase the risk of your investment.
We are an early-stage company with a limited operating history, operating in a rapidly evolving and highly regulated market. Furthermore, we have not released any commercially available product, and we have no experience manufacturing or selling a commercial product on a scale. Because we have not generated revenue, and as a result of the capital-intensive nature of our business, we expect to continue to incur substantial operating losses for the foreseeable future.
We have encountered and expect to continue to encounter risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by early-stage companies in rapidly changing markets, including risks relating to our ability to, among other things:
hire, integrate and retain professional and technical talent, including key members of management;
continue to make significant investments in research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sales;
successfully obtain, maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property and defendagainstclaims of intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violation;
build a well-recognized and respected brand;
establish, refine and scale our commercial manufacturing capabilities and distribution infrastructure;
establish and maintain satisfactory arrangements with third-party suppliers;
establish and expand a customer base;
navigate an evolving and complex regulatory environment;
anticipate and adapt to changing market conditions, including consumer demand for certain vehicle types, models or trim levels, technological developments and changes in competitive landscape; and
successfully design, build, manufacture and market new variants and models of electric vehicles.
You must consider the risks and difficulties we face as an early-stage company with a limited operating history. If we do not successfully address these risks, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition will be materially and adverselyharmed. We have a very limited operating history on which investors can base an evaluation of our business, operating results and prospects. There are no assurances that we will be able to secure future business with potential customers. As an early-stage company, it is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. In the event that actual results differ from our estimates or we adjust our estimates in future periods, our operating results and financial position could be materially affected. Our performance and expectations depend on the successful implementation of management’s growth strategies and are based on assumptions and events over which we have only partial or no control, including, but not limited to, adverse economic conditions, regulatory developments, our ability to finance our contemplated operations, difficulties in engineering, delays in designs or materials provided by the customer or a third party, equipment and materials delivery delays, schedule changes, customer scope changes, delays related to obtaining regulatory permits and rights-of-way, inability to find adequate sources of labor in the locations where we are building new plants, weather-related delays, delays by customers’ contractors in completing their portion of a project, technical or transportation difficulties, cost overruns, supply difficulties, geopolitical risks and other factors. The assumptions underlying our expectations require the exercise of judgment and may not occur, and the expectations are subject to uncertainty due to the effects of economic, business, competitive, regulatory, legislative, and political or other changes.
We have incurred net losses each year since our inception and expect to incur increasing expenses and substantial losses for the foreseeable future.
We have no operating history in the electric vehicle market and have never generated revenue from product sales. Since inception, we have incurred significant net losses. We anticipate our losses will increase substantially as we:
Continue designing and developing our vehicles
Establish manufacturing capabilities
Build our brand and marketing operations
Develop our distribution infrastructure
Invest in research and development
Given the significant capital required to bring our products to market, we expect to continue incurring substantial losses for the foreseeable future. There is no assurance that we will ever achieve or sustain profitability. Our lack of operating history in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving industry makes evaluating our business and future prospects difficult. We face all the risks and uncertainties of an early-stage company in a complex, capital-intensive industry. If we fail to successfully address these risks and uncertainties, our business, financial condition, and results of operations will be materially harmed.
If our product development or commercialization of vehicles is delayed, our costs and expenses may be significantly higher than we currently expect. Because we will incur the costs and expenses from these efforts before we receive any incremental revenues with respect thereto, we expect our losses in future periods will be significant.
Our business model has yet to be tested and any failure to commercialize our strategic plans would have an adverse effect on our operating results and business, harm our reputation and could result in substantial liabilities that exceed our resources.
Investors should be aware of the difficulties normally encountered by an early-stage enterprise, many of which are beyond our control, including substantial risks and expenses in the course of establishing or entering new markets, organizing operations and undertaking marketing activities. The likelihood of our success must be considered in light of these risks, expenses, complications, delays and the competitive environment in which we operate. There is, therefore, nothing at this time upon which to base an assumption that our business plan will prove successful, and we may not be able to generate significant revenue, raise additional capital or operate profitably. We will continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by early commercial stage companies, including scaling up our infrastructure and headcount, and may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties or delays in connection with our growth. In addition, as a result of the capital-intensive nature of our business, we can be expected to continue to sustain substantial operating expenses and may not generate sufficient revenues to cover expenditure. Any investment in our company is therefore highly speculative and could result in a loss of your entire investment.
We may have difficulty managing growth in our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to execute its business plan in a timely fashion.
Because of our small size, growth in accordance with our business plans, if achieved, may place a significant strain on our financial, technical, operational and management resources. If we expand our activities, developments and production, and increase the number of projects we are evaluating or in which we participate, there will be additional demands on our financial, technical and management resources. The failure to continue to upgrade our technical, administrative, operating and financial control systems or the occurrence of unexpected expansion difficulties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to execute our business plan in a timely fashion.
We intend to hire a significant number of additional personnel, including design and manufacturing personnel and service technicians for our vehicles. Because our vehicles are based on a different technological platform than traditional internal combustion engines, individuals with sufficient training in electric vehicles may not be available to hire, and as a result, we will need to spend significant time and expense training the personnel we do hire. Competition for individuals with experience in designing, engineering, manufacturing and servicing electric vehicles is intense, and we may not be able to identify, attract, integrate, train, motivate or retain additional highly qualified personnel in the future. The failure to identify, attract, integrate, train, motivate and retain these additional personnel could seriouslyharm our business and prospects. If we are unable to grant equity awards, or if we are forced to reduce the value of equity awards we grant due to shortage of shares available for issuance under our 2024 Omnibus Equity Inventive Plan, we may not be able to attract, hire and retain the personnel necessary for our business, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, we have no experience in mass manufacturing our vehicles. We cannot assure our investors that we will be able to develop efficient, automated, low-cost manufacturing capabilities and processes, and reliable sources of component supply that will enable us to meet the quality, price, engineering, design and production standards, as well as the production volumes required to successfully market our vehicles. Any failure to develop such manufacturing processes and capabilities within our projected costs and timelines could stunt our future growth and impair our ability to produce, market, service and sell or lease our vehicles successfully. In addition, our success is substantially dependent upon the continued service and performance of our senior management team and key technical and vehicle management personnel. If any key personnel were to terminate their employment with us, such termination would likely increase the difficulty of managing our future growth and heighten the foregoing risks. If we fail to manage our growth effectively, such failure could result in negative publicity and damage to our brand and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
The proceeds received in the Business Combination will only fund operations for a limited time and we will need to obtain additional financing to continue operations and execute our business plans. If we are unable to obtain such financing, we may be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our products and services.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. The net losses of Thunder Power Holdings Limited were $2.12 and $2.50 million for the years ending December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We anticipate that our future cash requirements will continue to be significant and we will need to obtain additional financing beyond that being provided by the Business Combination to implement our business plan as described in this prospectus. Specifically, we may need to raise additional funds to complete the research and development, testing, manufacturing, marketing, and shipping of our vehicles, as well as to support the continued research and development of our vehicles and the development of other models, and to build contingencies for unforeseen events. Such financing could include equity financing, which may be dilutive to stockholders, or debt financing, which would likely restrict our ability to borrow from other sources. In addition, such securities may contain rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of the rights of the stockholders of the Company upon closing thereof. Additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms attractive to us, or at all.
If adequate funds are not available on a timely basis, we may be required to curtail the development of our technology, products or services, or materially delay, curtail, reduce or terminate our research and development and commercialization activities. We could be forced to sell or dispose of our rights or assets. Any inability to raise adequate funds on commercially reasonable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and prospects, including the possibility that a lack of funds could cause our business to fail and liquidate with little or no return to investors.
Thunder Power’s management has limited experience in operating a public company.
Thunder Power’s management has limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Thunder Power’s management team may not successfully or effectively manage its transition to a public company that will be subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under U.S. federal securities laws. Their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that it is likely that an increasing amount of their time may be devoted to these activities which will result in less time being devoted to the management and growth of the post-combination company. Thunder Power may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal control over financial reporting required of public companies in the U.S. Any fault in Thunder Power’s finance and accounting systems could impact its ability or prevent it from timely reporting its operating results, timely filing required reports with the SEC and complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for Thunder Power to achieve the level of accounting standards required of a public company in the U.S. may require costs greater than expected. It is possible that Thunder Power will be required to expand its employee base and hire additional employees to support its operations as a public company which will increase its operating costs in future periods.
We are actively negotiating with our affiliates to license the intellectual property and technology rights at the core of our business plan, and our inability to obtain and maintain these licenses could materially affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Our entire business model depends on intellectual property we do not own. We are actively negotiating with our affiliates to license critical intellectual property and technology rights that form the core of our business plan. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not secured any licensing agreements. If we fail to obtain these licenses on favorable terms, or at all, our ability to develop, manufacture, and sell our products would be severely compromised, potentially rendering our business model unviable. Even if we secure these licenses, we may face challenges in maintaining them, or the licenses may be terminated, significantly impacting our operations. Our lack of direct ownership of key patents and technologies exposes us to substantial risk and uncertainty regarding our ability to execute our business strategy.
If we are unable to maintain our planned license agreements, our ability to continue developing, designing, manufacturing, distributing, and selling our products would be limited and may require us to stop operations entirely. If any such future license agreement is terminated for any reason, we may be forced to acquire or develop alternative technology, which we may be unable to do in a commercially feasible manner, if at all, and may require us to use alternative technology of lower quality or performance standards. This would, in turn, limit, delay or disrupt our ability to offer new or competitive products and could also increase our costs, which would adversely affect our margins, market share, business, financial condition, and operating results.
The obligations associated with being a public company involve significant expenses and require significant resources and management attention, which may divert from our business operations.
As a public company, we are subject to the ongoing reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Exchange Act requires the filing of annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting. As a result, we have and expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses that Thunder Power did not incur prior to the Business Combination. For example, these rules and regulations may make it more difficult or more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. Additionally, our officers and many of our other employees may need to devote substantial time and attention to regulatory compliance which may divert their time and attention from our business operations.
The inability to attract and retain qualified personnel may adversely impact our business.
If we fail to attract, hire and retain qualified personnel, we may not be able to develop, market or sell our products or successfully manage our business. We are dependent upon a highly skilled, experienced and efficient workforce to be successful. The inability to attract and hire qualified individuals or the loss of key employees in very skilled areas could have a negative effect on our financial results.
Uninsuredlosses could result in payment of substantial damages, which would decrease our cash reserves and could harm our cash flow and financial condition.
In the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to losses resulting from product liability, accidents, acts of God and other claimsagainst us, for which we may have no insurance coverage. While we currently carry insurance that is customary for our size and operations, we may not maintain as much insurance coverage as other original equipment manufacturers do, and in some cases, we may not maintain any at all. Additionally, the policies that we have may include significant deductibles, and we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be sufficient to cover all or any future claimsagainst us. A loss that is uninsured or exceeds policy limits may require us to pay substantial amounts, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Further, insurance coverage may not continue to be available to us or, if available, may be at a significantly higher cost, especially if insurance providers perceive any increase in our risk profile in the future.
Our strategy to outsource various elements of the products and services we sell may subject us to the business risks of our future third-party service providers, which could have a material adverse impact on our operations.
In areas where we will depend on third-party service providers for retail product distribution and full-service networks, we will be subject to the risk of customer dissatisfaction with the quality or performance of the products or services we sell due to third-party service provider’s failure. Third-party service providers may not have the same incentives we do and may not allocate adequate or sufficient time and/or resources for performing services for us. In addition, business difficulties experienced by a third-party service provider could lead to the interruption of our ability to distribute products or provide services and ultimately our inability to supply products or services to our customers. Third-party service provider business interruptions may include, but are not limited to, work stoppages, union negotiations and other labor disputes. Current or future economic conditions could also impact the ability of third-party service providers to access credit and, thus, impair their ability to provide us with quality services in a timely manner, or at all.
Our business and prospects will depend significantly on our brand.
Our business and prospects will heavily depend on our ability to develop, maintain and strengthen the “Thunder Power” brand association with luxury and technological excellence. Promoting and positioning our brand will likely depend significantly on our ability to provide consistently high-quality customer experience, an area in which we have limited experience. To promote our brand, we will be required to invest in, and over time we may be required to change our customer development and branding practices, which could result in substantially increased expenses, including the need to use traditional media such as television, radio and print advertising. Our ability to successfully position our brand could also be adversely affected by perceptions about the quality of our competitors’ vehicles or our competitors’ success. For example, certain of our competitors have been subject to significant scrutiny for incidents involving their self-driving technology and battery fires, which could result in similar scrutiny of us.
In particular, any negative publicity, whether or not true, can quickly proliferate on social media and harm consumer perception and confidence in our brand. The growing use of social media increases the speed with which information and opinions can be shared and, thus, the speed with which a company’s reputation can be affected. If we fail to correct or mitigate misinformation or negative information, including information spread through social media or traditional media channels, about us, the products we offer, our customer experience, or any aspect of our brand, our business, sales and results of operations could be adversely impacted. From time to time, our vehicles or those of our competitors may be evaluated and reviewed by third parties. Perceptions of our offerings in the marketplace may be significantly influenced by these reviews, which are disseminated via various media, including the internet. Any negative reviews or reviews which compare us unfavorably to competitors could adversely affect consumer perception about our vehicles and reduce demand for our vehicles, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition.
Risks Related to Regulation and Litigation
The SEC and other parties may find that Thunder Power’s public-relations information before the production on any of our EVs may have misled investors or conditioned the market for investors or that we may have omitted to provide information that investors may reasonably find important to their investment decision.
There is always a risk of making falseclaims about the prospects of an EV technology company. One such notable case was United States of America v. Trevor Milton, No. 21-00478, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 21 Cr. 478 (ER) (“ Nikola” ). Nikola involved an electric truck maker who the SEC alleged in 2020-2021 defrauded its investors with falseclaims about its EV technology. In a cease-and-desist order against Nikola and the subsequent case S.E.C. v. Milton, No. 21 Civ. 06445 (AKH), the SEC said that Trevor Milton (“Milton”), the founder and one-time chairperson of Nikola, lied to inflate stock prices during the company’s public-relations campaign to investors by making forward-looking statements since the company had not yet produced a single vehicle. Other misleading and forward-looking statements included claims about Nikola’s technological advancements, in-house production capabilities, hydrogen production, truck reservations and orders, financial outlook, refueling time, and a potential partnership with a globally known car maker. Several electric vehicle prototypes of the Sedan and City Car were built by TongGao Advanced Manufacturing Technology (Taicang) Co. Ltd, an affiliate of Thunder Power. These prototypes were built for the purpose of showcasing Thunder Power’s technology and for early fundraising purposes. Thunder Power has not produced a single electric vehicle and all our statements in this prospectus regarding our production capabilities, technologies, weight, charging time, driving range and potential partnerships are forecasts or forward-looking statements based on our own beliefs, opinions, and internal research, development and testing.
Some of our directors, officers and assets reside or be located outside of the United States, which may cause investors difficulty in enforcing judgments against our directors and officers.
Some of our directors and officers reside outside the United States and a majority of our assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible to effect service of process within the United States upon these directors and officers, or to recover against those persons on judgments of United States courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the United States federal securities laws. Moreover, it is not certain that a court in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, or Taiwan would award damages on the same basis as a United States court, or that a British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, or Taiwanese court would enforce foreign judgments if it viewed the number of damages as excessive or inconsistent with local practice or public policy.
Further, the United States may not be declared by the Government of other countries to be a reciprocating territory for the purposes of enforcement of foreign judgments, and there are grounds upon which British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, or Taiwan courts may decline to enforce the judgments of United States courts. Some remedies available under the laws of the United States, including remedies available under the United States federal securities laws, may not be allowed in British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, or Taiwan courts if deemed contrary to public policy in such jurisdictions.
Our affiliated parties such as our major shareholders may be involved in governmental investigations and civil litigation relating to the business affairs of companies with which they are, were or may in the future be affiliated with.
Our controlling shareholder, Mr. Wellen Sham, is currently the defendant in significant legal proceedings that could materially impact our business. Mr. Sham faces criminalprosecution in Taiwan on 11 indictments related to securities violations, breaches of fiduciary duty, and other financial matters. Additionally, he is subject to multiple civil actions seeking his dismissal as chairman of a related company and claimingdamages for investors. While these proceedings do not directly involve our company, they create substantial risks, including:
Potential reputational damage affecting our ability to secure partnerships, investments, and customer trust;
Diversion of Mr. Sham’s attention from our business operations;
Possible loss of Mr. Sham’s leadership or voting control if legal actions are successful;
Challenges in accessing capital markets or obtaining favorable terms from suppliers and partners.
Mr. Wellen Sham, Thunder Power’s former Chief Executive Officer, is a defendant in a claim brought by the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office (the “Prosecutor”) in 2022. This claim is currently being litigated in Taiwan Taipei District Court Criminal Division (Taiwan Taipei District Court, Year 2022, Jin-Chong-Su-Zhi, No. 19) by a public Prosecutor. The prosecution is based on 11 indictments involving the following: a securities purchase which may have been a related party transaction; the use of a non-exclusive license to offset a debt owed to a related party; an exclusive authorized sales agent agreement for USD 4,950,000; an agreement for parts for an electric four-door sedan for USD 4,480,000; a land purchase in a non-arm’s length related party transaction; executive control over bonuses of USD 150,000, USD 50,000, USD 100,000, and NTD 6,000,000 from affiliates; utilization of funds to cover all expenses associated with a seminar hosted by Thunder Power Electric Vehicle Limited (“TPEV”); utilization of funds to cover the salaries of employees; and instructions to issue a false press release with the aim of disseminating rumors or misleading information (collectively, the “CriminalProsecution”). In conjunction with the CriminalProsecution, Taiwan’s Securities Investor and Futures Trader Protection Center (“SFIPC”), based on the content of the CriminalProsecution, initiated civil actions against Mr. Sham, including: requesting that Mr. Sham shall bear liability for damages incurred by EPTECH; asserting Mr. Sham should be dismissed from the position of Chairman of EPTECH; asserting that Mr. Sham shall bear liability for damages incurred by investors of EPTECH; and applying for a provisional seizure procedure against Mr. Sham. While Thunder Power is unable to predict the outcome of these matters with certainty, in response to the foregoing accusations, Mr. Sham sought relief by asserting his innocence, appointing a defense attorney, applying for an investigation of favorable evidence, and actively exercising his right to defend himself.
The outcome of these legal matters is uncertain and could have far-reaching consequences for our business strategy, operations, and future prospects.
We are subject to substantial laws and regulations that could impose substantial costs, legal prohibitions or unfavorable changes upon our operations or products, and any failure to comply with these laws and regulations, including as they evolve, could substantially harm our business and results of operations.
We are or will be subject to complex environmental, manufacturing, health and safety laws and regulations at numerous jurisdictional levels, including laws relating to the use, handling, storage, recycling, disposal and human exposure to hazardous materials and with respect to constructing, expanding and maintaining our facilities. The costs of compliance, including remediating contamination, if any, are found on our properties and any changes to our operations mandated by new or amended laws, may be significant. We may also face unexpecteddelays in obtaining permits and approvals required by such laws in connection with our manufacturing facilities, which would hinder our ability to continue our commercial manufacturing operations. Such costs and delays may adversely impact our business prospects and results of operations. Furthermore, any violations of these laws may result in substantial fines and penalties, remediation costs, third-party damages, or a suspension or cessation of our operations.
In addition, models will be subject to substantial regulations under international, federal, state and local laws. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in complying with these regulations. Any failures to comply could result in significant expenses, delays or fines. In the United States, vehicles must meet or exceed all federally mandated motor vehicle safety standards to be certified under the federal regulations. Rigorous testing and the use of approved materials and equipment are among the requirements for achieving federal certification. Any future vehicles will be subject to substantial regulation under federal, state and local laws and standards. These regulations include those promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NHTSA, other federal agencies, various state agencies and various state boards, and compliance certification is required for each individual vehicle we manufacture for sale. These laws and standards are subject to change from time to time, and we could become subject to additional regulations in the future, which would increase the effort and expense of compliance. In addition, federal, state and local laws and industrial standards for electric vehicles are still developing, and we face risks associated with changes to these regulations, which could have an impact on the acceptance of our electric vehicles, and increased sensitivity by regulators to the needs of established automobile manufacturers with large employment bases, high fixed costs and business models based on the internal combustion engine, which could lead them to pass regulations that could reduce the compliance costs of such established manufacturers or mitigate the effects of government efforts to promote electric vehicles. Compliance with these regulations is challenging, burdensome, time consuming and expensive. If compliance results in delays or substantial expenses, our business could be adversely affected.
We also expect to become subject to laws and regulations applicable to the supply, manufacture, import, sale and service of automobiles internationally, including in Europe, the Middle East and China. Applicable regulations in countries outside of the U.S., such as standards relating to vehicle safety, fuel economy and emissions, among other things, are often materially different from requirements in the United States. Compliance with such regulations will therefore require additional time, effort and expense to ensure regulatory compliance in those countries. This process may include official review and certification of our vehicles by foreign regulatory agencies prior to market entry, as well as compliance with foreign reporting and recall management systems requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve foreign regulatory compliance in a timely manner and at our expected cost, or at all, and the costs of achieving international regulatory compliance or the failure to achieve international regulatory compliance could harm our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
In the future, if we develop or acquire proprietary intellectual property, protecting such intellectual property will be critical to our operations and we may suffer competitive harm from infringement on such rights.
If we develop or acquire proprietary intellectual property in the future, protecting such intellectual property will be critical to our operations. There is no assurance that our patent applications will be granted or that issued patents will provide adequate protection. We may also need to expend significant resources to defend our intellectual property against third-party infringement, and failure to protect these rights could result in competitive harm.
We are subject to legal proceedings, regulatory disputes and governmental inquiries that could cause us to incur significant expenses, divert our management’s attention, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
From time to time, we may be subject to claims, lawsuits, government investigations and other proceedings involving product liability, consumer protection, competition and antitrust, intellectual property, privacy, securities, tax, labor and employment, health and safety, our direct distribution model, environmental claims, commercial disputes and other matters that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. In the ordinary course of business, we have been the subject of complaints or litigation, including claims related to employment matters.
Litigation and regulatory proceedings may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict. Additionally, our litigation costs could be significant, even if we achievefavorable outcomes. Adverse outcomes with respect to litigation or any of these legal proceedings may result in significant settlement costs or judgments, penalties and fines, or require us to modify, make temporarily unavailable or stop manufacturing or selling our vehicles in some or all markets, all of which could negatively affect our sales and revenue growth and adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
The results of litigation, investigations, claims and regulatory proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, and determining reserves for pending litigation and other legal and regulatory matters require significant judgment. There can be no assurance that our expectations will prove correct, and even if these matters are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. In addition, the threat or announcement of litigation or investigations by governmental authorities or other parties, irrespective of the merits of the underlying claims, may itself have an adverse impact on the trading price of our Common Stock.
We may become subject to product liability claims, which could harm our financial condition and liquidity if we are not able to successfullydefend or insure against such claims.
We may become subject to product liability claims, which could harm our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. The automotive industry experiences significant product liability claims, and we face inherent risks of exposure to claims in the event our production vehicles do not perform or are claimed not to perform as expected or malfunction, resulting in property damage, personal injury or death. We also expect that, as is true for other automakers, our vehicles will be involved in crashes resulting in death or personal injury, and even if not caused by the failure of our vehicles, we may face product liability claims and adverse publicity in connection with such incidents. In addition, we may face claims arising from or related to failures, claimed failures or misuse of new technologies that we expect to offer. In addition, the battery packs that we produce make use of lithium-ion cells. On rare occasions, lithium-ion cells can rapidly release the energy they contain by venting smoke and flames in a manner that can ignite nearby materials as well as other lithium-ion cells. While we have designed our battery packs to passively contain a single cell’s release of energy without spreading to neighboring modules, there can be no assurance that a field or testing failure of our vehicles or other battery packs that we produce will not occur, in particular due to a high-speed crash. In addition, although we equip our vehicles with systems designed to detect and warn vehicle occupants of such thermal events, there can be no assurance that such systems will function as designed or will provide vehicle occupants with sufficient, or any, warning in all circumstances. Any such events or failures of our vehicles, battery packs or warning systems could subject us to lawsuits, product recalls or redesign efforts, all of which would be time-consuming and expensive.
A successful product liability claim against us could require us to pay a substantial monetary award. Our risks in this area are particularly pronounced in light of the limited field experience of our vehicles. Moreover, a product liability claim against us or our competitors could generate substantial negative publicity about our vehicles and business and inhibit or prevent commercialization of our future vehicles, which would have material adverse effect on our brand, business, prospects and results of operations. Our insurance coverage might not be sufficient to cover all potential product liability claims, and insurance coverage may not continue to be available to us or, if available, may be at a significantly higher cost. Any lawsuit seeking significant monetary damages or other product liability claims may have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business and financial condition.
We are subject to various environmental, health and safety laws and regulations that could impose substantial costs on us and cause delays in building and subsequently expanding our production facilities.
Our operations are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations and will be subject to international environmental laws, including laws relating to the use, handling, storage, and disposal of and human exposure to hazardous materials. Environmental, health and safety laws and regulations are complex, and we have limited experience complying with them. Moreover, we may be affected by future amendments to such laws or other new environmental, health and safety laws and regulations which may require us to change our operations, potentially resulting in a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. These laws can give rise to liability for administrative oversight costs, cleanup costs, property damage, bodily injury, fines and penalties. Capital and operating expenses needed to comply with environmental laws and regulations can be significant, and violations could result in substantial fines and penalties, third-party damages, suspension of production or a cessation of our operations.
Contamination at properties we own or operate, properties we formerly owned or operated or properties to which we sent hazardous substances may result in liability for us under environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, which can impose liability for the full amount of remediation-related costs without regard to fault, for the investigation and cleanup of contaminated soil and ground water, for building contamination and impacts to human health and for damages to natural resources. The costs of complying with environmental laws and regulations and any claims concerning noncompliance, or liability with respect to contamination in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Our operations are also subject to federal, state, and local workplace safety laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which require compliance with various workplace safety requirements, including requirements related to environmental safety. These laws and regulations can give rise to liability for oversight costs, compliance costs, bodily injury (including workers’ compensation), fines, and penalties.
Additionally, non-compliance could result in delay or suspension of production or cessation of operations. The costs required to comply with workplace safety laws can be significant, and non-compliance could adversely affect our production or other operations, including with respect to the production of our first models, the Coupe and the City Car, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects and results of operations.
We face risks associated with international operations, including unfavorable regulatory, political, tax and labor conditions, which could harm our business.
We anticipate having operations in the United States, Europe and distributions in the United States, European and Asian markets, each that which may be subject to the legal, political, regulatory and social requirements and economic conditions in these jurisdictions. We are subject to a number of risks associated with international business activities that may increase our costs, impact our ability to sell, service and manufacture our vehicles, and require significant management attention. These risks include:
conforming our vehicles to various international regulatory requirements where our vehicles are sold, or homologation;
establishing localized supply chains and managing international supply chain and logistics costs;
establishing sufficient charging points for our customers in those jurisdictions, via partnerships or, if necessary, via development of our own charging networks;
difficulty in staffing and managing foreign operations;
difficulties attracting customers in new jurisdictions;
difficulties establishing international manufacturing operations, including difficulties establishing relationships with or establishing localized supplier bases and developing cost-effective and reliable supply chains for such manufacturing operations and financing such manufacturing operations;
foreign government taxes, regulations and permit requirements;
inflation as well as fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates, including risks related to any forward currency contracts, interest rate swaps or other hedging activities we undertake;
United States and foreign government trade restrictions, tariffs and price or exchange controls;
foreign labor laws, regulations and restrictions;
foreign data privacy and security laws, regulations and obligations;
changes in diplomatic and trade relationships, including political risk and customer perceptions based on such changes and risks;
political instability, natural disasters, pandemics, war or events of terrorism; and
the strength of international economies.
If we fail to successfully address these risks, our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition could be materially harmed.
Various states’ automobile manufacturer and dealer regulations may limit Thunder Power’s ability to implement its business model for the sale of the Coupe and for the servicing of its entire family of EVs in the U.S. EV market.
In the United States, state laws regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale and service of automobiles, and generally require motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers to be licensed in order to sell vehicles directly to residents. Certain states do not permit automobile manufacturers to be licensed as dealers or to act in the capacity of a dealer, or otherwise restrict a manufacturer’s ability to deliver or service vehicles. To sell vehicles to residents of states where Thunder Power is not licensed as a dealer, Thunder Power expects to conduct the transfer of title out of the state. In certain such states, Thunder Power expects to open Studios that serve an educational purpose and where the title transfer may not occur.
Some automobile dealer trade associations may challenge the legality of Thunder Power’s operations and direct selling operations by OEMs in court and may use administrative and legislative processes to attempt to prohibit or limit such original equipment manufacturers’ (“OEMs”) ability to operate existing stores or expand to new locations. Certain dealer associations may also actively lobbied state licensing agencies and legislators to interpret existing laws or enact new laws in ways not favorable to Thunder Power’s planned direct sales and service model. Thunder Power expects dealer trade associations to continue to lobby state licensing agencies and legislators to interpret existing laws or enact new laws in ways not favorable to its business model; however, Thunder Power intends to oppose such efforts to limit its ability to operate and intends to proactively support legislation that enables its business model.
Should Thunder Power not be allowed to develop relationships with the largest multi-brand and high-end brand dealers in the U.S. it would be difficult for it as a newcomer to the U.S. EV market to gain a foothold in the U.S. Thunder Power recognizes that its best strategy for market penetration is to align itself with a U.S. dealership network, especially for sale of the Coupe, and the eventual servicing of its family of EVs.
Our auditor, Assentsure PAC, is headquartered in Singapore, and is subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis. To the extent that our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit documentation related to their audit reports for our business activities in Hong Kong or Taiwan, the PCAOB may not be able inspect such audit documentation and, as such, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection and our Common Stock could be delisted from the stock exchange pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCAA states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit our shares from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States.
Pursuant to the HFCAA, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report on December 16, 2021, which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in parts of the PRC including: (i) Mainland China and (ii) Hong Kong. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified the specific registered public accounting firms which are subject to these determinations. Our auditor, Assentsure PAC, is headquartered in Singapore and is subject to inspection by the PCAOB once every three years or as determined by the PCAOB. Our auditor is not headquartered in the PRC and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination.
Our independent registered public accounting firm issued an audit opinion on the financial statements included in this report filed with the SEC and will issue audit reports related to us in the future. As auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, our auditor is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB but there is a risk that our auditor’s work papers has not been subjected to inspection by the PCAOB or the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections for reasons unknown or beyond our control. Inspections of certain other accounting firms that the PCAOB has conducted have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. We are required by the HFCAA to have an auditor that is subject to the inspection by the PCAOB. While our present auditor is located in the United States and the PCAOB is able to conduct inspections on such auditor, to the extent this status changes in the future and our auditor’s audit documentation related to their audit reports for our company becomes outside of the inspection by the PCAOB or if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely our auditor because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction, trading in our Common Stock on the over-the-counter market could be restricted, and our securities could be subject to regulatory actions under the HFCAA.
On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA, which became effective on May 5, 2021. We will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies our auditors as having a “non-inspection” year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC.
On May 13, 2021, the PCAOB proposed a new rule for implementing the HFCAA. Among other things, the proposed rule provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, under the HFCAA, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. The proposed rule would also establish the manner of the PCAOB’s determinations; the factors the PCAOB will evaluate and the documents and information it will consider when assessing whether a determination is warranted; the form, public availability, effective date, and duration of such determinations; and the process by which the board of the PCAOB can modify or vacate its determinations. The proposed rule was adopted by the PCAOB on September 22, 2021 and approved by the SEC on November 5, 2021.
On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed AHFCAA which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two, under this proposal, if the auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years, it will trigger the prohibition on trading, thus posing more risks on potential delisting as well as the price of Company’s Ordinary shares especially on foreign companies.
The SEC is assessing how to implement other requirements of the HFCAA, including the listing and trading prohibition requirements described above. The SEC may propose additional rules or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to the PCAOB inspection. For example, on August 6, 2020, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, issued the Report on Protecting United States Investors from Significant Risks from Chinese Companies to the then President of the United States. This report recommended the SEC implement five recommendations to address companies from jurisdictions that do not provide the PCAOB with sufficient access to fulfill its statutory mandate. Some of the concepts of these recommendations were implemented with the enactment of the HFCAA. However, some of the recommendations were more stringent than the HFCAA. For example, if a company was not subject to the PCAOB inspection, the report recommended that the transition period before a company would be delisted would end on January 1, 2022.
On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize the interim final rules previously adopted in March 2021, and established procedures to identify issuers and prohibit the trading of the securities of certain registrants as required by the HFCAA.
While the HFCAA is not currently applicable to us because our current auditors are subject to PCAOB review, if this changes in the future for any reason, we may be subject to the HFCAA. The implications of this regulation as applied to us are uncertain. Such uncertainty could cause the market price of our ordinary shares to be materially and adversely affected. While our securities are no longer listed on Nasdaq, failure to comply with the HFCAA could result in restrictions on trading our securities on the over-the-counter market, impairing your ability to sell or purchase our Common Stock. The risks and uncertainties associated with a potential delisting would have a negative impact on the price of the Common Stock.
Risks Related to Thunder Power’s Products and Services
We have not yet commenced mass production, and any significant delay in the design, manufacture, launch and financing could make it difficult for us to commence production and harm our business and prospects.
Our plan to commercially manufacture and sell our vehicles is dependent upon the timely availability of funds, upon our finalizing of the related design, engineering, component procurement, testing, build-out and manufacturing plans in a timely manner and also upon our ability to execute these plans within the planned timeline. Automobile manufacturers often experience delays in the design, manufacture and commercial release of new vehicle models, and if we experience significant delays in any of the foregoing processes, it would be difficult for us to commence production, which could harm our business and prospects.
Many of our vehicles are still in the development and/or testing phase and may occur later or not at all. Additionally, prior to mass production of our electric vehicles, we will also need the vehicles to be fully approved for sale according to differing requirements, including but not limited to regulatory requirements, in the different geographies where we intend to launch our vehicles. Likewise, we may encounter delays with the design, construction, and regulatory or other approvals necessary to bring online our future manufacturing facility in the United States.
Furthermore, we would rely on third party suppliers for the development, manufacture, and/or provision and development of many of the key components and materials used in our vehicles, as well as provisioning and servicing equipment in our manufacturing facilities. We understand that many automobile manufacturers have been affected by ongoing, industry-wide challenges in logistics and supply chains, such as increased port congestion, intermittent supplier delays, a shortfall of semiconductor supply, and international travel restrictions preventing supply quality engineers from conducting in-person visits and quality engineering for parts production. We expect to face these and similar challenges which may affect our ability, and the ability of our suppliers, to obtain parts, components and manufacturing equipment on a timely basis, and in some instances have resulted in increased costs. We expect that these industry-wide trends will continue for the foreseeable future. To the extent our suppliers experience any delays in providing us with or developing necessary components, we could experience delays in delivering on our timelines.
Any significant delay or other complication in the development, manufacture, launch and production ramp of our future products, features and services, including complications associated with completing and subsequently expanding our production capacity and supply chain or obtaining or maintaining related regulatory approvals, or inability to manage such ramps cost-effectively, could materially damage our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
We expect that we will require additional financing to fund our planned operations and expansion plans. If we are unable to arrange for required funds under the terms and on the timeline that we anticipate, our plans for tooling and building out our manufacturing facilities and for commercial production of our electric vehicles could be significantly delayed, which would materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Our prospect for future growth depends upon our ability to establish and maintain relationships with our potential suppliers and source suppliers for our critical components, and to completely build out our supply chain, while effectively managing the risks due to such relationships.
Our success will depend on our ability to enter into supplier agreements and establish and maintain our relationships with hundreds of suppliers that are critical to the output and production of our vehicles. We currently have no supply or supplier agreements and the supplier agreements we have been in discussions regarding or may enter into with potential key suppliers in the future may have provisions where such agreements can be terminated in various circumstances, including potentially without cause. To the extent that we do not have long-term supply agreements with guaranteed pricing for our parts or components, we will be exposed to fluctuations in prices of components, materials and equipment. In addition, our agreements for the purchase of other components may contain pricing provisions that are subject to adjustment based on changes in market prices of key commodities. Substantial increases in the prices for such components, materials and equipment, whether due to supply chain or logistics issues or due to inflation, would increase our operating costs and could reduce our margins if we cannot recoup the increased costs. Any attempts to increase the announced or expected prices of our vehicles in response to increased costs could be viewed negatively by our potential customers and could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations.
We currently have no supply or supplier agreements and may be at a disadvantage in negotiating supply or supplier agreements for the production of our vehicles as we have not commenced the mass production of our vehicles. In addition, given that in many cases we are an aggregator of automotive parts produced by third party manufacturers, there is the possibility that supply or supplier agreements for the parts and components for our vehicles could be at costs that make it difficult for us to operate profitably.
The automotive market is highly competitive, and we may not be successful in competing in this industry.
The global automotive market, particularly for electric and alternative fuel vehicles, is highly competitive, and we expect it will become even more so in the future. In recent years, the electric vehicle industry has grown, with several companies that focus completely or partially on the electric vehicle market. We expect additional companies to enter this market within the next several years. Electric vehicle manufacturers with which we compete include Tesla, BYD, NIO as well as an increasing number of U.S.-based and international entrants, many of which have announced plans to begin selling their own electric vehicles in the near-term. We also compete with established automobile manufacturers in the luxury vehicle segment, many of which have entered or have announced plans to enter the alternative fuel and electric vehicle market with either fully electric or plug-in hybrid versions of their vehicles. We compete for sales with luxury vehicles with internal combustion engines from established manufacturers. Many of our current and potential competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale, servicing, and support of their products. In addition, many of these companies have longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger and more established sales forces, broader customer and industry relationships and other resources than we do. Our competitors may be in a stronger position to respond quickly to new technologies and may be able to design, develop, market and sell their products more effectively than we do. We expect competition in our industry to significantly intensify in the future in light of increased demand for alternative fuel vehicles, continuing globalization, favorable governmental policies, and consolidation in the worldwide automotive industry. Our ability to successfully compete in our industry will be fundamental to our future success in existing and new markets. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully in our markets.
Our ability to generate meaningful product revenue will depend on consumer adoption of electric vehicles.
We are developing and producing only electric vehicles and, accordingly, our ability to generate meaningful product revenue will highly depend on sustained consumer demand for alternative fuel vehicles in general and electric vehicles in particular. If the market for electric vehicles does not develop as we expect or develops more slowly than we expect, or if there is a decrease in consumer demand for electric vehicles, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be harmed. The market for electric and other alternative fuel vehicles is relatively new, rapidly evolving, characterized by rapidly changing technologies, price competition, additional competitors, evolving government regulation (including government incentives and subsidies) and industry standards, frequent new vehicle announcements and changing consumer demands and behaviors. Any number of changes in industry could negatively affect consumer demand for electric vehicles in general and our electric vehicles in particular.
In addition, demand for electric vehicles may be affected by factors directly impacting automobile prices or the cost of purchasing and operating automobiles such as sales and financing incentives such as tax credits, prices of raw materials and parts and components, cost of fuel, availability of consumer credit, and governmental regulations, including tariffs, import regulation and other taxes. Volatility in demand may lead to lower vehicle unit sales, which may result in downward price pressure and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. Further, sales of vehicles in the automotive industry tend to be cyclical in many markets, which may expose us to increased volatility, especially as we expand and adjust our operations and retail strategies. Specifically, it is uncertain how such macroeconomic factors will impact us as a new entrant in an industry that has globally been experiencing a recent decline in sales.
Until the foreseeable future our revenue will be significantly dependent on a limited number of models of electric vehicles.
The Company currently has four models of electric vehicles featured in its phased development strategy and our revenue in the foreseeable future will be significantly dependent on a limited number of models. Although we have other vehicle models on our product roadmap, we currently do not expect to introduce another vehicle model for sale to these four models until at least 2030. We expect to rely on sales from the Limited Edition Coupe (the “Coupe” or “488”), Long-range Sedan (the “Sedan”), Compact City Car (the “City Car” or “Chloe”) and the Long-range SUV (the “SUV”, the Coupe, Sedan, City Car and SUV collectively referred to as the “Models”), among other sources of financing, for the capital that will be required to develop and commercialize those subsequent models. To the extent that production of the models is delayed, reduced, or is not well-received by the market for any reason, our revenue and cash flow would be adversely affected, we may need to seek additional financing earlier than we expect, and such financing may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
Developments in electric vehicle or alternative fuel technology or improvements in the internal combustion engine may adversely affect the demand for our vehicles.
We may be unable to keep up with changes in electric vehicle technology or alternatives to electricity as a fuel source and, as a result, our competitiveness may suffer. Significant developments in alternative technologies, such as alternative battery cell technologies, hydrogen fuel cell technology, advanced gasoline, ethanol or natural gas, or improvements in the fuel economy of the internal combustion engine, may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects in ways we do not currently anticipate. Existing and other battery cell technologies, fuels or sources of energy may emerge as customers’ preferred alternative to the technologies in our electric vehicles. Any failure by us to develop new or enhanced technologies or processes, or to react to changes in existing technologies, could materially delay our development and introduction of new and enhanced electric vehicles, which could result in the loss of competitiveness of our vehicles, decreased revenue and a loss of market share to competitors. In addition, we expect to compete in part on the basis of our vehicles’ range, efficiency, charging speeds and performance, and improvements in the technology offered by competitors could reduce demand for our models or other future vehicles. As technologies change, we plan to upgrade or adapt our vehicles and introduce new models that reflect such technological developments, but our vehicles may become obsolete, and our research and development efforts may not be sufficient to adapt to changes in alternative fuel and electric vehicle technology. Additionally, as new companies and larger, existing vehicle manufacturers continue to enter the electric vehicle space, we may lose any technological advantage we may have and suffer a decline in our competitive position. Any failure by us to successfully react to changes in existing technologies or the development of new technologies could materially harm our competitive position and growth prospects.
We will be dependent on our suppliers and the inability of these suppliers to deliver necessary components of our products according to our schedule and at prices, quality levels and volumes acceptable to us, or our inability to efficiently manage these components or to implement or maintain effective inventory management and other systems, processes and personnel to support ongoing and increased production, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We will rely on third-party suppliers for the provision and development of many of the key components and materials used in our vehicles. While we plan to obtain components from multiple sources whenever possible, many of the components used in our vehicles will be purchased by us from a single, yet unknown, source. Our limited, and in many cases single-source, supply chain approach exposes us to multiple potential sources of delivery failure or component shortages for our production. Our potential third-party suppliers may not be able to meet our required product specifications and performance characteristics, which would impact our ability to achieve our product specifications and performance characteristics as well. Additionally, our potential third-party suppliers may be unable to obtain required certifications or provide necessary warranties for their products that are necessary for use in our vehicles.
We may be affected by ongoing, industry-wide challenges in logistics and supply chains, such as increased port congestion, intermittent supplier delays, a shortfall of semiconductor supply, and international travel restrictions preventing supply quality engineers from conducting in-person visits and quality engineering for parts production. We expect that these industry-wide trends will continue to affect the ability of us and our suppliers to obtain parts, components and manufacturing equipment on a timely basis for the foreseeable future and may result in increased costs. We may also be impacted by changes in our future supply chain or production needs, including cost increases from our suppliers, in order to meet our quality targets and development timelines as well as due to design changes. Likewise, any significant increases in our production may in the future require us to procure additional components in a short amount of time. Our suppliers may not ultimately be able to sustainably and in a timely manner to meet our cost, quality and volume needs, requiring us to replace them with other sources. In many cases, our suppliers will be providing us with custom-designed parts that would require significant lead time to obtain from alternative suppliers or may not be available from alternative suppliers at all. If we are unable to obtain suitable components and materials used in our vehicles from our suppliers or if our suppliers decide to create or supply a competing product, our business could be adversely affected. Further, if we are unsuccessful in our efforts to control and reduce supplier costs, our results of operations will suffer.
We have not experienced, but may in the future experience, delays if our suppliers do not meet agreed upon timelines, experience capacity constraints, or deliver components that do not meet our quality standards. Any disruption in the supply of components, whether or not from a single source supplier, could temporarily disrupt production of our vehicles until an alternative supplier is able to supply the required material. Any such delay, even if caused by a delay or shortage in only one part, could significantly affect our ability to meet our planned vehicle production targets. Even in cases where we may be able to establish alternate supply relationships and obtain or engineer replacement components for our single source components, we may be unable to do so quickly, or at all, at prices or quality levels that are acceptable to us. This risk is heightened by the fact that we have less negotiating leverage with suppliers than larger and more established automobile manufacturers, which could adversely affect our ability to obtain necessary components and materials on a timely basis, on favorable pricing and other terms, or at all. The industry in which we operate has recently experienced severe supply chain disruptions, and we expect these conditions to continue for the foreseeable future. Any such supply disruption could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Furthermore, as the scale of our vehicle production increases in the future, we will need to accurately forecast, purchase, warehouse and transport components to our manufacturing facilities and servicing locations internationally and at much higher volumes. We have not yet scaled production in our manufacturing facilities to significant volumes or begun servicing vehicles at significant volumes. Accordingly, our ability to scale production and vehicle servicing and mitigate risks associated with these activities has not been thoroughly tested. If we are unable to accurately match the timing and quantities of component purchases to our actual needs, successfully recruit and retain personnel with relevant experience, or successfully implement automation, inventory management and other systems or processes to accommodate the increased complexity in our supply chain and manufacturing operations, we may incur unexpected production disruption, storage, transportation and write-off costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Furthermore, unexpected changes in business conditions, materials pricing, labor issues, wars, governmental changes, tariffs, natural disasters, health epidemics, and other factors beyond our and our suppliers’ control could also affect these suppliers’ ability to deliver components to us on a timely basis. We have also identified certain of our suppliers, including certain suppliers we deem critical, as having poor financial health or being at risk of bankruptcy. Although we routinely review our suppliers’ financial health and attempt to identify alternate suppliers where possible, the loss of any supplier, particularly a single- or limited-source supplier, or the disruption in the supply of components from our suppliers, could lead to vehicle design changes, production delays, idle manufacturing facilities and potential loss of access to important technology and parts for producing, servicing and supporting our vehicles, any of which could result in negative publicity, damage to our brand and a material and adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if our suppliers experience substantial financial difficulties, cease operations or otherwise face business disruptions, we may be required to provide substantial financial support to ensure supply continuity, which could have an additional adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.
Increases in costs, disruption of supply or shortage of materials, in particular for lithium-ion cells or semiconductors, could harm our business.
As we scale commercial production of our vehicles or any future energy storage systems, we have experienced and may continue to experience increases in the cost of or a sustained interruption in the supply or shortage of materials. Any such increase, supply interruption or shortage could materially and adversely impact our business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition. In addition, we use various materials in our business, including aluminum, steel, lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt, neodymium, terbium, praseodymium and manganese, as well as lithium-ion cells and semiconductors from suppliers. The prices for these materials fluctuate, and their available supply may be unstable, depending on market conditions, inflationary pressure and global demand for these materials, including as a result of increased production of electric vehicles, energy storage products by our competitors and the global supply chain crisis, and could adversely affect our business and results of operations. For instance, we are exposed to multiple risks relating to lithium-ion cells. These risks include:
the inability or unwillingness of current battery manufacturers to build or operate battery cell manufacturing plants to supply the numbers of lithium-ion cells required to support the growth of the electric vehicle industry as demand for such cells increases;
an increase in the cost, or decrease in the available supply, of materials, such as cobalt, used in lithium-ion cells;
disruption in the supply of cells due to quality issues or recalls by battery cell manufacturers; and
fluctuations in the value of any foreign currencies, in which battery cell and related raw material purchases are or may be denominated against the U.S. dollar.
Our ability to manufacture our vehicles or any future energy storage systems will depend on the continued supply of battery cells for the battery packs used in our products. We have limited flexibility in changing battery cell suppliers, and any disruption in the supply of battery cells from such suppliers could disrupt production of our vehicles until a different supplier is fully qualified. Furthermore, our ability to manufacture our vehicles depends on continuing access to semiconductors and components that incorporate semiconductors. A global semiconductor supply shortage is having wide-ranging effects across multiple industries and the automotive industry in particular, and it has impacted many automotive suppliers and manufacturers, including us, that incorporate semiconductors into the parts they supply or manufacture. We have experienced and may continue to experience an impact on our operations as a result of the semiconductor supply shortage, and such shortage could in the future have a material impact on us or our suppliers, which could delay or reduce planned production levels of the Models or planned future vehicles, impair our ability to continue production once started or force us or our suppliers to pay exorbitant rates for continued access to semiconductors, and of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects and results of operations. In addition, prices and transportation expenses for these materials fluctuate depending on many factors beyond our control, including fluctuations in supply and demand, currency fluctuations, tariffs and taxes, fluctuations and shortages in petroleum supply, freight charges and other economic and political factors. These risks could be further magnified by geographical developments such as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Substantial increases in the prices for our materials or prices charged to us, such as those charged by battery cell or semiconductor suppliers, would increase our operating costs, and could reduce our margins if we cannot recoup the increased costs through increased prices. Any attempts to increase product prices in response to increased material costs could result in cancellations of orders and reservations and materially and adversely affect our brand, image, business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition.
Furthermore, currency fluctuations, tariffs or shortages in petroleum and other economic or political conditions have and may continue to result in significant increases in freight charges and raw material costs. Substantial increases in the prices for our raw materials or components would increase our operating costs and could reduce our margins. In addition, a growth in popularity of electric vehicles without a significant expansion in battery cell production capacity could result in shortages which would result in increased materials costs to us, and would impact our expected manufacturing and delivery timelines, and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We must develop complex software and technology systems, including in coordination with vendors and suppliers, in order to produce our electric vehicles, and there can be no assurance such systems will be successfully developed.
Our vehicles use a substantial amount of third-party and proprietary software and complex technological hardware to operate, some of which are still subject to further development and testing. The development and implementation of such advanced technologies is inherently complex and requires coordination with our vendors and suppliers in order to integrate such technology into our electric vehicles and ensure it interoperates with other complex technology as designed and as expected.
We may fail to detect defects and errors that are subsequently revealed, and our control over the performance of third-party services and systems may be limited. Any defects or errors in, or which are attributed to, our technology could result in, among other things:
delayed production and delivery of our vehicles;
delayed market acceptance of our vehicles;
loss of customers or inability to attract new customers;
diversion of engineering or other resources for remedying the defect or error;
damage to our brand or reputation;
increased service and warranty costs;
legal action by customers or third parties, including product liability claims; and
penalties imposed by regulatory authorities.
In addition, if we are unable to develop the software and technology systems necessary to operate our vehicles, our competitive position will be harmed. We rely on third-party suppliers to develop a number of technologies for use in our products. There can be no assurances that our suppliers will be able to meet the technological requirements, production timing and volume requirements to support our business plan. In addition, such technology may not satisfy the cost, performance useful life and warranty characteristics we anticipate in our business plan, which could materially adversely affect our business, prospects and results of operations.
We rely on complex machinery for our operations, and production involves a significant degree of risk and uncertainty in terms of operational performance, safety, security and costs.
We expect to utilize a number of new manufacturing technologies, techniques and processes for our vehicles, such as motor winding equipment, and we may utilize additional new technologies, techniques and processes in the future. Certain design features in our vehicles present additional manufacturing challenges, such the Battery Management System and Thermal Management System. There is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully and timely introduce and scale any such new processes or features.
We also rely heavily on complex machinery for our operations, and our production involves a significant degree of uncertainty and risk in terms of operational performance and costs. Our manufacturing plant employs large-scale, complex machinery combining many components, which may sufferunexpectedmalfunctions from time to time and will depend on repairs and spare parts that may not be available when needed.
Unexpectedmalfunctions of the manufacturing plant components may significantly decrease our operational efficiency, including by forcing manufacturing shutdowns in order to conduct repairs or troubleshoot manufacturing problems. Our facilities may also be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including but not limited to earthquakes, tornadoes, flooding, fire, power outages, environmental hazards and remediation, costs associated with decommissioning of equipment, labor disputes and strikes, difficulty or delays in obtaining governmental permits and licenses, damages or defects in electronic systems, industrial accidents or health epidemics, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which may render it difficult or impossible for us to manufacture our vehicles for some period of time. The inability to produce our vehicles or the backlog that could develop if our manufacturing plant is inoperable for even a short period of time may result in the loss of customers or harm our reputation. Although we maintain insurance for damage to our property and the disruption of our business, this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. Should operational risks materialize, they may result in the personal injury to or death of our workers, the loss of production equipment, damage to manufacturing facilities, monetary losses, delays and unanticipated fluctuations in production, environmental damage, administrative fines, increased insurance costs and potential legal liabilities, all which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition or prospects.
We have no experience to date in mass manufacturing of our electric vehicles.
We cannot provide any assurance as to whether we will be able to develop efficient, automated, low-cost logistics and production capabilities and processes and reliable sources of component supply that will enable us to meet the quality, price, engineering, design and production standards, as well as the production volumes required to successfully mass market our vehicles. Even if we are successful in developing our high volume production capability and processes and reliably source our component supply, no assurance can be given as to whether we will be able to do so in a manner that avoids significant delays and cost overruns, including as a result of factors beyond our control such as problems with suppliers and vendors, or force majeure events, or in time to meet our commercialization schedules, or to store and deliver parts in sufficient quantities to the manufacturing lines in a manner that enables us to maintain our production ramp curve and rates, or to satisfy the requirements of customers and potential customers. Any failure to develop such logistics and production processes and capabilities within our projected costs and timelines could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition. Bottlenecks and other unexpectedchallenges have and may continue to arise as we ramp production of the models, and it will be important that we address them promptly while continuing to control our logistics and manufacturing costs. If we are not successful in doing so, or if we experience issues with our logistics and manufacturing process improvements, we could face further delays in establishing and/or sustaining our production ramps or be unable to meet our related cost and profitability targets.
If our vehicles fail to perform as expected, our ability to develop, market and sell or lease our products could be harmed.
Our vehicles or the components installed therein have in the past and may in the future contain defects in design and manufacture that may cause them not to perform as expected or that may require repairs, recalls, and design changes, any of which would require significant financial and other resources to successfully navigate and resolve. Although we will attempt to remedy any issues we observe in our products as effectively and rapidly as possible, such efforts could significantly distract management’s attention from other important business objectives, may not be timely, may hamper production or may not be to the satisfaction of our customers. Further, our limited operating history and limited field data reduce our ability to evaluate and predict the long-term quality, reliability, durability and performance characteristics of our battery packs, powertrains and vehicles. There can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and fix any defects in our products prior to their sale or lease to customers.
Any defects, delays or legal restrictions on vehicle features, or other failure of our vehicles to perform as expected, could harm our reputation and result in delivery delays, product recalls, product liability claims, breach of warranty claims and significant warranty and other expenses, and could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition. Any such defects or noncompliance with legal requirements could also result in safety recalls. See “ — Risks Related to Regulation and Litigation .” As a new entrant to the industry attempting to build customer relationships and earn trust, these effects could be significantly detrimental to us. Additionally, problems and defects experienced by other electric consumer vehicles could by association have a negative impact on perception and customer demand for our vehicles.
In addition, even if our vehicles function as designed, we expect that the battery efficiency, and hence the range, of our electric vehicles, like other electric vehicles that use current battery technology, will decline over time. Other factors, such as usage, time and stress patterns, may also impact the battery’s ability to hold a charge, or could require us to limit vehicles’ battery charging capacity, including via over-the-air or other software updates, for safety reasons or to protect battery capacity, which could further decrease our vehicles’ range between charges. Such decreases in or limitations of battery capacity and therefore range, whether imposed by deterioration, software limitations or otherwise, could also lead to consumer complaints or warranty claims, including claims that prior knowledge of such decreases or limitations would have affected consumers’ purchasing decisions. Further, there can be no assurance that we will be able to improve the performance of our battery packs, or increase our vehicles’ range, in the future. Any such battery deterioration or capacity limitations and related decreases in range may negatively influence potential customers’ willingness to purchase our vehicles and negatively impact our brand and reputation, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
We face challenges providing charging solutions for our vehicles.
Demand for our vehicles will depend in part on the availability of charging infrastructure both domestically and internationally. While the prevalence of charging stations has been increasing, charging station locations are significantly less widespread than gas stations. Globally there are supportive regulations and funding to build and implement more charging stations. In the U.S., there is a movement toward having a uniform charging adaptor whereby customers of different brands of electric vehicles may use any charging station. However, there is no assurance that more changing stations will be built and implemented in the future, or that a uniform charging adaptor will be available in the future.
Insufficient reserves to cover future warranty or part replacement needs or other vehicle repair requirements, including any potential software upgrades, could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
We provide a new vehicle limited warranty on all vehicles, components and systems. Warranty reserves will include our management team’s best estimate of the projected costs to repair or to replace items under warranty. Such estimates are inherently uncertain, particularly in light of our limited operating history and the limited field data available to us, and changes to such estimates based on real-world observations may cause material changes to our warranty reserves in the future. If our reserves are inadequate to cover future maintenance requirements on our vehicles, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. We may become subject to significant and unexpected expenses as well as claims from our customers, including loss of revenue or damages. There can be no assurances that then-existing reserves will be sufficient to cover all claims. In addition, if future laws or regulations impose additional warranty obligations on us that go beyond our manufacturer’s warranty, we may be exposed to materially higher warranty, parts replacement and repair expenses than we expect, and our reserves may be insufficient to cover such expenses.
We may not be able to accurately estimate the supply and demand for our vehicles, which could result in a variety of inefficiencies in our business and hinder our ability to generate revenue. If we fail to accurately predict our manufacturing requirements, we could incur additional costs or experience delays.
It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. We will be required to provide forecasts of our demand to our suppliers several months prior to the scheduled delivery of vehicles to our prospective customers. Currently, there is no historical basis for making judgments about the demand for our vehicles or our ability to develop, manufacture, and deliver vehicles, or our profitability in the future. If we overestimate our requirements, our suppliers may have excess inventory, which indirectly would increase our costs. If we underestimate our requirements, our suppliers may have inadequate inventory, which could interrupt manufacturing of our products and result in delays in shipments and revenues. In addition, lead times for materials and components that our suppliers order may vary significantly and depend on factors such as the specific supplier, contract terms and demand for each component at a given time. If we fail to order sufficient quantities of product components in a timely manner, the delivery of vehicles to our customers could be delayed, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
Any unauthorized control, manipulation, interruption or compromise of or access to our products or information technology systems could result in loss of confidence in us and our products, harm our business and materially adversely affect our financial performance, results of operations or prospects.
Our products may contain complex information technology systems. For example, our vehicles are designed with built-in data connectivity to accept and install periodic remote updates to improve their functionality.
In addition, we expect to collect, store, transmit and otherwise process data from vehicles, customers, personnel and other third parties as part of our business operations, which may include personal data or confidential or proprietary information. We also work with third-party service providers and vendors that collect, store and process such data on our behalf. We have taken certain measures to prevent unauthorized access and plan to continue to deploy additional measures as we grow. Our third-party service providers and vendors also take steps to protect the security and integrity of our and their information technology systems and our and their customers’ information. However, there can be no assurance that such systems and measures will not be compromised as a result of intentionalmisconduct, including by personnel, contractors, or vendors, as well as by software bugs, human error, or technical malfunctions.
Furthermore, cyber threat actors may in the future attempt to gainunauthorized access to, modify, alter and use our vehicles, products and systems to (i) gain control of, (ii) change the functionality, user interface and performance characteristics of and/or (iii) gain access to data stored in or generated by, our vehicles, products and systems. Advances in technology, new vulnerability discoveries, an increased level of sophistication and diversity of our products and services, an increased level of expertise of cyber threat actors and new discoveries in the field of cryptography could lead to a compromise or breach of the measures that we or our third-party service providers use. Some of our products and information technology systems contain or use open-source software, which can create additional risks, including potential security vulnerabilities. We and our third-party service providers’ may in the future be affected by security incidents. Our systems are also vulnerable to damage or interruption from, among other things, computer viruses, malware, ransomware, killware, wiper ware, computer denial or degradation of service attacks, telecommunications failures, social engineering schemes (such as vishing, phishing or smishing), domain name spoofing, insider theft, physical theft, fire, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, power loss, war, or misuse, mistake or other attempts to harm our products and systems. Our data center and our third-party service providers’ or vendors’ data centers could be subject to break-ins, sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism causing potential disruptions. Some of our systems will not be fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. Any problems at our or our third-party service providers’ or vendors’ data centers and/or cloud infrastructure could result in lengthy interruptions in our service and our business operations. There can be no assurance that any security or other operational measures that we or our third-party service providers or vendors have implemented will be effectiveagainst any of the foregoing threats or issues.
These risks have been heightened in connection with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and we cannot be certain how this new risk landscape will impact our operations. When geopolitical conflicts develop, government systems as well as critical infrastructures such as financial services and utilities may be targeted by state-sponsored cyberattacks even if they are not directly involved in the conflict. There can be no assurance that our business will not become a potential target as adversaries may attack networks and systems indiscriminately. Such cyberattacks may potentially cause unauthorized access to our sensitive data (including our proprietary software codes), products, and systems, causing data breach, or disruption, modification, destruction to our systems and applications. As a result, we may suffer monetary losses, business interruption, and long-lasting operational issues, damage to our reputation and brand, loss of our intellectual property or trade secrets.
If we are unable to protect our products and systems (and the information stored in our systems) from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, destruction or other breach, such problems or security breaches could have negative consequences for our business and future prospects, including compromise of vehicle integrity and physical safety, causing monetary losses, giving rise to liabilities under our contracts or to the owners of the applicable information, subjecting us to substantial fines, penalties, damages and other liabilities under applicable laws and regulations, incurring substantial costs to respond to, investigate and remedy such incidents, reducing customer demand for our products, harming our reputation and brand and compromising or leading to a loss of protection of our intellectual property or trade secrets. In addition, regardless of their veracity, reports of unauthorized access to our vehicles, systems or data, as well as other factors that may result in the perception that our vehicles, systems or data are vulnerable to being “hacked,” could negatively affect our brand. In addition, some members of the U.S. federal government, including certain members of Congress and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“ NHTSA ”) , have recently focused attention on automotive cybersecurity issues and may in the future propose or implement regulations specific to automotive cybersecurity. In addition, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has introduced new regulations governing connected vehicle cybersecurity, which became effective in January 2021 and are expected to apply in the European Union to all new vehicle types beginning in July 2022 and to all existing architectures/new vehicles from July 2024. Such regulations are also in effect, or expected to come into effect, in certain other international jurisdictions. These and other regulations could adversely affect the timing of our entry into various markets, and if such regulations or other future regulations are inconsistent with our approach to automotive cybersecurity, we would be required to modify our systems to comply with such regulations, which would impose additional costs and delays and could expose us to potential liability to the extent our automotive cybersecurity systems and practices are inconsistent with such regulation.
We may not have adequate insurance coverage to cover losses associated with any of the foregoing, if any. The successful assertion of one or more large claimsagainst us that exceed our available insurance coverage, or results in changes to our insurance policies (including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements), could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, we cannot be sure that our existing insurance coverage will continue to be available on acceptable terms or that our insurers will not deny coverage as to any future claim.
Furthermore, we are continuously expanding and improving our information technology systems. In particular, our planned future vehicles will necessitate continued development, maintenance and improvement of our information technology and communication systems in the United States and abroad, such as systems for product data management, vehicle management tools, vehicle security systems, vehicle security management processes, procurement of bill of material items, supply chain management, inventory management, production planning and execution, lean manufacturing, sales, service and logistics, dealer management, financial, tax and regulatory compliance systems. Our ability to operate our business will depend on the availability and effectiveness of these systems. The implementation, maintenance, segregation and improvement of these systems require significant management time, support and cost. Moreover, there are inherent risks associated with developing, improving and expanding our core systems as well as implementing new systems, including the disruption of our data management, procurement, manufacturing execution, finance, supply chain, inventory management, and sales and service processes. We cannot be certain that these systems or their required functionality will be effectively and timely developed, implemented, maintained or expanded as planned. If we are unsuccessful in any of the foregoing, our operations may be disrupted, our ability to accurately or timely report our financial results could be impaired, and deficiencies may arise in our internal control over financial reporting, which may impact our ability to certify our financial results. If these systems or their functionality does not operate as we expect them to, we may be required to expend significant resources to make corrections or find alternative sources for performing these functions. Any of the foregoing could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, our vehicles depend on the ability of software and hardware to store, retrieve, process and manage immense amounts of data. Our software and hardware, including any over-the-air or other updates, may contain errors, bugs, design defects or vulnerabilities, and our systems may be subject to technical limitations that may compromise our ability to meet our objectives. Some errors, bugs or vulnerabilities may reside in third-party intellectual property or open-source software and/or be inherently difficult to detect and may only be discovered after code has been released for external or internal use. Although we will attempt to remedy any issues we observe in our vehicles as effectively and rapidly as possible, such efforts may not be timely, may hamper production or may not be to the satisfaction of our customers. Additionally, if we are able to deploy updates to the software addressing any issues but our over-the-air update procedures fail to properly update the software, our customers will then be responsible for working with our service personnel to install such updates to the software, and their vehicle will be subject to these vulnerabilities until they do so. Any compromise of our intellectual property, proprietary information, systems or vehicles or inability prevent or effectively remedy errors, bugs, vulnerabilities or defects in our software and hardware may cause us to suffer lengthy interruptions to our ability to operate our business and our customers’ ability to operate their vehicles, compromise of vehicle integrity and physical safety, damage to our reputation, loss of customers, loss of revenue, governmental fines, investigations or litigation or liability for damages, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, prospects and financial condition.
We are subject to evolving laws, regulations, standards, policies, and contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and any actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our reputation and brand, subject us to significant fines and liability, or otherwise adversely affect our business.
In the course of our operations, we may collect, use, store, disclose, transfer and otherwise process personal information from our customers, personnel and third parties with whom we conduct business, including names, accounts, driver license information, user IDs and passwords, and payment or transaction related information. Additionally, we will use our vehicles’ electronic systems to log information about each vehicle’s use, such as charge time, battery usage, geolocation, mileage and driving behavior, in order to aid it in vehicle diagnostics, repair and maintenance, as well as to help us customize and improve the driving and riding experience.
Accordingly, we may be subject to or affected by a number of federal, state, local and international laws and regulations, as well as contractual obligations and industry standards, that impose certain obligations and restrictions with respect to data privacy and security and govern our collection, storage, retention, protection, use, transmission, sharing, disclosure and other processing of personal information including that of our personnel, customers and other third parties with whom we conduct business. These laws, regulations and standards may be interpreted and applied differently over time and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and it is possible that they will be interpreted and applied in ways that may have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The global data protection landscape is rapidly evolving, and implementation standards and enforcement practices are likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. We may not be able to monitor and react to all developments in a timely manner. For example, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (“ GDPR ”) , which became effective in May 2018, California adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“ CCPA ”) , which became effective in January 2020, Canada adopted the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“ PIPEDA ”) and continues to amend the statute, the United Arab Emirates adopted the Data Protection Law (“ DPL ”), which became effective in January 2022, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enacted the Personal Data Protection Law (“ PDPL ”) which will take effect in March 2023. Each of the GDPR, the CCPA, the PIPEDA, the DPL and the PDPL impose additional obligations on companies regarding the handling of personal data and provides certain individual privacy rights to persons whose data is collected. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently enacted laws and regulations (including implementation of the privacy and process enhancements called for under the GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA, DPL and PDPL) can be costly, and any failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us to legal and reputational risks.
Specifically, failure to comply with the GDPR can result in significant fines and other liability, including, under the GDPR, fines of up to EUR 20 million or four percent (4%) of global revenue, whichever is greater. The cost of compliance, and the potential for fines and penalties for non-compliance, with GDPR may have a significant adverse effect on our business and operations. Recent legal developments in the European Economic Area (“ EEA ”), including recent rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union and from various EU member state data protection authorities, have created complexity and uncertainty regarding transfers of personal data from the EEA to the United States and other so-called third countries outside the EEA. Similar complexities and uncertainties also apply to transfers from the United Kingdom to third countries. While we have taken steps to mitigate the impact on us, the efficacy and longevity of these mechanisms remain uncertain.
At the state level, we may be subject to law and regulations such as the CCPA. The CCPA establishes a privacy framework for covered businesses, including an expansive definition of personal information and data privacy rights for California residents. The CCPA includes a framework with potentially severe statutory damages for violations and a private right of action for certain data breaches. The CCPA requires covered businesses to provide California residents with new privacy-related disclosures and new ways to opt out of certain uses and disclosures of personal information. As we expand our operations, the CCPA may increase our compliance costs and potential liability. Some observers have noted that the CCPA could mark the beginning of a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States. Additionally, effective in most material respects starting on January 1, 2023, the California Privacy Rights Act (“ CPRA ”) , will significantly modify the CCPA, including by expanding California residents’ rights with respect to certain sensitive personal information. The CPRA also creates a new state agency that will be vested with the authority to implement and enforce the CCPA and the CPRA.
Other states, including Virginia and Colorado, have enacted or are in the process of enacting, or considering similar laws. Compliance with these state statutes, other similar state or federal laws that may be enacted in the future, and other applicable privacy and data security laws and regulations is a rigorous and time-intensive process, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms to comply with such laws and regulations, which could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices, including our data practices, in a manner adverse to our business. In particular, certain emerging privacy laws are still subject to a high degree of uncertainty as to their interpretation and application. Failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations or to secure personal information could result in investigations, enforcement actions and other proceedings against us, which could result in substantial fines, damages and other liability as well as damage to our reputation and credibility, which could have a negative impact on revenues and profits.
We will be required to post public privacy policies and other documentation regarding our collection, use, disclosure and other processing of personal information. Although we will endeavor to comply with our published policies and other documentation, we may at times fail to do so or may be perceived to have failed to do so. Moreover, despite our efforts, we may not be successful in achieving compliance if our personnel, contractors, service providers, vendors or other third parties fail to comply with our published policies and documentation. Such failures could carry similar consequences or subject us to potential local, state and federal action if they are found to be deceptive, unfair or misrepresentative of our actual practices. Claims that we have violated individuals’ privacy rights or failed to comply with data protection laws or applicable privacy notices could, even if we are not found liable, be expensive and time-consuming to defend and could result in adverse publicity that could harm our business.
Most jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals, regulatory authorities and other third parties of security breaches involving certain types of data. For example, laws in all 50 U.S. states generally require business to provide notice under certain circumstances to consumers whose personal information has been disclosed as a result of a breach. Such laws may be inconsistent or may change, or additional laws may be adopted. In addition, our agreements with certain customers may require us to notify them in the event of a security breach. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, penalties or fines, litigation and our customers losing confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and could require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach. Any of the foregoing could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Ownership of Thunder Power’s Securities
The price of our Common Stock may be volatile.
The stock price of our Common Stock may be volatile. The market price for our Common Stock may be influenced by many factors, including the other risks described in this section and the following:
actual or anticipated variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
market conditions in the EV sectors;
market conditions and sentiment involving companies that have recently completed a business combination with a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”);
announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint ventures or capital commitments;
developments or disputes concerning patents or other proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for its products;
our ability or inability to raise additional capital and the terms on which it is raised;
the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
actual or anticipated changes in earnings estimates or changes in stock market analyst recommendations regarding our Common Stock, other comparable companies or the industry generally;
our failure or the failure of our competitors to meet analysts’ projections or guidance;
fluctuations in the valuation of companies perceived by investors to be comparable to us;
announcement and expectation of additional financing efforts;
speculation in the press or investment community;
trading volume of our Common Stock;
sales of our Common Stock by us or Selling Stockholders;
the concentrated ownership of our Common Stock;
changes in accounting principles;
terrorist acts, acts of war or periods of widespread civil unrest;
natural disasters, public health crises and other calamities; and
general economic, industry and market conditions.
In addition, the stock markets in general, and the markets for SPAC post-business combination businesses, EV stocks in particular, have experienced extreme volatility during 2024. This volatility can often be unrelated to the operating performance of the underlying business. Since our delisting from The These broad market and industry factors may seriouslyharm the market price of our Common Stock, regardless of our operating performance.
We may incur significant costs from class action litigation due to stock volatility.
Our stock price may fluctuate for many reasons, including as a result of public announcements regarding the progress of development efforts for our EVs, the development efforts of future collaborators or competitors, the addition or departure of key personnel, variations in quarterly operating results and changes in market valuations of EV companies. This risk is especially relevant to us because EV companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years, including since the public announcement of our Business Combination in October 2023. In addition, recently there has been significant stock price volatility involving the shares of companies that have recently completed business combinations with SPACs. When the market price of a stock has been volatile, as our stock price may be, holders of that stock have occasionally brought securities class action litigationagainst the company that issued the stock. Additionally, there has recently been a general increase in litigationagainst companies that have recently completed business combinations with SPACs allegingfraud and other claims based on inaccurate or misleading disclosures. If any of our stockholders were to bring a lawsuit of this type against us, even if the lawsuit is without merit, we could incur substantial costs by defending the lawsuit. The lawsuit could also divert the time and attention of management.
We are an “emerging growth company” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our Common Stock less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our financial performance with other public companies.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, and we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. An emerging growth company may elect to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the effective dates of revised accounting standards. Investors may find our Common Stock less attractive because of our reliance on these exemptions. If some investors find our Common Stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for their common stock, and the stock price may be more volatile.
Future sales and issuances of Common Stock or rights to purchase Common Stock could result in additional dilution to our stockholders and could cause the price of our Common Stock to decline.
Significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations. To raise capital, we may sell shares of Common Stock, convertible securities, or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as determined from time to time. If we sell Common Stock, convertible securities, or other equity securities, current stockholders may be materially diluted by such sales. New investors could gain rights, preferences, and privileges senior to the current holders of our Common Stock.
Pursuant to the 2024 Plan, the Board or a committee appointed by the Board to administer the 2024 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “Administrator”), is authorized to grant stock options to our employees, non-employee directors, and consultants. Initially, the maximum aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to stock awards under the 2024 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan is approximately 4,588,005 shares of Common Stock. Annually, on the first trading day of the calendar year, beginning with calendar year 2025, such share reserve will automatically increase by 5% of the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the last day of the immediately preceding calendar year, unless the Administrator acts prior to January 1 of such year to provide that there will be no increase or a lesser increase in the share reserve for that year.
The issuance of additional shares of Common Stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank may have some or all of the following effects:
the amount of cash available per share, including for payment of dividends in the future, may decrease;
the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding share of Common Stock may be diminished; and
the market price of our Common Stock may decline.
Reports published by analysts, including projections in those reports that differ from our actual results, could adversely affect the price and trading volume of our Common Stock.
Securities research analysts may publish their own periodic financial projections for our business. These projections may vary widely and may not accurately predict the results that we actually achieve. Our stock price may decline if our actual results do not match the projections of these securities research analysts. Similarly, if one or more of the analysts who write reports on us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price could decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage or fails to publish reports on us regularly, our stock price or trading volume could decline. If no analysts cover us, the trading price and volume for our Common Stock could be adversely affected.
Anti-takeover provisions in our governing documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management and limit the market price of our Common Stock.
The Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (the “Charter”), the Company’s bylaws (the “Bylaws”) and Delaware law contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by the Board. Among other things, the Charter and/or the Company’s Bylaws include the following provisions:
permit the Board to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock, with any rights, preferences, and privileges as they may designate, including the right to approve an acquisition or other change of control;
provide that the number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the Board;
provide that, subject to the rights of any series of preferred stock to elect directors, directors may be removed only for cause by the holders of two-thirds (66 and 2/3%) of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of voting stock of Combined Company entitled to vote generally at an election of directors;
provide that all vacancies, subject to the rights of any series of preferred stock, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law, be filled exclusively by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, even though less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director;
provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders or seeking to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide advance notice in writing, and specify requirements as to the form and content of such notice;
provide that special meetings of the our stockholders may be called the Board; and
provide that the Board will be divided into three classes of directors, with only one class of directors being elected each year and each individual director serving a three-year term, thereby making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of the Board.
These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management. As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as may be amended from time to time (the “DGCL”), which prevents interested stockholders, such as certain stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock, from engaging in certain business combinations unless (i) prior to the time such stockholder became an interested stockholder, the board of directors approved the transaction that resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, (ii) upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the common stock, or (iii) following board approval, such business combination receives the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our outstanding common stock not held by such interested stockholder.
Any provision of the Charter, the Company’s Bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
If the Business Combination’s benefits do not meet the expectations of investors, stockholders or financial analysts, the market price of our Common Stock may decline.
If the benefits of the Business Combination do not meet the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the market price of our Common Stock may decline. Any of the factors listed below could have a material adverse effect on your investment in our Common Stock and it may trade at a price significantly below the price you paid for it.
Factors affecting the trading price of our Common Stock following the Business Combination may include:
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial results or the quarterly financial results of companies perceived to be similar to us;
changes in the market’s expectations about our operating results;
our operating results failing to meet the expectation of securities analysts or investors in a particular period;
operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors deem comparable to us;
changes in laws and regulations affecting our business;
commencement of, or involvement in, litigation involving us;
changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt;
the volume of shares available for public sale;
any major change in our Board or senior management;
sales of substantial amounts of securities by our directors, executive officers, or significant stockholders or the perception that such sales could occur; and
other material developments affecting the EV industry.
Broad market and industry factors may materially affect the market price of our Common Stock irrespective of our operating performance. The stock market in general has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of our securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for retail stocks or the stocks of other companies, notably in the EV industry, which investors perceive to be similar to us could depress our stock price regardless of its business, prospects, financial conditions or results of operations. A decline in the market price for our Common Stock also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.
Risks Related to Ownership of Thunder Power’s Warrants
Our warrants became exercisable for our Common Stock thirty (30) days after the completion of the Business Combination, which increased the number of shares eligible for future issuance and resale in the public market.
Outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 10,537,475 shares of our Common Stock became exercisable in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Agreement governing those securities. The public warrants became exercisable 30 days after the completion of the Business Combination. The likelihood that those warrants will be exercised increases if the trading price of our Common Stock exceeds the exercise price of the warrants. The exercise price of these warrants is $11.50 per share. There is no guarantee that the warrants will ever be in the money after they become exercisable prior to their expiration, and as such, the warrants may expire worthless. To the extent warrants are exercised, additional shares of our Common Stock will be issued, which may result in dilution to the holders of our Common Stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of shares issued upon the exercise of warrants in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock.
Once our warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time or in a manner that is disadvantageous to you.
As of the date of the annual report, there were 10,537,475 warrants issued and outstanding, which will expire five years after the date of the Closing. We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Common Stock equals or exceeds $16.50 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third business day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. There can be no assurance that the price of our Common Stock will not exceed the threshold of $16.50 after the Business Combination.
We will notify the warrant agent and publicly announce the call for redemption at least thirty (30) days prior to the redemption date and mail the registered holders by first class mail. We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Common Stock is available throughout the redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If we elect to redeem the warrants on a cashless basis, we will not receive any cash proceeds from the exercise of such warrants.
Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of the warrants.
The Warrant Agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of the warrants.
Pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the Warrant Agreement shall be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The provision will apply to suits, actions, proceedings or claims brought to enforce any liability or duty arising under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in the Warrant Agreement.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with the Company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of the Warrant Agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management or Board.
If we do not file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of our warrants, warrant holders will only be able to exercise such warrants on a “cashless basis.”
If we do not file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of our warrants at the time that holders wish to exercise such warrants, they will only be able to exercise them on a “cashless basis” provided that an exemption from registration is available. As a result, the number of shares of our Common Stock that holders will receive upon exercise of our warrants will be fewer than it would have been had had such holder exercised such warrant for cash. Further, if an exemption from registration is not available, holders will not be able to exercise on a cashless basis and will only be able to exercise their warrants for cash if a prospectus relating to the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of our warrants is filed and effective. Under the terms of the Warrant Agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to meet these conditions and to file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the shares of Common Stock are issuable upon exercise of our warrants, until the expiration of our warrants. However, we cannot assure you that it will be able to do so. If we are unable to do so, the potential value of the holder’s warrants may be reduced, or such warrants may expire worthless.
Risks Related to Finance, Accounting and Tax Matters
Our actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions used to prepare our consolidated financial statements.
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of certain assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses for the periods covered and certain amounts disclosed in the notes to our consolidated financial statements. These estimates are based on information available through the date of the issuance of the consolidated financial statements and actual results could differ from those estimates, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may need to raise additional funds and these funds may not be available to us when needed. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need them, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be negatively affected.
The sourcing, purchasing, development, and servicing of our projects may be capital-intensive. We may determine that additional funds are necessary. This capital may be necessary to fund our future operations and to locate new opportunities. We may raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity related or debt securities or through obtaining credit from government or financial institutions. We cannot be certain that additional funds will be available on favorable terms when required, or at all. If we cannot raise additional funds when needed, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected.
Our financial results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter.
We expect our revenue and operating results to vary from quarter to quarter. We may incur significant operating expenses during the start-up and early stages of large contracts and may not be able to recognize corresponding revenue in that same quarter. We may also incur additional expenses when contracts are terminated or expire and are not renewed. We may also incur additional expenses when companies are newly acquired. Payments that may be due to us from our future customers may be delayed due to billing cycles or as a result of failures of government budgets to gain congressional and administration approval in a timely manner.
Additional factors that may cause our financial results to fluctuate from quarter to quarter include those addressed elsewhere in this “ Risk Factors ” section, including the immediately preceding risk factor, and the following factors, among others:
variability in demand for our services and solutions;
timing of award or performance incentive fee notices;
timing of shipments and deliveries to potential future customers;
variable purchasing patterns under blanket purchase agreements and other indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts;
terms of potential future contracts which may affect the timing of revenue recognition;
costs related to government inquiries;
strategic decisions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs and joint ventures;
strategic investments or changes in business strategy;
changes in the extent to which we use subcontractors;
potential performance errors in our systems;
seasonal fluctuations in our staff utilization rates;
changes in our effective tax rate, including changes in our judgment as to the necessity of the valuation allowance recorded against our deferred tax assets; and
the length of sales cycles.
We could be subject to additional tax liabilities.
We are subject to federal, state, and local income taxes in the United States. Determining our provision for income taxes requires significant management judgment, and the ultimate tax outcome may be uncertain. In addition, our provision for income taxes is subject to volatility and could be adversely affected by many factors, including, among other things, changes to our operating or holding structure, changes in the amounts of earnings in jurisdictions with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in U.S. tax laws. Tax authorities may disagree with our calculation of research and development tax credits, cross-jurisdictional transfer pricing, or other matters and assess additional taxes, interest, or penalties. While we regularly assess the likely outcomes of these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes and we believe that our financial statements reflect adequate reserves to cover any such contingencies, there can be no assurance that the outcomes of such examinations will not have a material impact on our results of operations and cash flows. If tax authorities change applicable tax laws, our overall taxes could increase, and our financial condition or results of operations may be adversely impacted.
Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and other jurisdictions, and our tax liabilities are subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:
changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances;
tax effects of stock-based compensation;
costs related to intercompany restructurings;
changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof; or
lower than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated future earnings in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory tax rates.
In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
The issuance and sale of additional shares of Common Stock under the Purchase Agreement may result in dilution to our stockholders and have a negative impact on the market price of our Common Stock.
From time to time, following the effectiveness of this registration statement, we may direct Westwood to purchase shares of our Common Stock under the Purchase Agreement. The purchase price for shares will be based on the lowest daily volume weighed average price of our Common Stock during a three consecutive trading day following delivery of a purchase notice, less a 5% discount. Because this price is based on prevailing market prices at the time of each sale, if our stock price declines, we might need to issue more shares to raise the same amount of funding.
While we have the right to control the timing and number of sales under the Purchase Agreement, subject to certain conditions, any such issuances would result in dilution to our existing stockholders. The extent of dilution will depend on numerous factors, including:
The market price of our Common Stock at the time of each sale
The number of shares we ultimately sell to Westwood
Other sales of our Common Stock that we may make from time to time
Moreover, additional issuances of Common Stock under the Purchase Agreement could have a negative impact on the market price of our Common Stock. This in turn could:
Increase the dilution to existing stockholders from future issuances
Impair our ability to raise additional capital through other equity offerings
Adversely affect the liquidity and trading price of our Common Stock on the OTCQB Venture Market
Our Common Stock has been delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market and is now traded on the OTCQB Venture Market, which could adversely affect its market price, liquidity, and our ability to raise capital.
On March 7, 2025, the Company received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) stating that the Company has not regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules 5450(a)(1), which requires the Company’s listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share (the “Bid Price Rule”) and 5450(b)(2)(A), which requires the Company to maintain a minimum Market Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) of $50,000,000 (the “MVLS Rule”). Accordingly, the Nasdaq Staff has determined that the Company’s securities will be delisted from The Nasdaq Global Market. Unless the Company requests an appeal of Nasdaq’s determination, trading of the Company’s Common Stock will be suspended at the opening of business on March 18, 2025, and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will remove the Company’s securities from listing and registration on The Nasdaq Stock Market.
As previously disclosed in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 6, 2024, Nasdaq notified the Company on September 4, 2024 that, based upon the closing bid price for the Company’s Common Stock for the 30 prior consecutive business days, the Company no longer satisfied the Bid Price Rule, and that it had been provided a 180-calendar day grace period to regain compliance with that requirement, through March 3, 2025. As disclosed in the same Form 8-K, Nasdaq also notified the Company that it was not in compliance with the MVLS Rule based upon the Company’s MVLS for the previous 30 consecutive business days, and that it had been provided a 180-calendar day grace period to regain compliance with that requirement, through March 3, 2025.
On March 26, 2025, the Company received approval from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq to transfer the listing of the Company’s Common Stock from The Nasdaq Global Market to The Nasdaq Capital Market. On April 1, 2025, the Company received a partial moot letter from Nasdaq, stating that the noncomplianceconcern of MVLS Rule is moot, and that the Company is only noncompliant with the Bid Price Rule. On April 2, 2025, the Company submitted its written pre-hearing materials, detailing its plan to regain the Bid Price Rule. Despite of the foregoing, on April 8, 2025, the Company received an additional Staff delist determination letter, outlining a new concern that the Staff believed the Company is a “public shell,” as that term is defined by Nasdaq under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5101 and will consider this matter in rendering a determination regarding the Company’s continued listing. The Company disagrees with the Staff’s conclusion. As previously disclosed, the Company has requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), and plans to address the issue at the hearing.
On April 17, 2025, Nasdaq notified the Company that the Panel has determined to affirm the denial of the Company’s request to continue its listing of the Company’s Common Stock, and that trading of the Company’s Common Stock was suspended at the open of trading on April 21, 2025. On July 21, 2025, Nasdaq filed Form 25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to delist the Company’s securities from Nasdaq. The delisting became effective on July 31, 2025. As of the date of this report, the Company’s Common Stock is traded on the over-the-counter market under the symbol “AIEV”.
As our securities were delisted from the The Nasdaq Capital Market on July 31, 2025, there can be no assurance that an active or liquid trading market for our Common Stock will be sustained on the over-the-counter market. It could be more difficult to buy or sell our Common Stock and to obtain accurate quotations, and the price of our Common stock could suffer a material decline. Delisting could also impair the liquidity of our common stock and could harm our ability to raise capital through alternative financing sources on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and may result in potential loss of confidence by investors, employees, and fewer business development opportunities.
downward
We expect to offer to the market eco-friendly, premium EVs positioned to earn market share based on design, quality, comfort, range, and price. Among other advantages, we believe that our proprietary technologies will significantly increase the driving range for our potential EVs while allowing for faster recharging and lower costs of ownership.
Business Combination
On June 21, 2024, Feutune Light Acquisition Corporation (“FLFV”) consummated the business combination with Thunder Power Holdings Limited (“TP Holdings”), pursuant to the Merger Agreement (the “Business Combination”). Following the Business Combination, the combined company changed its name to “Thunder Power Holdings, Inc.” (the “Company”), which is organized under the laws of the State of Delaware.
Upon consummation of the Business Combination, FLFV acquired all of the issued and outstanding securities of TP Holdings in exchange for (i) 40,000,000 shares of common stock, and (ii) earn out payments consisting of up to an additional 20,000,000 shares of common stock (the “Earnout Shares”) if the Company met certain revenue performance target in the following years through December 31, 2026 (see “ Note 12 – Contingent Consideration ”).
Following the consummation of the Business Combination, the combined Company’s common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “AIEV” on June 24, 2024. Effective July 31, 2025, Nasdaq delisted the Company’s securities. As of the date of this report, the Company’s Common Stock is traded on OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol “AIEV”.
The reverse recapitalization is equivalent to the issuance of securities by TP Holdings for the net monetary assets of FLFV, accompanied by a recapitalization. The Company debited equity for the fair value of the net liabilities of FLFV. In the subsequent financial statements after the Business Combination, the amounts of assets and liabilities for the period before the reverse recapitalization in financial statements are presented as those of TP Holdings and recognized and measured at their pre-combination carrying amounts.
Recent Developments
On December 19, 2024, the Company entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Agreement”) with certain shareholders (the “TW Company Shareholders”) of Electric Power Technology Limited, a Taiwan corporation (“TW Company”). On January 27, 2025, the Company and TW Company Shareholders have agreed to execute an amendment to the Share Exchange Agreement (the “First Amendment”, together with the Agreement, the “Amended Agreement”), amending, among other things, the share exchange ratio as 119 shares of the Company’s common stock for every 100 ordinary shares of TW Company. Pursuant to the Amended Agreement, a portion of the TW Company Shareholders are expected to exchange a total of 26,783,838 ordinary shares in TW Company for an aggregate of 31,832,768 shares of newly issued Common Stock of the Company in weeks, with the remaining total of 1,715,000 shares of the TW Company to be transferred to the Company for 2,038,621 shares in a few months. Upon completion of the transaction, the Company is expected to hold approximately 33.71% of TW Company’s total issued and outstanding shares. On June 26, 2025, the Company held its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”). At the Annual Meeting, the shareholders voted to approve, among others, the share exchanges.
Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
We believe that our performance and future success will depend on several Company specific factors, including those key factors discussed below and other factors in the section under the heading “ Risk Factors ” of this report.
Our ability to evaluate our business and future prospects
We are an early-stage company with an early stage/limited operating history, operating in a rapidly evolving and highly regulated market. Furthermore, we have not released any commercially available vehicles, and we have no experience manufacturing or selling a commercial product at scale. Because we have not generated revenue from the sale of EVs, and because of the capital-intensive nature of our business, we expect to continue to incur substantial operating losses for the foreseeable future.
Our ability to develop different models of vehicles
We currently have four models featured in our phased development strategy and our revenue in the foreseeable future will be significantly dependent on a limited number of models. Although we have other vehicle models on our product roadmap, we currently do not expect to introduce another vehicle model until at least 2030. We expect to rely on sales from the Coupe, the Sedan, the City Car, and the SUV, among other sources of financing, for the capital that will be required to develop and commercialize future models. To the extent that production of the models is delayed, reduced or is not well-received by the market for any reason, our revenue and cash flow would be adversely affected, we may need to seek additional financing earlier than we expect, and such financing may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
Our ability to control the substantial costs associated with our operations
We will require significant capital to develop and grow our business. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant expenses as we build our brand and develop and market our vehicles; expenses relating to developing and manufacturing our vehicles, tooling and expanding our manufacturing facilities; research and development expenses (including expenses related to the development of the current and future products), raw material procurement costs; and general and administrative expenses as we scale our operations. As a company, we do not have historical experience forecasting and budgeting for any of these expenses, and these expenses could be significantly higher than we currently anticipate. In addition, any disruption to our manufacturing operations, obtaining necessary equipment or supplies, expansion of our manufacturing facilities, or the procurement of permits and licenses relating to our expected manufacturing, sales and distribution model could significantly increase our expenses.
Our ability to develop a third-party retail product distribution and a full-service network
We anticipate utilizing third-party retail product distribution and full-service networks to execute on such plans in all markets. If our use of third-party retail production and full-service networks is not effective, our results of operations and financial conditions could be adversely affected.
Key Components of Results of Operations
The following section presents the key components of our results of operations by the nature of corresponding operating activities for the periods indicated. You should read this financial information in conjunction with those presented elsewhere in this report including our financial statements and notes to our financial statements.
Revenues
We have not generated revenue from the sale of EVs. We expect to generate revenue from the sale of our EV models, the sale and/or licensing of our technologies, and from research and development services.
Cost of revenues
Although we have no revenue, we have incurred costs associated with trying to generate revenue such as general and administrative expenses, liquidity and financing expenses and other operating activities as further described below.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses primarily consist of personnel salary and welfare expenses and professional and consulting expenses. Over the next several years, we anticipate an increase in our general and administrative expenses with our launch of production lines of our EV cars. Additionally, we expect to incur higher costs related to professional and consulting expenses associated with being a publicly traded company.
Taxation
The Company is incorporated in the State of Delaware and is required to pay franchise taxes to the State of Delaware on an annual basis. The Company is also registered as a foreign corporation with the State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. The Company would be subject to income tax under New Jersey state tax laws if it has operations in New Jersey.
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) was signed into federal law. The IRA provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases (including redemptions) of stock by publicly traded domestic (i.e., U.S.) corporations and certain domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the excise tax. The IRA applies only to repurchases that occur after December 31, 2022.
Our operating subsidiary Thunder Power New Electric Vehicles (TPNEV) are under the current and applicable laws of BVI and is not subject to tax on income or capital gains.
TP HK is incorporated in Hong Kong and is subject to Hong Kong Profits Tax on the taxable income as reported in its statutory financial statements adjusted in accordance with relevant Hong Kong tax laws. The applicable tax rate for the first HKD$2 million of assessable profits is 8.25% and assessable profits above HKD$2 million will continue to be subject to the rate of 16.5% for corporations in Hong Kong.
TP TW is incorporated in Taiwan and is subject to Taiwan corporate income tax on the taxable income as reported in its statutory financial statements adjusted in accordance with relevant Taiwan tax laws. The applicable tax rate for the first TW$120,000 of assessable profits is exempt from tax and assessable profits above TWD$120,000 (approximately $3,900) will be subject to the rate of 20% for resident companies in Taiwan.
Result of operations
The following table sets forth a summary of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.
For the Years Ended
December 31,
Revenues
Operating expenses
General and administrative expenses
Total operating expenses
Other income (expenses)
Other expenses, net
Interest (expenses) income
Foreign currency exchange income (loss)
Total other expenses, net
Loss before income taxes
Income tax expenses
Net loss
General and administrative expenses. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, our general and administrative expenses were approximately $1.7 million and $2.5 million, respectively. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily because we incurred share-based compensation expenses of approximately $1.0 million upon closing of the Business Combination in June 2024 as we issued 900,000 shares of Common Stock to three FLFV’s independent directors and transferred 429,350 shares of Common Stock from Sponsor to FLFV’s officers, directors, secretary and their designees, partially offset by an increase of approximately $0.3 million in provision for credit lossesagainst other current assets.
Net loss. As a result of the foregoing, we incurred a net loss of approximately $2.2 million and $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
To date, we have financed our operating activities primarily through cash raised in loans from related parties (see “ Note 10 – Related Party Transactions and Balances ”), and equity financing including private placements.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had cash of $10,093 and has incurred recurring losses from operations since inception. The Company reported a net loss of approximately $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 and has an accumulated deficit of approximately $39.1 million. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company faces several significant uncertainties, including:
Operating losses and liquidity constraints – The Company has not generated sufficient revenues to support its operations and has limited cash resources to meet its obligations.
Prepaid Forward Contract – The Company has recorded a prepaid balance related to a forward purchase agreement as a current asset. The realization of this balance is dependent on the counterparty’s sale of the Company’s shares and is subject to significant uncertainty, including market conditions and the Company’s listing status. The arrangement is not expected to generate near-term cash inflows and may not be readily realizable in cash. Accordingly, this balance does not provide immediate liquidity to support the Company’s operations.
Nasdaq delisting – The Company’s common stock was suspended from trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on April 21, 2025 and subsequently delisted in July 2025. The Company’s securities are currently quoted on the over-the-counter market. This significantly limits the Company’s ability to access public capital markets and raises substantial uncertainty regarding its ability to obtain financing.
Dependence on principal shareholder – The Company has historically relied on financial support from its principal shareholder. Due to ongoing legal proceedings involving the shareholder, there is significant uncertainty regarding the shareholder’s ability and willingness to continue providing financial support.
Management has undertaken certain actions to address these conditions, including exploring potential financing alternatives, seeking additional equity or debt funding, and evaluating cost reduction and restructuring initiatives. The Company is also pursuing strategic transactions, including a proposed acquisition; however, such transaction remains subject to completion and other uncertainties, and the target entity is also subject to its own going concern considerations.
However, there can be no assurance that these plans will be successfully implemented or will be sufficient to alleviate the substantial doubt regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, including the Company’s ability to realize value from the forward purchase arrangement.
Accordingly, the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to obtain additional financing and generate sufficient cash flows from operations. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods presented:
For the Years Ended
December 31,
Net cash used in operating activities
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
Net cash provided by financing activities
Effect of exchange rates on cash
Net decrease in cash
Cash at beginning of year
Cash at end of year
Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was approximately $1.5 million, primarily attributable to net loss of approximately $2.1 million, adjusted for non-cash item of provision for credit losses of approximately $0.3 million against other current assets, and changes in operating assets and liabilities, including an increase of approximately $0.2 million in due to related parties and a decrease of approximately $0.4 million in other payable and accrued expenses.
Net cash used in operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2024 was approximately $1.2 million, primarily attributable to net loss of approximately $2.5 million, adjusted for non-cash share-based compensation expenses of approximately $1.0 million, an increase of approximately $0.1 million in due to related parties, and an increase of $0.1 million in accrued expenses and other current liabilities incurred for professional consulting expenses since the closing of the Business Combination.
Investing activities
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we reported cash used in investing activities of approximately $1,400, which was from purchase of short-term investments of approximately $1,400.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we reported cash provided by investing activities of approximately $0.9 million, which was from the reverse acquisition we closed with FLFV in June 2024.
Financing Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we reported cash provided by financing activities of approximately $1.5 million, which were primarily provided by borrowings of approximately $1.5 million from our controlling shareholder and his family member.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we reported cash provided by financing activities of approximately $0.2 million, which were primarily provided by subscription fees of $0.4 million from shareholders in the private placements raised by TP Holdings, borrowings of approximately $1.0 million from our controlling shareholder, and proceeds of approximately $0.2 million from investors pursuant to Forward Purchase Agreement, partially offset by payment of offering cost of approximately $1.0 million and payment of approximately $0.4 million of extension loans on behalf of the Sponsor.
Commitment and Contingencies
On June 21, 2024, the Company entered into an escrow agreement (the “Escrow Agreement”) with Mr. Wellen Sham, Yuanmei Ma and CST, pursuant to which, among other things, (1) CST will act as the escrow agent under the Escrow Agreement; (2) at the closing of the Business Combination, the Company deposited with CST 20,000,000 shares of common stock as Earnout Shares, to be held by CST in a segregated escrow account (“Earnout Escrow Account”); and (3) if any portion of the Earnout Shares becomes eligible for release in accordance with the terms of the Escrow Agreement, CST will release the applicable portion of the Earnout Shares from the Earnout Escrow Account in accordance with the terms of the Escrow Agreement and disburse to each eligible recipient the applicable portion of Earnout Shares therefrom.
The Earnout Shares shall be released or otherwise forfeited as follows: (i) an aggregate of 5,000,000 Earnout Shares (the “Tranche 1 Earnout Shares”) will be vested, if and only if, on the occurrence that the amount of sales/revenues of the Company for any of the fiscal years (such fiscal year is referred to as “Tranche 1 Fiscal Year”) ending from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2025 is no less than $42,200,000 as evidenced by the audited financial statements of the Company prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for the Tranche 1 Fiscal Year that is contained in an annual report on Form 10-K filed by the Company with the SEC (the “Tranche 1 Annual Report”); (ii) an aggregate of 15,000,000 Earnout Shares (the “Tranche 2 Earnout Shares”) will be vested, if and only if, on the occurrence that the amount of sales/revenues of the Company for any of the fiscal years (such fiscal year is referred to as “Tranche 2 Fiscal Year”) ending from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2026 is no less than $415,000,000 as evidenced by the audited financial statements of the Company prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for the Tranche 2 Fiscal Year that is contained in an annual report on Form 10-K filed by the Company with the SEC (the “Tranche 2 Annual Report”); (iii) Within five (5) business days following the determination that all or any portion of the Tranche 1 Earnout Shares or Tranche 2 Earnout Shares become vested, the Company, together with Mr. Sham and Ms. Ma, shall instruct the Escrow Agent to irrevocably and unconditionally release the vested tranche of Earnout Shares from the Escrow Account in accordance with the terms of the Escrow Agreement to certain of the Company’s shareholders. Each tranche of Earnout Shares may be released only once, but more than one tranche can be released in any year in accordance with the Escrow Agreement.
The Earnout Shares were issued in connection with the Business Combination and are classified as equity instruments. The Earnout Shares were measured at their grant-date fair value on June 21, 2024 and recorded within additional paid-in capital. Because the Earnout Shares are classified as equity instruments, they are not subsequently remeasured. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the revenue performance conditions required for vesting were not achieved. Accordingly, no Earnout Shares were released from escrow as of December 31, 2025.
The Earnout Shares are classified as equity instruments. Because the Earnout Shares are subject to vesting conditions, the Company evaluated the appropriate grant-date measurement basis in accordance with applicable U.S. GAAP and recorded the Earnout Shares within equity. The Earnout Shares are not subsequently remeasured.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. In addition, we have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to the shares of our common stock and classified as shareholder’s equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in product development services with us.
Research and Development
We have incurred minimal research and development expenses for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. The researched and development expenses were recorded in “general and administrative expenses” in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Critical Accounting Estimates
We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires our management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities on the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. We continually evaluate these judgments, estimates and assumptions based on our own historical experience, knowledge and assessment of current business and other conditions, our expectations regarding the future based on available information and various assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, which together form our basis for making judgments about matters that are not readily apparent from other sources. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, our actual results could differ from those estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application.
Our expectations regarding the future are based on available information and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, which together form our basis for making judgments about matters that are not readily apparent from other sources. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, our actual results could differ from those estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application.
We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if: (i) the accounting estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made, and (ii) changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period or use of different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, would have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
When reading our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, you should consider our selection of critical accounting policies, the judgment and other uncertainties affecting the application of such policies and the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions. See Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements for the disclosure of these accounting policies. We believe the following accounting estimates involve the most significant judgments used in the preparation of our financial statements.
While management believes its judgments, estimates and assumptions are reasonable, they are based on information presently available and actual results may differ significantly from those estimates under different assumptions and conditions. We believe that the following critical accounting estimates involve the most significant judgments used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Allowance for expected credit losses of other receivable
We assessed the collectability by reviewing other receivable on an individual basis in accordance with ASC Topic 326, Credit Losses (“ASC 326”). Before entering into a Merger Agreement with FLFV, we entered into a letter of intent with Aetherium Acquisition Corp. (“GMFI”) to explore a potential business combination. We paid extension loans in an amount of $300,000 and working capital loans in an amount of $15,000 on behalf of GMFI. In March 2024, the letter of intent with GMFI was terminated.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we assessed the payment intention and payment ability of GMFI and provided full allowance for credit lossesagainst the balance due to liquidation of GMFI.
Allowance for prepaid expenses for Forward Purchase Contract
As of December 31, 2025, we assessed the recoverability of prepaid expenses for forward purchase contract which will be realized as the counterparty sells our shares.
The evaluation of impairment requires significant judgment, particularly in assessing whether the prepaid balance will be fully recovered through future share transactions. Key factors considered include: (a) our current and expected share price relative to the reference/reset price under the agreement, (b) the enforceability of the Forward Purchase Contract, (c) the counterparty’s performance, including whether the counterparty continues to sell shares in accordance with the contract, (d) the volume of remaining shares held and expected pace of future sales, and (e) overall market conditions and liquidity of the Company’s shares.
Given that recovery of the prepaid amount is dependent on future share sales and market prices, there is inherent uncertainty in the timing and amount of recovery. As of December 31, 2025, we did not provide allowance against prepaid expenses for Forward Purchase Contract.
(iii)
Classification of prepaid expenses for Forward Purchase Contract
Pursuant to the agreement between us and the counterparty, we made an upfront payment to facilitate a forward share transaction whereby the counterparty acquires and subsequently sells our shares in the market. Our economic benefit is realized through the sales of these shares, with settlement reflected through equity (additional paid-in capital) rather than cash flows.
The arrangement does not meet the definition of a derivative or financial asset in accordance with ASC 815, rather the upfront payment represents a prepaid asset under ASC 340, providing future economic benefit as the underlying shares are sold. Accordingly, the upfront payment is recognized as a prepaid expense and will be derecognized as the related share transactions occur, with any differences recognized in additional paid-in capital in accordance with ASC 505.
Classification of prepaid expenses for Forward Purchase Contract as a current asset
We also applied judgment in classifying the prepaid balance as current, based on the expectation that the underlying share sales and related settlement will occur within 12 months of the reporting date, supported by the ongoing execution of the Forward Purchase Contract and historical pace of share dispositions.
Accrued legal expenses
We exercised significant judgment in estimating accrued legal expenses where invoices are disputed and final settlement has not been reached.
As of December 31, 2025, we recorded an accrual of $250,000 related to legal services provided by Brown Rudnick. The original invoices totaled approximately $659,910, which management disputed due to delayed filings and incomplete services. No settlement agreement had been finalized as of the reporting date.
We based our estimation on actual services rendered, which represents the best assessment of the probable obligation under ASC 450. Given the range of possible outcomes and ongoing negotiations, the ultimate settlement amount may differ from the amount accrued.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
The Company has evaluated all recently issued accounting pronouncements and believes such pronouncements do not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. A list of recently issued accounting pronouncements that are relevant to us is included in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report (see “ Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies ”).
