RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves risks. Before you make a decision to buy our securities, in addition to the risks and uncertainties discussed above under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” you should carefully consider the specific risks set forth herein. If any of these risks actually occur, it may materially harm our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. As a result, the market price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Additionally, the risks and uncertainties described in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement are not the only risks and uncertainties that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may become material and adversely affect our business.

Summary of Risks:

Our business is subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before making a decision to invest in our common stock. These risks include, among others, the following:

•        We are an early stage company with a history of losses and expect to incur significant expenses and continuing losses for the foreseeable future.

•        We will require significant capital to develop and grow our business, and we may be unable to adequately control the costs associated with our operations.

•        We have yet to achieve positive operating cash flow and, given our projected funding needs, our ability to generate positive cash flow is uncertain.

•        Our financial results may vary significantly from period to period due to fluctuations in our operating costs, product demand and other factors.

•        Our operating and financial results forecast relies in large part upon assumptions and analyses developed by us. If these assumptions or analyses prove to be incorrect, our actual operating results may be materially different from our forecasted results.

•        Our business plans require a significant amount of capital. In addition, our future capital needs may require us to sell additional equity or debt securities that may dilute our stockholders or introduce covenants that may restrict our operations or our ability to pay dividends.

•        Our limited operating history makes evaluating our business and future prospects difficult and may increase the risk of your investment.

•        Our Fleet-as-a-Service offering is novel in the industry and has yet to be tested in the long-term. Any failure to commercialize our strategic plans could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and business, harm our reputation and could result in substantial liabilities that exceed our resources.

•        We may experience significant delays in the design, manufacturing and wide-spread deployment of our vehicles, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

•        Our ability to develop and manufacture vehicles and battery packs of sufficient quality and appeal to customers on schedule and on a large scale will require significant capital expenditures and is unproven and still evolving.

•        We have no experience to date in high volume manufacturing of our vehicles and battery packs, and we currently rely and will continue to rely on third-party contract manufacturing partners to manufacture our vehicles, and to supply critical components and systems, which expose us to a number of risks and uncertainties outside our control.

•        We are or may be subject to risks associated with strategic alliances or acquisitions and may not be able to identify adequate strategic relationship opportunities, or form strategic relationships, in the future.

•        We are dependent on our suppliers, some of which are limited source suppliers, and the inability of these suppliers, due to increased demand or other factors, to deliver necessary components of our vehicles and battery packs at prices and volumes, performance and specifications acceptable to us, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

•        Our vehicles use lithium-ion battery cells, a class of batteries which have been observed to catch fire or vent smoke and flame.

•        If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to further design, develop, manufacture and market our vehicles or battery packs successfully.

Risks Related to our Business and Industry

We are an early stage company with a history of losses and expect to incur significant expenses and continuing losses for the foreseeable future.

We incurred a net loss of $16.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. We believe that we will continue to incur operating and net losses each quarter until at least the time we begin wide-scale deliveries of our vehicles and realize increased adoption of our Fleet-as-a-Service products, which is not expected to occur until 2023, and may occur later or not at all. If we are unable to scale to wide-scale deliveries and realize increased adoption of our Fleet-as-a-Service products, we expect to continue to incur operating and net losses. Based on our current estimates, we expect to continue to incur operating and net losses until we achieve approximately $1.5 billion in annualized revenue, which we estimate to correspond to approximately 10,000 annualized vehicle deliveries, equating to approximately $1.3 billion in annual vehicle sales, and $200 million of annual Fleet-as-a-Service revenue from subscriptions for delivered vehicles. We anticipate achieving this milestone in the first half of 2023. Since inception through June 30, 2021, we have delivered 34 vehicles and powertrains combined to our customers. Our Flex manufacturing strategy leverages our strategic partners’ existing local facilities and labor with the flexibility to increase or decrease our manufacturing capacity with minimal lead time. As of June 30, 2021, we have partnered with Metalsa, S.A. de C.V. (“Metalsa”) and Fitzgerald Collision and Repair, LLC (“Fitzgerald”) — our third-party contract manufacturer partners — to operate two Flex facilities that are projected to cost us $45 million per facility to fully develop. The Fitzgerald Flex facility in Tennessee has a footprint of approximately 144,000 square feet. We are currently in discussions with Metalsa to transition from our current manufacturing space to a new facility with approximately 150,000 square feet by year-end 2021 as we pivot from alpha-phase production to full production. We anticipate the production of each Flex facility to be up to 5,000 vehicles at peak capacity. We expect our current facilities to satisfy our currently projected vehicle production volumes through 2023.

Even if we can successfully develop our vehicles and attract additional customers, there can be no assurance that we will be financially successful. Our potential profitability is dependent upon the successful development and acceptance of our vehicles, which may not occur.

We expect the rate at which we will incur losses to be significantly higher in future periods as we:

•        continue to design, develop, manufacture and market our vehicles;

•        continue to utilize our third-party partners for supply and manufacturing;

•        expand our manufacturing capabilities, including costs associated with contracting the assembly of our vehicles;

•        build up inventories of parts and components for our vehicles;

•        manufactures an inventory of our vehicles;

•        expands our design, development, installation and servicing capabilities;

•        further develop our proprietary battery and chassis technology;

•        increases our sales and marketing activities and develop our distribution infrastructure; and

•        increases our general and administrative functions to support our growing operations and to operate as a public company.

Because we will incur the costs and expenses from these efforts before we receive any incremental revenues with respect thereto, our losses in future periods will be significant. In addition, we may find that these efforts are more expensive than we currently anticipate or that these efforts may not result in revenues, which would further increase our losses.

We have entered and may continue to enter into agreements and non-binding purchase orders, letters of intent and memorandums of understanding or similar agreements for sales of our vehicles, which are cancellable at the option of our customers.

We have entered and may continue enter into agreements, purchase orders, letters of intent and memorandums of understanding or similar agreements for the sale of our vehicles that include various cancellation rights in favor of the customer. For example, we have entered into binding distribution and purchase agreements for the purchase of vehicles; however, they are subject to the further entry into a definitive agreement with final pricing, warranty coverage and other terms. These purchase obligations may also be cancelled by the customer with six months’ written notice. As a result, we cannot assure that we will be able to enter into a definitive agreement or that our customers will not exercise their cancellation rights. In addition, we have entered and may continue to enter into purchase orders, letters of intent and memorandums of understanding or similar agreements that are not binding on our customer and may also be subject to modification and cancellation provisions. Any of these adverse actions related to these agreements, purchase orders, letters of intent, memorandums of understanding or any future customer contracts could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

We will require significant capital to develop and grow our business, and we may be unable to adequately control the costs associated with our operations.

We will require significant capital to develop and grow our business, including developing and manufacturing our vehicles, establishing or expanding design, research and development, manufacturing, sales and service facilities and building our brand. We have incurred and expect to continue incurring significant expenses which will impact our profitability, including research and development expenses (including related to developing and commercializing our vehicles), raw material procurement costs, sales and distribution expenses as we build our brand and market our vehicles, and general and administrative expenses as we scale our operations, identify and commit resources to investigate new areas of demand and incur costs as a public company our ability to become profitable in the future will not only depend on our ability to complete the design and development of our vehicles to meet projected performance metrics, identify and investigate new areas of demand and successfully market our vehicles, but also to sell our vehicles at prices needed to achieve our expected margins and control our costs. If we are unable to efficiently design, develop, manufacture, market, deploy, distribute and service our vehicles, our margins, profitability and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We have yet to achieve positive operating cash flow and, given our projected funding needs, our ability to generate positive cash flow is uncertain.

We had negative cash flow from operating activities of $12.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. We may continue to have negative cash flow from operating and investing activities for 2021 as we expect to incur research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses and make capital expenditures in our efforts to increase sales, engage in development work and ramp up operations. Our business also will at times require significant amounts of working capital to support our expected future growth and expansion of products. An inability to generate positive cash flow for the near term may adversely affect our ability to raise needed capital for our business on reasonable terms, diminish supplier or customer willingness to enter into transactions with us, and have other adverse effects that may decrease our long-term viability. There can be no assurance that we will achieve positive cash flow in the near future or at all.

Our financial results may vary significantly from period to period due to fluctuations in our operating costs, product demand and other factors.

We expect our period-to-period financial results to vary based on our operating costs and product demand, which we anticipate will fluctuate as the pace at which we continue to design, develop and manufacture new vehicles, increase manufacturing capacity and establish or expand design, research and development, manufacturing, sales and service facilities. Additionally, our revenues from period to period may fluctuate as we identify and investigates

areas of demand, adjust volumes and add new product derivatives based on market demand and margin opportunities, develop and introduce new vehicles or introduce existing vehicles to new markets for the first time. As a result of these factors, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our financial results, especially in the short term, are not necessarily meaningful and that these comparisons cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance. Moreover, our financial results may not meet expectations of equity research analysts, ratings agencies or investors, who may be focused only on quarterly financial results. If any of this occurs, the trading price of our Common Stock could fall substantially, either suddenly or over time.

Our operating and financial results forecast relies in large part upon assumptions and analyses developed by us. If these assumptions or analyses prove to be incorrect, our actual operating results may be materially different from our forecasted results.

The projected financial and operating information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus reflect current estimates of future performance and incorporate certain financial and operational assumptions, including the level of demand for our vehicles, the performance and utilization of our vehicles and our battery packs, the utilization of our Fleet-as-a-Service offering, vehicle downtime, useable vehicle or battery life and related maintenance and repair costs. These assumptions are preliminary and there can be no assurance that the actual results upon which our assumptions are based will be in line with our expectations. The projections cover multiple years and such financial projections, by their nature, become subject to greater uncertainty with each succeeding year. In addition, whether actual operating and financial results and business developments will be consistent with our expectations and assumptions as reflected in our forecast depends on a number of factors, many of which are outside our control, including, but not limited to:

•        whether we can obtain sufficient capital to sustain and grow our business;

•        our ability to manage our growth;

•        whether we can manage relationships with key suppliers and partners;

•        the ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals;

•        the timing and costs of new and existing marketing and promotional efforts;

•        competition, including from established and future competitors;

•        our ability to retain existing key management, to integrate recent hires and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel;

•        the overall strength and stability of domestic and international economies;

•        demand for current products and future derivatives built off of the X-Platform;

•        regulatory, legislative and political changes; and

•        consumer preferences and spending habits.

Unfavorable changes in any of these or other factors, most of which are beyond our control, could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial results.

Our business plans require a significant amount of capital. In addition, our future capital needs may require us to sell additional equity or debt securities that may dilute our stockholders or introduce covenants that may restrict our operations or our ability to pay dividends.

We expect our capital expenditures to continue to be significant in the foreseeable future as we expand our business, and that our level of capital expenditures will be significantly affected by customer demand for our vehicles and Fleet-as-a-Service offering. We expect that we will have sufficient capital to fund our currently planned operations until we generate positive free cash flow contingent on our ability to execute on key projected capital strategy initiatives, such as the cash flow from advance payments from customers for the Fleet-as-a-Service products generating recurring revenue. The fact that we have a limited operating history means we have limited historical data on the demand for our vehicles. As a result, our future capital requirements may be uncertain and actual capital requirements may be different from those we currently anticipate. We may need to seek equity or debt financing to finance a portion of our capital expenditures. Such financing might not be available to us in a timely manner or on terms that are acceptable, or at all.

Our ability to obtain the necessary financing to carry out our business plan is subject to a number of factors, including general market conditions and investor acceptance of our business model. These factors may make the timing, amount, terms and conditions of such financing unattractive or unavailable to us. If we are unable to raise sufficient funds, we will have to significantly reduce our spending, delay or cancel our planned activities or substantially change our corporate structure. We might not be able to obtain any funding, and we might not have sufficient resources to conduct our business as projected, both of which could mean that we would be forced to curtail or discontinue our operations.

In addition, our future capital needs and other business reasons could require us to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of additional equity or equity-linked securities could dilute our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that may restrict our operations or our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.

If we cannot raise additional funds when we need or want them, our operations and prospects could be negatively affected.

Our limited operating history makes evaluating our business and future prospects difficult and may increase the risk of your investment.

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, financial condition and operating results may be materially and adversely harmed. We were originally incorporated as a California corporation in October 2015, converted into a Delaware corporation in December 2020 and completed the Business Combination in August 2021. We have a very limited operating history on which investors can base an evaluation of our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. We intend to derive our revenue from the sale of our vehicles and our Fleet-as-a-Service offering. There are no assurances that we will be able to secure future business with customers.

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. The projected financial information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus has been prepared by our management and reflects current estimates of future performance and incorporate certain financial and operational assumptions, including the level of demand for our vehicles, the performance and utilization of our vehicles and our battery packs, the utilization of our Fleet-as-a-Service offering, vehicle downtime, useable vehicle or battery life and related maintenance and repair costs. The projected results depend on the successful implementation of our management’s growth strategies and are based on assumptions and events over which we have only partial or no control. The assumptions underlying such projected information require the exercise of judgement and may not occur, and the projections are subject to uncertainty due to the effects of economic, business, competitive, regulatory, legislative, political and other changes.

Our Fleet-as-a-Service offering is novel in the industry and has yet to be tested in the long-term. Any failure to commercialize our strategic plans could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and business, harm our reputation and could result in substantial liabilities that exceed our resources.

Our Fleet-as-a-Service offering is novel in the industry, which subjects us to substantial risk if this model requires significant expenditures before receipt of substantial revenue. As of June 30, 2021, five customers have utilized our Fleet-as-a-Service offering. Our financial projections assume pricing, subscription volume and retention of subscribers for our Fleet-as-a-Service products and services based on management’s estimates of market demand. Our financial projections also include some Fleet-as-a-Service products and services that are still in development and not yet available. Our Fleet-as-a-Service offering may not ultimately drive the demand we are forecasting and/or Fleet-as-a-Service products and services in development that are not yet commercially available may never become commercially available which may have a material impact on our ability to achieve our financial projections. You should be aware of the difficulties normally encountered by new services and products, 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 with our Fleet-as-a-Service offering and our vehicles sales must be considered in light of these risks, expenses, complications, delays and the competitive environment in which we operate. Therefore, there can be no assurances that our business plan will prove successful. We may not be able to generate significant revenue, raise additional capital or operate profitably. In addition, the novelty of our Fleet-as-a-Service offering means that it has yet to be tested in the long-term and we may encounter

risks and difficulties, including, but not limited to, providing energy services and related infrastructure, providing financing options, increasing service and maintenance personnel, supplying insurance and other risk products, among others, and may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties or delays in connection with developing the Fleet-as-a-Service offering.

We may experience significant delays in the design, manufacturing and wide-spread deployment of our vehicles, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

As of June 30, 2021, we have two classes of on-highway vehicles and a powertrain product, which can accommodate both on-highway and off-highway applications, available for delivery, as well as an additional two classes of vehicles in development and testing phases. Widespread deliveries of our vehicles to customers is not expected to begin until late 2021 and may occur later or not at all. Any delay in the financing, design, development, manufacturing and release of our vehicles, could materially damage our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. There are often delays in the design, development, manufacturing and release of new vehicles, and to the extent we delay the launch of our vehicles, our growth prospects could be adversely affected as we may fail to grow our market share. We will rely on our third-party contract manufacturing partners to build our vehicles at scale, and if we are not able to manufacture vehicles that meet our specifications, we will need to partner with other contract manufacturers or expand our manufacturing capabilities, which may cause us to incur additional costs and delay deployment of our vehicles. Furthermore, we rely on third-party suppliers for the provision and development of many of the key components and materials used in our vehicles, and to the extent we experience any delays, we may need to seek alternative suppliers. If we experience delays by our third-party outsourcing partners or suppliers, we could experience delays in delivering on our timelines.

Our ability to develop and manufacture vehicles and battery packs of sufficient quality and appeal to customers on schedule and on a large scale will require significant capital expenditures and is unproven and still evolving.

Our future business depends in large part on our ability to execute our plans to design, develop, manufacture, market, deploy and service our vehicles, which will require significant capital expenditures. Our flex manufacturing, in which we leverage existing local facilities and labor pools through strategic partnerships with third-party manufacturers, is expected to be capital- and time-efficient and is designed to allow for rapid scale and flexibility at a substantial cost reduction compared to traditional automotive manufacturing facilities. However, our flex manufacturing is a novel manufacturing strategy and has not been tested on a large scale and will still require significant expense and time.

We also retain third-party vendors and service providers to engineer, design, develop, test and manufacture some of the critical systems and components of our vehicles. While this allows us to draw from such third parties’ industry knowledge and expertise, there can be no assurance such systems and components will be successfully developed to our specifications or delivered in a timely manner to meet our program timing requirements.

Our continued development and manufacture of our vehicles and battery packs are and will be subject to risks, including with respect to:

•        our ability to acquire and implement the required equipment within our Flex facilities to accurately manufacture our vehicles and battery packs within specified design tolerances

•        long- and short-term durability of our vehicles and battery packs to withstand day-to-day wear and tear;

•        compliance with environmental, workplace safety and similar regulations;

•        engineering, designing and testing and securing delivery of critical systems and components on acceptable terms and in a timely manner;

•        delays in delivery of final systems and components by our suppliers;

•        shifts in demand for our X-Pack battery pack and current products and future derivatives built off the X-Platform;

•        the compatibility of the X-Platform with future vehicle designs;

•        our ability to attract, recruit, hire and train skilled employees;

•        quality controls, particularly as we plan to expand our manufacturing capabilities;

•        delays or disruptions in our supply chain;

•        other delays and cost overruns; and

•        our ability to secure additional funding, if necessary.

We have no experience to date in high volume manufacturing of our vehicles and battery packs, and currently rely and will continue to rely on third-party contract manufacturing partners to manufacture our vehicles, and to supply critical components and systems, which expose us to a number of risks and uncertainties outside our control.

Our Flex manufacturing strategy leverages our strategic partners’ existing local facilities and labor to assemble up to 5,000 vehicles annually per facility once fully ramped up with the flexibility to increase or decrease our manufacturing capacity with minimal lead time. As of June 30, 2021, we have partnered with two third-party contract manufacturer partners — Metalsa and Fitzgerald — to operate two Flex facilities with the combined capacity to manufacture up to approximately 10,000 vehicles per year once fully ramped up. We do not know whether we or our current or future third-party contract manufacturing partners will be able to develop efficient, automated, low-cost manufacturing capabilities and processes that will enable us to meet the quality, price, engineering, design and manufacturing standards, as well as the manufacturing volumes, required to successfully mass market our vehicles and battery packs. Even if we and our third-party contract manufacturing partners are successful in developing our high volume manufacturing capability and processes, we do not know 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 product commercialization and manufacturing schedules or to satisfy the requirements of customers and potential customers. If our third-party contract manufacturing partners were to experience delays, disruptions, capacity constraints or quality control problems in our manufacturing operations, product shipments could be delayed or rejected or our customers could consequently elect to change product demand. These disruptions would negatively impact our revenues, competitive position and reputation. In addition, our current or future third-party contract manufacturing partners may rely on certain state tax incentives that may be subject to change or elimination in the future, which could result in additional costs and delays in manufacturing if a new manufacturing site must be obtained. Further, if we are unable to successfully manage our relationship with our third-party contract manufacturing partners, the quality and availability of our vehicles and battery packs may be harmed. Our third-party contract manufacturing partners could, under some circumstances, decline to accept new purchase orders from or otherwise reduce their business with us. If our third-party contract manufacturing partners stopped manufacturing our vehicles or battery packs for any reason or reduced their manufacturing capacity, we may be unable to replace the lost manufacturing capacity on a timely and comparatively cost-effective basis, which would adversely impact our operations and ability to meet delivery timelines.

Because we outsource the manufacturing of our vehicles, the cost, quality and availability of third-party contract manufacturing operations is essential to successfully manufacture our vehicles and battery packs. Our reliance on third-party contract manufacturing partners exposes us to a number of risks which are outside our control, including:

•        unexpected increases in manufacturing costs;

•        interruptions in shipments if a third-party contract manufacturing partner is unable to complete production in a timely manner;

•        inability to control delivery schedules;

•        inability to control manufacturing levels and to meet minimum volume commitments to our customers;

•        inability to control manufacturing yield; and

•        inability to maintain adequate manufacturing capacity.

The manufacturing facilities of our third-party contract manufacturing partners and the equipment used to manufacture our vehicles and battery packs would be costly to replace and could require substantial lead time to replace and qualify for use. The manufacturing facilities of our third-party contract manufacturing partners may be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including earthquakes, flooding, fire and power outages, or by health epidemics, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which may render it difficult or impossible

for us to manufacture our vehicles or battery packs for some period of time. The inability to manufacture our vehicles or the backlog that could develop if the manufacturing facilities of our third-party contract manufacturing partners are inoperable for even a short period of time may result in the loss of customers or harm our reputation.

Although we promote ethical business practices and our operations personnel periodically visit and monitor the operations of our third-party contract manufacturing partners, we do not control our third-party manufacturing partners or their labor and other legal compliance practices, including their environmental, health and safety practices. If our current or future third-party contract manufacturing partners violate U.S. or foreign laws or regulations, we may be subjected to extra duties, significant monetary penalties, adverse publicity, the seizure and forfeiture of products that we are attempting to import or the loss of our import privileges. The effects of these factors could render the conduct of our business in a particular country undesirable or impractical and have a negative impact on our operating results.

We are or may be subject to risks associated with strategic alliances or acquisitions and may not be able to identify adequate strategic relationship opportunities, or form strategic relationships, in the future.

We have entered into non-binding memoranda of understanding and letters of intent (“MOUs”) with certain key manufacturers, suppliers and development partners to form strategic alliances with such third parties, and may in the future enter into additional strategic alliances or joint ventures or minority equity investments, in each case with various third parties for the manufacture of our vehicles and for our Fleet-as-a-Service offering. There is no guarantee that any of our MOUs would lead to any binding agreements or lasting or successful business relationships with such key suppliers and development partners. If these strategic alliances are established, they may subject us to several risks, including risks associated with sharing proprietary information, non-performance by the third-party and increased expenses in establishing new strategic alliances, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business. We may have limited ability to monitor or control the actions of these third parties and, to the extent any of these strategic third parties suffer negative publicity or harm to their reputation from events relating to our business, We may also suffer negative publicity or harm to our reputation by virtue of our association with any such third-party.

Strategic business relationships will be an important factor in the growth and success of our business. However, there are no assurances that we will be able to continue to identify or secure suitable business relationship opportunities in the future or our competitors may capitalize on such opportunities before we do. Moreover, identifying such opportunities could require substantial management time and resources, and negotiating and financing relationships involves significant costs and uncertainties. If we are unable to successfully source and execute on strategic relationship opportunities in the future, our overall growth could be impaired, and our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected.

When appropriate opportunities arise, we may acquire additional assets, products, technologies or businesses that are complementary to our existing business. In addition to possible stockholder approval, we may need approvals and licenses from relevant government authorities for the acquisitions and to comply with any applicable laws and regulations, which could result in increased delay and costs, and may disrupt our business strategy if we fail to do so. Furthermore, acquisitions and the subsequent integration of new assets and businesses into our own require significant attention from our management and could result in a diversion of resources from our existing business, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our operations. Acquired assets or businesses may not generate the financial results we expect. Acquisitions could result in the use of substantial amounts of cash, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the occurrence of significant goodwill impairment charges, amortization expenses for other intangible assets and exposure to potential unknown liabilities of the acquired business. Moreover, the costs of identifying and consummating acquisitions may be significant.

We are dependent on our suppliers, some of which are limited source suppliers, and the inability of these suppliers, due to increased demand or other factors, to deliver necessary components of our vehicles and battery packs at prices and volumes, performance and specifications acceptable to us, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

We rely on third-party suppliers for the provision and development of many of the key components and materials used in our vehicles and battery packs. While we plan to obtain components from multiple sources whenever possible, some of the components used in our products will be purchased by us from a single or limited number of sources. Our third-party suppliers may not be able to meet their product specifications and performance characteristics, which would impact our ability to achieve our product specifications and performance characteristics as well. Additionally,

our third-party suppliers may be unable to obtain required certifications for their products for which we plan to use or provide warranties that are necessary for our vehicles, battery packs or services. If we are unable to obtain components and materials used in our products from our suppliers or if our suppliers decide to create or supply competing products, our business could be adversely affected. We have less negotiating leverage with suppliers than larger and more established automobile manufacturers and may not be able to obtain favorable pricing and other terms for the foreseeable future. While we believe that we can establish alternate supply relationships and can obtain or engineer replacement components for our limited source components, we may be unable to do so in the short term, or at all, at prices or quality levels that are favorable to us. In addition, if these 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 or would have to take other measures to ensure components and materials remain available. Any disruption could affect our ability to deliver vehicles and could increase our costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to further design, develop, manufacture and market our vehicles or battery packs successfully.

Any failure to manage our growth effectively could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. We intend to expand our operations significantly. We expect our future expansion to include:

•        expanding the management team;

•        hiring and training new personnel;

•        expanding our product offering across vehicles and Fleet-as-a-Service;

•        controlling expenses and investments in anticipation of expanded operations;

•        establishing or expanding design, research and development, manufacturing, sales and service facilities;

•        implementing and enhancing administrative infrastructure, systems and processes; and

•        expanding into new markets.

As of June 30, 2021, we had 188 employees. We intend to continue to hire a significant number of additional personnel across a variety of functions including, but not limited to, sales, marketing, servicing, product, engineering, supply chain, manufacturing and operations. Because our vehicles are based on a different technology platform than traditional internal combustion engines, individuals with sufficient training in alternative fuel and vehicles may not be available to hire, and as a result, we will need to expend significant time and expense training any newly hired employees. Competition for individuals with experience designing, manufacturing and servicing vehicles and their software is intense, and we may not be able to attract, integrate, train, motivate or retain additional highly qualified personnel. The failure to attract, integrate, train, motivate and retain these additional employees could seriously harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Our vehicles use lithium-ion battery cells, a class of batteries which have been observed to catch fire or vent smoke and flame.

Our battery packs use lithium-ion battery cells. On rare occasions, lithium-ion battery 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 battery cells. While we have taken measures to enhance the safety of our battery designs, a field or testing failure of our vehicles could occur in the future, which could subject us to lawsuits, product recalls, or redesign efforts, all of which would be time-consuming and expensive. Also, negative public perceptions regarding the suitability of lithium-ion battery cells for automotive applications or any future incident involving lithium-ion battery cells such as a vehicle or other fire, even if such incident does not involve our vehicles, could seriously harm our business.

In addition, our manufacturing partners and suppliers are expected to store a significant number of lithium-ion battery cells at their facilities. Any mishandling of battery cells may cause disruption to the operation of such facilities. A safety issue or fire related to the battery cells could disrupt operations or cause manufacturing delays. Such damage or injury could lead to adverse publicity and potentially a safety recall. Moreover, any failure of

a competitor’s electric vehicle or energy storage product may cause indirect adverse publicity for us and our vehicles. Such adverse publicity could negatively affect our brand and harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Increases in costs, disruption of supply or shortage of materials, in particular for lithium-ion battery cells, semiconductors and other key components, could harm our business.

We and our suppliers may 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 negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. We and our suppliers use various materials in their businesses and products, including for example lithium-ion battery cells and steel, and the prices for these materials fluctuate. The available supply of these materials may be unstable, depending on market conditions and global demand, including as a result of increased production of electric vehicles by our competitors, and could adversely affect our business and operating results. For instance, we are exposed to multiple risks relating to lithium-ion battery cells. These risks include:

•        an increase in the cost, or decrease in the available supply, of materials used in the battery cells;

•        disruption in the supply of battery 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 business is dependent on the continued supply of battery cells for the battery packs used in our vehicles. Any disruption in the supply of battery cells from our suppliers could disrupt production of our vehicles. Furthermore, fluctuations or shortages in petroleum and other economic conditions may cause us to experience significant increases in freight charges and material costs. Additionally, we and other vehicle manufacturers who need integrated circuits for vehicles are experiencing various levels of semiconductor impact due to the current shortage of semiconductors, which could last until 2023. A combination of factors, including increased demand for consumer electronics, automotive shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid recovery of demand for vehicles, and long lead times for wafer production, are contributing to the shortage of semiconductors. A shortage of semiconductors or other key components could cause a significant disruption to our production schedule. If we are unable to pre-purchase supply for semiconductors or other key components that may experience shortages, or if we cannot find other methods to mitigate the impact of any such shortage, then any such short shortage could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations generally in the same manner it could cause the same for other vehicle manufacturers. Substantial increases in the prices for our materials or prices charged to it, such as those charged by suppliers of battery cells, semiconductors or other key components, would increase our operating costs, and could reduce our margins if the increased costs cannot be recouped through increased vehicle sales or Fleet-as-a-Service revenue. Any attempts to increase vehicle or Fleet-as-a-Service prices in response to increased material costs could result in cancellations of orders and reservations and therefore materially and adversely affect our brand, image, business, prospects and operating results.

We and our contract manufacturing partners may rely on complex machinery for the manufacture of our vehicles and battery packs, which involves a significant degree of risk and uncertainty in terms of operational performance and costs.

We and our third-party contract manufacturing partners may rely on complex machinery, for the manufacture and assembly of our vehicles, which will involve a significant degree of uncertainty and risk in terms of operational performance and costs. Our facilities and the facilities of our third-party contract manufacturing partners and suppliers consist of large-scale machinery combining many components. These components may suffer unexpected malfunctions from time to time and will depend on repairs and spare parts to resume operations, which may not be available when needed. Unexpected malfunctions of these components may significantly affect the intended operational efficiency. Operational performance and costs can be difficult to predict and are often influenced by factors outside of our control, such as, but not limited to, scarcity of natural resources, environmental hazards and remediation, costs associated with decommissioning of machines, labor disputes and strikes, difficulty or delays in obtaining governmental permits, damages or defects in electronic systems, industrial accidents, fire, seismic activity and natural disasters. Should operational risks materialize, it may result in the personal injury to or death of workers, the loss of manufacturing

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, prospects, financial condition or operating results.

The performance characteristics of our vehicles and battery packs may vary, including due to factors outside of our control, which could harm our ability to develop, market and deploy our vehicles.

The performance characteristics of our vehicles and battery packs, including expected range, may vary, including due to factors outside of our control. Our vehicles and battery packs are subject to further design and development in order to improve them, and there are no assurances that they will be able to meet their projected performance characteristics. External factors may also impact the performance characteristics of our vehicles and battery packs, including, but not limited to, driver behavior, speed, terrain, hardware efficiency, payload, vehicle and weather conditions. These external factors as well as any operation of our vehicles and battery packs other than as intended, may affect performance of our vehicles and battery packs, including range and longevity.

In addition, our vehicles may contain defects in design and manufacturing that may cause them not to perform as expected or may require repair. We currently have a limited frame of reference by which to evaluate the performance of our vehicles upon which our business prospects depend. There can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and fix any defects in our vehicles. We may experience recalls in the future, which could adversely affect our brand and could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Our vehicles may not perform consistent with customers’ expectations or consistent with other vehicles which may become available.

If the average performance of our vehicles and battery packs, including the usable life of a battery pack, is less than ours or our customers’ expectations, or if there are product defects or any other failure of our vehicles and battery packs to perform as expected, our reputation could be harmed, which could result in adverse publicity, lost revenue, delivery delays, product recalls, negative publicity, product liability claims and significant warranty and other expenses and could have a material adverse impact on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Insufficient reserves to cover future part replacement needs or other vehicle repair requirements, including any potential software upgrades, could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

We will need to maintain reserves to cover part replacement and other vehicle repair needs, including any potential software upgrades or warranty claims. If our reserves are inadequate to cover future maintenance requirements on our vehicles, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results 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.

Future product recalls could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Any product recall in the future, may result in negative publicity, damage our brand and materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. In the future, we may, voluntarily or involuntarily, initiate a recall if any of our vehicles, or components thereof, prove to be defective or noncompliant with applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. If a large number of vehicles or components are the subject of a recall or if needed replacement parts are not in adequate supply, we may not be able to deploy recalled vehicles for a significant period of time. These types of disruptions could jeopardize our ability to fulfill existing contractual commitments or satisfy demand for our vehicles and could also result in the loss of business to our competitors. Such recalls also involve significant expense and diversion of management attention and other resources, which could adversely affect our brand image, as well as our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Additionally, problems and defects experienced by other electric vehicles from other manufacturers could by association have a negative impact on perception and customer demand for our vehicles or battery packs.

If we are unable to establish and maintain confidence in our long-term business prospects among customers and analysts and within our industry, then our financial condition, operating results, business prospects and access to capital may suffer materially.

Customers may be less likely to purchase our vehicles if they are not convinced that our business will succeed or that our service and support and other operations will continue in the long term. Similarly, suppliers and other third parties will be less likely to invest time and resources in developing business relationships with us if they are not convinced that our business will succeed. Accordingly, in order to build and maintain our business, we must maintain confidence among customers, suppliers, analysts, ratings agencies and other parties in our vehicles, long-term financial viability and business prospects. Maintaining such confidence may be particularly complicated by certain factors including those that are largely outside of our control, such as our limited operating history, customer unfamiliarity with our vehicles, any delays in scaling manufacturing, delivery and service operations to meet demand, competition and uncertainty regarding the future of hybrid electric and vehicles, including our vehicles and our manufacturing and sales performance compared with market expectations, as well as negative publicity with respect to our competitors.

We have limited experience servicing our vehicles and our integrated software. If we or our partners are unable to adequately service our vehicles, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

Servicing electric vehicles is different than servicing vehicles with internal combustion engines and requires specialized skills, including high voltage training and servicing techniques. We have partnered with a third-party to perform certain servicing services on our vehicles. Although our current or future third-party vehicle servicers may have experience in servicing other vehicles, they may initially have limited experience in servicing our vehicles. There can be no assurance that our service arrangements will adequately address the service requirements of our customers to their satisfaction, or that we and our servicing partners will have sufficient resources, experience or inventory to meet these service requirements in a timely manner as the volume of our vehicle deliveries increases. In addition, if we are unable to roll out and establish a widespread service network that complies with applicable laws, customer satisfaction could be adversely affected, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our reputation and thus our sales, results of operations and prospects.

Our customers will also depend on our customer support team to resolve technical and operational issues relating to the integrated software underlying our vehicles. As we continue to grow, additional pressure may be placed on our customer support team or partners, and we may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in customer demand for technical support. We also may be unable to modify the future scope and delivery of our technical support to compete with changes in the technical support provided by our competitors. Increased customer demand for support, without corresponding revenue, could increase costs and negatively affect our operating results. If we are unable to successfully address the service requirements of our customers or establish a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality support, we may be subject to claims from our customers, including loss of revenue or damages, and our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to manage our growth effectively, including failing to attract and integrate qualified personnel, we may not be able to develop, manufacture, market and sell our vehicles successfully.

Any failure to manage our growth effectively could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. We intend to expand our operations significantly. We expect our future expansion to include:

•        expanding the management team;

•        hiring and training new personnel;

•        leveraging consultants to assist with company growth and development;

•        expanding our product offering across our vehicles and Fleet-as-a-Service offerings;

•        controlling expenses and investments in anticipation of expanded operations;

•        establishing or expanding design, manufacturing, sales and service facilities;

•        implementing and enhancing administrative infrastructure, systems and processes; and

•        expanding into international markets, including Asia.

We intend to continue to hire a significant number of additional personnel across a variety of functions, including, but not limited to, sales, marketing, servicing, product, engineering, supply chain, manufacturing and operations. Because our vehicles and battery packs are based on a different technology platform than traditional internal combustion engines, individuals with sufficient training in alternative fuel and electric vehicles may not be available to hire, and as a result, we may need to expend significant time and expense training any newly hired employees. Competition for individuals with experience designing, developing, manufacturing, selling and servicing electrified vehicles and our software is intense, and we may not be able to attract, integrate, train, motivate or retain additional highly qualified personnel. The failure to attract, integrate, train, motivate and retain these additional employees could materially harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

We will incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.

We will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, and these expenses may increase even more after we are no longer an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act. As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC and Nasdaq. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, we expect these rules and regulations to substantially increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. The increased costs will increase our net loss. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits or incur substantially higher costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs it may incur to respond to these requirements. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors (our “Board”), our board committees or as executive officers.

Our management has limited experience in operating a public company.

Our executive officers have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Our management team may not successfully or effectively manage our transition to a public company that will be subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under 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. We 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 United States. We are in the process of upgrading our finance and accounting systems to an enterprise system suitable for a public company, and a delay could impact our ability or prevent us from timely reporting our operating results, timely filing required reports with the SEC and complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for us to achieve the level of accounting standards required of a public company in the United States may require costs greater than expected. We may be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our operations as a public company which may increase our operating costs in future periods.

We are highly dependent on the services of Dakota Semler and Giordano Sordoni, our co-founders, as well as our key employees and senior management and, if we are unable to attract and retain key employees and hire qualified management, technical and electric vehicle engineering personnel, our ability to compete could be harmed.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to retain our key personnel. We are highly dependent on the services of Dakota Semler and Giordano Sordoni, our co-founders. Messrs. Semler and Sordoni are the source of many, if not most, of the ideas, strategy and execution driving us. If Messrs. Semler and Sordoni were to discontinue their services to us due to death, disability or any other reason, we would be significantly disadvantaged. Additionally, the unexpected loss of or failure to retain one or more of our key employees could adversely affect our business.

Our success also depends, in part, on our continuing ability to identify, hire, attract, train and develop other highly qualified personnel. Experienced and highly skilled employees are in high demand and competition for these employees can be intense, and our ability to hire, attract and retain them depends on our ability to provide competitive compensation. We may not be able to attract, assimilate, develop or retain qualified personnel in the future, and our failure to do so could adversely affect our business, including the execution of our global business strategy. Any failure by our management team and our employees to perform as expected may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

The commercial vehicle market is highly competitive, and we may not be successful in competing in this industry.

We face intense competition in bringing our vehicles to market. We face competition from many different sources in the commercial vehicle market for medium- and heavy-duty last-mile and return-to-base segments, including existing major commercial vehicle OEMs, such as Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Navistar, Paccar, and Volvo, as well as new companies that are developing alternative fuel and electric commercial vehicles. Many of our current and potential competitors, including Nikola Corporation, Arrival Ltd., Workhorse Group, The Lion Electric Company and Proterra Inc. may 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 and support of our products, including our vehicles. Additionally, our competitors may also have greater name recognition, longer operating histories, larger sales forces, broader customer and industry relationships and other resources than we do. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified research and development, sales, marketing and management personnel, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our vehicles. Additional mergers and acquisitions may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. In addition, we also compete with manufacturers of vehicles with internal combustion engines. There are no assurances that customers will choose our vehicles over those of our competitors, or over internal combustion engines vehicles. We expect additional competitors to enter the industry as well.

We expect competition in our industry to intensify from our existing and future competitors in the future considering increased demand and regulatory push for electric vehicle and alternative fuel commercial vehicles.

Our future growth is dependent upon the last-mile and return-to-base segment’s willingness to adopt electric vehicles.

Our growth is highly dependent upon the adoption of electric vehicles by last-mile delivery fleets and companies. If the market for last-mile and return-to-base electric vehicles does not develop at the rate or in the manner or to the extent that we expect, or if critical assumptions we have made regarding the efficiency of our total cost of ownership are incorrect or incomplete, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be harmed. The rapidly evolving market for last-mile and return-to-base electric vehicles is new and untested and is characterized by rapidly changing technologies, price competition, numerous competitors, evolving government regulation and industry standards and uncertain customer demands and behaviors. As a result, the market for our vehicles could be affected by numerous factors, such as:

•        perceptions about electric vehicle and battery pack features, quality, safety, performance, reliability and cost;

•        perceptions about the limited range over which electric vehicles may be driven on a single battery charge;

•        government regulations and economic incentives;

•        the availability of tax and other governmental incentives to purchase and operate alternative fuel, hybrid and electric vehicles or future regulation requiring increased use of nonpolluting vehicles;

•        the decline of vehicle efficiency resulting from deterioration over time in the ability of the battery to hold a charge;

•        the availability of service and associated costs for alternative fuel, hybrid or electric vehicles;

•        competition, including from other types of alternative fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrid, electric vehicles and high fuel-economy internal combustion engine vehicles;

•        changes or improvements in the fuel economy of internal combustion engines, the vehicle and the vehicle controls or competitors’ electrified systems;

•        fuel prices, including volatility in the cost of fossil fuels;

•        the timing of adoption and implementation of fully autonomous vehicles;

•        access to charging facilities and related infrastructure costs and standardization of electric vehicle charging systems;

•        electric grid capacity and reliability; and

•        macroeconomic factors.

We may not be able to successfully engage target customers or convert early trial deployments with truck fleets into meaningful orders or additional deployments in the future.

Our success, and our ability to increase revenue and operate profitably, depends in part on our ability to identify target customers and to convert early trial deployments with truck fleets into meaningful orders or additional deployments in the future. Our vehicles have been delivered to certain customers on an early trial deployment basis, where such customers have the ability to evaluate whether these trucks meet such customers’ performance and other requirements before such customers commit to meaningful orders or additional deployments in the future. If we are unable to meet customers’ performance requirements or industry specifications, identify target customers or convert early trial deployments in truck fleets into meaningful orders or obtain additional deployments in the future, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

Our vehicles rely on software and hardware that is highly technical, and if these systems contain errors, bugs or vulnerabilities, or if we are unsuccessful in addressing or mitigating technical limitations in our systems, our business could be adversely affected.

Our vehicles rely on software and hardware that is highly technical and complex and will require modification and updates over the life of the vehicle. In addition, our vehicles depend on the ability of such software and hardware to store, retrieve, process and manage immense amounts of data. Our software and hardware may contain, errors, bugs or vulnerabilities, and our systems are subject to certain technical limitations that may compromise our ability to meet our objectives. Some errors, bugs or vulnerabilities inherently may be difficult to detect and may only be discovered after the code has been released for external or internal use. Errors, bugs, vulnerabilities, design defects or technical limitations may be found within our software and hardware. Although we 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 would then be responsible for installing such updates to the software and their software will be subject to these vulnerabilities until they do so. If we are unable to prevent or effectively remedy errors, bugs, vulnerabilities or defects in our software and hardware, we may suffer damage to our reputation, loss of customers, loss of revenue or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial results.

The last-mile and return-to-base segment and our technology are rapidly evolving and may be subject to unforeseen changes which could adversely affect the demand for our vehicles.

The last-mile and return-to-base segment is rapidly evolving and 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. Developments in alternative technologies, such as advanced diesel, ethanol, hybrids, fuel cells, or compressed 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. As technologies evolve, particularly battery cell technology, we plan to release refreshed versions of our vehicles, which may also negatively impact the adoption of our existing products. Any failure by us to successfully react to changes in existing technologies could materially harm our competitive position and growth prospects.

The demand for electric vehicles depends, in part, on the continuation of current trends resulting from dependence on fossil fuels. Extended periods of low gasoline or other petroleum-based fuel prices could adversely affect demand for our vehicles, which would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

We believe that much of the present and projected demand for electric vehicles results from concerns about volatility in the cost of gasoline and other petroleum-based fuel, the dependency of the United States on oil from unstable or hostile countries, government regulations and economic incentives promoting fuel efficiency and alternative forms of energy, as well as the belief that climate change results in part from the burning of fossil fuels. If the cost of gasoline and other petroleum-based fuel decreased significantly, the outlook for the long-term supply of oil to the United States improved, the government eliminated or modified its regulations or economic incentives related to fuel efficiency and alternative forms of energy, or if there is a change in the perception that the burning of fossil fuels negatively impacts the environment, the demand for electric vehicles could be reduced, and our business and revenue may be harmed. In addition, demand for our offerings may be negative impacted if stay at home orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic persist or are adopted by additional markets.

Gasoline and other petroleum-based fuel prices have been extremely volatile, and we believe this continuing volatility will persist. Lower gasoline or other petroleum-based fuel prices over extended periods of time may lower the perception in government and the private sector that cheaper, more readily available energy alternatives should be developed and produced. If gasoline or other petroleum-based fuel prices remain at deflated levels for extended periods of time, the demand for electric vehicles may decrease, which would have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

The unavailability, reduction or elimination of government and economic incentives due to policy changes or government regulation could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Any reduction, elimination or discriminatory application of government subsidies and economic incentives because of policy changes, the reduced need for such subsidies and incentives due to the perceived success of the electric vehicle industry or other reasons may result in the diminished competitiveness of the alternative fuel and electric vehicle industry generally or our vehicles. While certain tax credits and other incentives for alternative energy production, alternative fuel and electric vehicles have been available in the past, there is no guarantee these programs will be available in the future. If current tax incentives are not available in the future, our financial position could be harmed.

We, our outsourcing partners and our suppliers are subject to substantial regulation and unfavorable changes to, or failure by us, our outsourcing partners or our suppliers to comply with, these regulations could substantially harm our business and operating results.

We and our vehicles, and motor vehicles in general, as well as our third-party outsourcing partners and our suppliers are or will be subject to substantial regulation under foreign, federal, state and local laws. We continue to evaluate requirements for licenses, approvals, certificates and governmental authorizations necessary to manufacture, deploy or service our vehicles in the jurisdictions in which we plan to operate and intend to take such actions necessary to comply. We may experience difficulties in obtaining or complying with various licenses, approvals, certifications and other governmental authorizations necessary to manufacture, deploy or service our vehicles in any of these jurisdictions.

If we, our third-party outsourcing partners or our suppliers are unable to obtain or comply with any of the licenses, approvals, certifications or other governmental authorizations necessary to carry out our operations in the jurisdictions in which we currently operate, or those jurisdictions in which we plan to operate in the future, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected. We expect to incur significant costs in complying with these regulations. Regulations related to the electric and alternative energy vehicle industry are evolving and we face risks associated with changes to these regulations, including, but not limited to:

•        increased support for other alternative fuel systems, which could have an impact on the acceptance of our 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 alternative fuel vehicles.

To the extent the laws change, our vehicles may not comply with applicable foreign, federal, state or local laws, which would have an adverse effect on our business. Compliance with changing regulations could be burdensome, time consuming and expensive. To the extent compliance with new regulations is cost prohibitive, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Future changes to regulatory requirements may have a negative impact upon our business.

While our vehicles are subject to substantial regulation under federal, state and local laws, we believe that our vehicles are compliant with all applicable laws. However, to the extent the laws change, new laws are introduced, or if we introduce new vehicles in the future, some or all of our vehicles may not comply with applicable international federal, state or local laws. Further, certain federal, state and local laws and industry standards currently regulate electrical and electronics equipment. Although standards for electric vehicles are not yet generally available or accepted as industry standards, our vehicles may become subject to international, federal, state, and local regulation in the future. Compliance with these regulations could be burdensome, time consuming, and expensive. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our profitability by offsetting any increased costs of complying with future regulatory requirements.

We have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by health epidemics and pandemics, including the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, the duration and economic, governmental and social impact of which is difficult to predict, which may significantly harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

We face various risks related to public health issues, including epidemics, pandemics and other outbreaks, including the recent pandemic of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19. The impact of COVID-19, including changes in consumer and business behavior, pandemic fears and market downturns and restrictions on business and individual activities, has created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. The spread of COVID-19 has also created a disruption in the manufacturing, delivery and overall supply chain of vehicle manufacturers and suppliers and has led to a global decrease in vehicle sales and usage in markets around the world.

The pandemic has resulted in government authorities implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders, and business shutdowns. These measures may adversely impact our employees and operations and the operations of our suppliers, vendors and business partners, and may negatively impact our sales and marketing activities and the manufacturing schedule of our vehicles. In addition, various aspects of our business cannot be conducted remotely, including the testing and manufacturing of our vehicles. These measures by government authorities may remain in place for a significant period of time and they are likely to continue to adversely affect our testing, manufacturing and assembly plans, sales and marketing activities, business and results of operations.

The spread of COVID-19 has caused us and many of our contractors and service providers to modify our business practices (including employee travel, recommending that all non-essential personnel work from home and cancellation or reduction of physical participation in testing activities, meetings, events and conferences), and we and our contractors and service providers may be required to take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that it determines are in the best interests of our employees, customers, suppliers, vendors and business partners. There is no certainty that such actions will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by the virus or otherwise be satisfactory to government authorities. If significant portions of our workforce or contractors and service providers are unable to work effectively, including due to illness, quarantines, social distancing, government actions or other restrictions in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, our operations will be impacted.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, prospects and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the pandemic, its severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating activities can resume. The COVID-19 pandemic could limit the ability of our customers, suppliers, vendors and business partners to perform, including third-party suppliers’ ability

to provide components and materials used in our vehicles. We may also experience an increase in the cost of raw materials used in our manufacture of vehicles. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, we may continue to experience an adverse impact to our business as a result of COVID-19’s global economic impact, including any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future.

Specifically, difficult macroeconomic conditions, such as decreases in spending by businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on the demand for electric vehicles. Under difficult economic conditions, potential customers may seek to reduce spending by foregoing electric vehicles for other traditional options and cancel agreements for our vehicles. Decreased demand for electric vehicles, particularly in the United States, could negatively affect our business.

There are no comparable recent events which may provide guidance as to the effect of the spread of COVID-19 and a pandemic, and, as a result, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar health epidemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of COVID-19’s impact on our business, operations, or the global economy as a whole. However, the effects could have a material impact on our results of operations, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

If we fail to establish and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, as a public company our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired, investors or analysts may lose confidence in our financial reporting, the trading price of our Common Stock may decline and we could face regulatory investigations or actions.

We are required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act beginning with the annual report for our fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. When we lose our status as an “emerging growth company” and become an “accelerated filer” or a “large accelerated filer,” an attestation of the independent registered public accounting firm will also be required. As a private company, we were not previously required to conduct an internal control evaluation and assessment. The rules governing the standards that must be met for management to assess internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation.

To comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the requirements of being a reporting company under the Exchange Act and any complex accounting rules in the future, we may need to, among other things, upgrade our information technology systems; implement additional financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures; and hire additional accounting and finance staff. If we are unable to hire the additional accounting and finance staff necessary to comply with these requirements, we may need to retain additional outside consultants, which may result in significant additional expenses.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation of those internal controls.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

We cannot assure you that there will not be additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting now or in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm determines that we have a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our Common Stock could significantly decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC Staff”) issued a public statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Staff Statement”). In the SEC Staff Statement, the SEC Staff expressed its view that certain terms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may require the warrants to be classified as liabilities on the SPAC’s balance sheet as opposed to equity. Since issuance on October 9, 2020, NextGen’s warrants were accounted for as equity within its previously reported balance sheets, and after NextGen’s discussion and evaluation, including with its independent auditors, NextGen management concluded that the warrants should be presented as liabilities with subsequent fair value remeasurement.

NextGen identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.

Following the issuance of the SEC Staff Statement, after consultation with NextGen’s independent registered public accounting firm, NextGen’s management and NextGen’s audit committee concluded that, in light of the SEC Staff Statement, that a material weakness was identified relating to the accounting of the Warrants and it was appropriate to restate previously issued and audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 related to the accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to the Warrants NextGen issued in connection with its initial public offering in October 2020 and the Private Placement Warrants. As a result of this material weakness, NextGen’s management has concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of NextGen’s derivative warrant liabilities, change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities, NextGen Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, accumulated deficit and related financial disclosures for the periods beginning with the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. For a discussion of NextGen’s management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to NextGen’s accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to the Warrants, see “Note 2 — Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements” to the accompanying financial statements.

NextGen concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was ineffective as of December 31, 2020 because material weaknesses existed in its internal control over financial reporting. NextGen, prior to the Business Combination, and we have taken a number of measures to remediate the material weaknesses described therein; however, if we are unable to remediate our material weakness in a timely manner or we identify additional material weaknesses, we may be unable to provide required financial information in a timely and reliable manner and we may incorrectly report financial information. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to timely file will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short form registration statements on Form S-3 or Form S-4, which may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares to effect an acquisition. If any of these events were to occur, it could result a material adverse effect on our business. The existence of material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions of us, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our securities. In addition, we will incur additional costs to remediate the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

We can provide no assurance that the measures NextGen and we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.

The Warrants are accounted for as derivative liabilities with changes in fair value each period included in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

We account for the Warrants as derivative warrant liabilities. At each reporting period, (1) the accounting treatment of the Warrants will be re-evaluated for proper accounting treatment as a liability or equity, and (2) the fair value of the liability of the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants will be remeasured and the change in the fair value of the liability will be recorded as other income (expense) in our income statement. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

Following the issuance of the SEC Staff Statement, after consultation with NextGen’s independent registered public accounting firm, NextGen’s management and NextGen’s audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate NextGen’s previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 (the “Restatement”). As part of the Restatement, NextGen identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting.

As a result of such material weakness, the Restatement, the change in accounting for the warrants, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims involving the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the Restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not aware of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

We are subject to cybersecurity risks to our operational systems, security systems, infrastructure, integrated software in our vehicles, customer data, and personal data processed by us or third-party vendors or suppliers and any material failure, weakness, or interruption, cyber event, incident or breach of security could prevent us from effectively operating our business.

We are at risk for interruptions, outages and breaches of our: (a) operational systems, including business, financial, accounting, product development, data processing or production processes, owned by us or our third-party vendors or suppliers; (b) facility security systems, owned by us or our third-party vendors or suppliers; (c) transmission control modules or other in-product technology, owned by us or our third-party vendors or suppliers; (d) the integrated software in our vehicles; and (e) customer data and personal data that we processes or our third-party vendors or suppliers process on our behalf. Such incidents could: materially disrupt our operational systems; result in loss of intellectual property, trade secrets or other proprietary or sensitive information; compromise certain information of customers, employees, suppliers, or others; jeopardize the security of our facilities; divert management’s attention; and affect the performance of in-product technology and the integrated software in our vehicles.

We plan to include in-vehicle services and functionality that utilize data connectivity to monitor performance and timely capture opportunities to enhance on-the-road performance and for safety and cost-saving preventative maintenance. The availability and effectiveness of our services depend on the continued operation of information technology and communications systems. Our systems and those of our third-party vendors and suppliers are vulnerable to damage or interruption from, among others, physical theft; fire; terrorist attacks; natural disasters; power loss; war; telecommunications failures; viruses; denial or degradation of service attacks; malicious third parties’ acts (including those of nation-state supported actors); ransomware; social engineering schemes; insider, error, theft or misuse; or other attempts to harm the relevant systems. We intend to use our in-vehicle services and functionality to log information about each vehicle’s use in order to aid us in vehicle diagnostics and servicing. Our customers may object to the use of this data, which may increase our vehicle maintenance costs and harm our business prospects.

Moreover, there are inherent risks associated with developing, improving, expanding and updating our current systems, such as the disruption of our data management, procurement, production execution, finance, supply chain and sales and service processes. These risks may affect our ability to manage our data and inventory, procure parts or supplies or manufacture, deploy, deliver and service our vehicles, adequately protect our intellectual property or achieve and maintain compliance with, or realize available benefits under, applicable laws, regulations and contracts.

We cannot be sure that these systems upon which we rely, including those of our third-party vendors or suppliers, will be effectively implemented, maintained or expanded as planned. If we do not successfully implement, maintain or expand these systems as planned, our operations may be disrupted, our ability to accurately and 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. Additionally, our proprietary information or intellectual property could be compromised or misappropriated, and our reputation may be adversely affected. If these systems do 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.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information, personal data or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have enough resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

If the security of the personal information, confidential or proprietary information that we (or our service providers or vendors) collect, store or process is compromised or is otherwise accessed or acquired without authorization, our reputation may be harmed and we may be exposed to liability and loss of business, which could materially adversely affect our financial performance and results of operations or prospects.

We plan to collect, store, transmit and otherwise process data from vehicles, customers, employees and others as part of our business and operations, which may include personal, confidential or proprietary information. We also work with partners and third-party service providers or vendors that collect, store and process such data on our behalf and in connection with our vehicles. There can be no assurance that any security measures that we or our third-party service providers or vendors have implemented will be effective against current or future threats to such data. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our employees are temporarily working remotely, which may pose additional data security risks. If a compromise of data were to occur, we may become liable under our contracts with other parties and under applicable law for damages and incur penalties and other costs to respond to, investigate and remedy such an incident. Our systems, networks and physical facilities could be breached, or data could otherwise be compromised. Third parties may also exploit vulnerabilities in, or obtain unauthorized access to, platforms, systems, networks and/or physical facilities utilized by our service providers and vendors.

Our vehicles contain complex information technology systems and built-in data connectivity to accept and install periodic remote updates to improve or update functionality. We have designed, implemented and tested security measures intended to prevent unauthorized access to our information technology networks, our vehicles and related systems. However, unauthorized actors may attempt to gain access to modify, alter and use such networks, vehicles and systems to gain control of or to change our vehicles’ functionality, user interface and performance characteristics, or to gain access to data stored in or generated by the vehicle. A significant breach of our third-party service providers’ or vendors’ or our own network security and systems could have serious negative consequences for our business and future prospects, including possible fines, penalties and damages, reduced customer demand for our vehicles, regulatory investigations, litigation and harm to our reputation and brand. The risk of breach of our security measures or those of our third-party service providers and vendors has been heightened by advances in computer and software capabilities and the increasing sophistication of hackers who employ complex techniques, including, without limitation, the theft or misuse of personal information, counterfeiting, “phishing” or social engineering incidents, ransomware, extortion, publicly announcing security breaches, account takeover attacks, denial or degradation of service attacks and malware. Because the techniques used by bad actors change frequently, we or our third-party service providers or vendors may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventive measures. The costs to respond to a security breach and/or to mitigate any security vulnerabilities that may be identified could be significant, our efforts to address

these problems may not be successful, and these problems could result in unexpected interruptions, delays, cessation of service, disrupt management’s attention, negative publicity or other harm to our business. We could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices in response to a security breach or related regulatory actions or litigation, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

We may have contractual and other legal obligations to notify individuals, regulatory authorities and others of security breaches involving certain types of data. Such laws may be inconsistent or change. New laws governing data breaches 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, divert management’s attention, result in penalties or fines, result in litigation, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach.

A security breach may cause us to breach our customer contracts. Our agreements with certain customers may require us to use industry-standard or reasonable measures to safeguard personal information. We also may be subject to laws that require us to use industry-standard or reasonable security measures to safeguard personal information. A security breach could lead to claims by our customers or other relevant stakeholders that we have failed to comply with such legal or contractual obligations. As a result, we could be subject to legal action or our customers could end their relationships with us. There can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages.

We may not have adequate insurance coverage for security incidents or breaches or other failures to comply with obligations governing data privacy or security. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds 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.

We are subject to evolving laws, regulations, standards, policies, and contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our reputation, subject us to significant fines and liability, or otherwise adversely affect our business.

We may be subject to or affected by a number of federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as contractual obligations and industry standards regarding the confidentiality, protection, and appropriate use of personal, proprietary or confidential information. Such obligations govern our collection, storage, retention, destruction, protection, use, processing, transmission, sharing and disclosure of personal information including that of our employees, customers and others. 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. Such frameworks could require notification of data breaches, restrict our use of governed information and hinder our ability to acquire new customers or market to existing customers.

In the United States, these frameworks include the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), and other state and federal laws relating to privacy and data security. For example, California requires connected devices to maintain minimum information security standards. Additionally, 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 and private rights of action. The CCPA requires covered businesses to provide new disclosures to California residents, provide them new ways to opt-out of the sale of personal information, and provides a private right of action and potential statutory damages for data breaches. 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. Other jurisdictions in the United States have begun to propose similar laws. Compliance with any applicable privacy or 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. Moreover, California voters recently approved the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, or CPRA, that goes into effect on January 1, 2023. It is expected that the CPRA would, among other things, give California residents the ability to limit the use of their

sensitive information, provide for penalties for CPRA violations concerning California residents under the age of 16, and establish a new California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the law. These laws exemplify our vulnerability to the evolving regulatory environment related to personal information.

We publish privacy policies and other documentation regarding our collection, processing, use and disclosure of personal information and/or other confidential information. Although we 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 employees, contractors, service providers or vendors fail to comply with our published policies and documentation. Such failures can subject us to potential local, state and federal action if they are found to be deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our actual practices.

Complying with privacy and data protection laws and regulations or other obligations may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to change our business practices. Despite our efforts to bring practices into compliance with these laws and regulations, we may not be successful in our efforts to achieve compliance either due to internal or external factors such as resource allocation limitations or a lack of vendor cooperation. Because the interpretation and application of privacy and data protection laws are uncertain, it is possible that these laws and other actual or alleged legal obligations, such as contractual or self-regulatory obligations, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our existing data management practices or in a manner inconsistent across the jurisdictions in which we operate. Noncompliance could result in proceedings against us by governmental and regulatory entities, customers, data subjects or others. Any inability to adequately address privacy or information security concerns, even if unfounded, or comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws, regulations, and policies, could result in additional cost and liability to us, damage our reputation, necessitate a change in our business practices, inhibit sales, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We are subject to various environmental laws and regulations that could impose substantial costs upon us.

Our operations are and will be subject to international, federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, including laws relating to the use, handling, storage, disposal of and human exposure to hazardous materials. Environmental and health and safety laws and regulations can be complex, and, while we are striving for compliance with all of them, we have limited experience in compliance. Moreover, we expect that we will be affected by future amendments to such laws or other new environmental and 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, financial condition and operating results. 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 may result in substantial fines and penalties, third-party damages, suspension of production or a cessation of our operations.

Contamination at properties we own, will own or operate, we formerly owned or operated or to which hazardous substances were sent by us, 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 operating results.

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited in connection with the Business Combination or other ownership changes.

We have incurred losses during our history and do not expect to become profitable soon and may never achieve profitability. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire, if at all.

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or Tax Act, as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards generated in taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such net operating loss carryforwards in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, is limited to 80% of taxable income. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act or the CARES Act.

In addition, our net operating loss carryforwards are subject to review and possible adjustment by the IRS, and state tax authorities. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), these federal net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in our ownership. An “ownership change” pursuant to Section 382 of the Code generally occurs if one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who own at least 5% of a company’s stock increase their ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a rolling three-year period. The ability of us utilize net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities may be limited as a result of ownership changes, including potential changes in connection with the Business Combination or other transactions. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. We have not yet determined the amount of the cumulative change in our ownership resulting from the Business Combination or other transactions, or any resulting limitations on our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes. If we earn taxable income, such limitations could result in increased future income tax liability to us and our future cash flows could be adversely affected. We have recorded a full valuation allowance related to our net operating loss carryforwards and other deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of the ultimate realization of the future benefits of those assets.

We may in the future expand internationally and may face risks associated with our international operations, including unfavorable regulatory, political, tax and labor conditions, which could harm our business.

If we expand our operations internationally, we may face risks associated with our future international operations, including possible unfavorable regulatory, political, tax and labor conditions, which could harm our business. We anticipate having international operations which would subject us to the legal, political, regulatory and social requirements and economic conditions in any future jurisdictions. However, we have no experience to date selling and servicing our vehicles internationally and such expansion would require us to make significant expenditures, including the hiring of local employees and establishing facilities, in advance of generating any revenue. We are subject to a number of risks associated with international business activities that may increase our costs, impact our ability to sell our vehicles and require significant management attention. These risks include:

•        conforming our vehicles to various international regulatory requirements where our vehicles are sold;

•        difficulties in obtaining or complying with various licenses, approvals, certifications and other governmental authorizations necessary to manufacture, sell or service our vehicles in any of these jurisdictions;

•        difficulty in staffing and managing foreign operations;

•        difficulties attracting customers in new jurisdictions;

•        foreign government taxes, regulations and permit requirements, including foreign taxes that we may not be able to offset against taxes imposed upon us in the United States, and foreign tax and other laws limiting our ability to repatriate funds to the United States;

•        fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates, including risks related to any interest rate swap or other hedging activities we undertake;

•        U.S. and foreign government trade restrictions, tariffs and price or exchange controls;

•        foreign labor laws, regulations and restrictions;

•        changes in diplomatic and trade relationships;

•        political instability, natural disasters, global health concerns, including health pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, war or events of terrorism; and

•        the strength of international economies.

If we fail to successfully address these risks, our future business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be materially harmed.

Changes in U.S. trade policy, including the imposition of tariffs and the resulting consequences, could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

The U.S. government has previously imposed tariffs on certain foreign goods, including steel and certain vehicle parts, which have resulted in increased costs for goods imported into the United States. In response to these tariffs, a number of U.S. trading partners have imposed retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of U.S. products, which makes it more costly for us to export our vehicles to those countries. Recent events, including new policy introductions following the 2020 U.S presidential election, may result in substantial regulatory uncertainty regarding international trade and trade policy.

U.S. policies have called for substantial changes to trade agreements, have increased tariffs on certain goods imported into the U.S. and have raised the possibility of imposing significant, additional tariff increases. If we are unable to pass price increases on to our customer base or otherwise mitigate the costs, or if demand for our exported vehicles decreases due to the higher cost, our operating results could be materially adversely affected. While we cannot predict the extent to which the U.S. or other countries will impose quotas, duties, tariffs, taxes or other similar restrictions upon the import or export of our products in the future, a “trade war” of this nature or other governmental action related to tariffs or international trade agreements could have an adverse impact on demand for our services, sales and clients and affect the economies of the U.S. and various countries, having an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to governmental export and import controls and laws that could subject us to liability if we are not in compliance with such laws.

Our vehicles are subject to export control, import and economic sanctions laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations and various economic and trade sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Exports of our vehicles and technology must be made in compliance with these laws and regulations. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we and certain of our employees could be subject to substantial civil or criminal penalties, including the possible loss of export or import privileges; fines, which may be imposed on us and responsible employees or managers; and, in extreme cases, the incarceration of responsible employees or managers.

In addition, changes to our vehicles, or changes in applicable export control, import, or economic sanctions laws and regulations may create delays in the introduction and sale of our vehicles and solutions or, in some cases, prevent the export or import of our vehicles to certain countries, governments, or persons altogether. Any change in export, import, or economic sanctions laws and regulations, shift in the enforcement or scope of existing laws and regulations, or change in the countries, governments, persons, or technologies targeted by such laws and regulations, could also result in decreased use of our vehicles, as well as our decreased ability to export or market our vehicles to potential customers. Any decreased use of our vehicles or limitation on our ability to export or market our vehicles would likely adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to U.S. and foreign anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws and regulations. We can face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations, which can harm our business.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act and possibly other anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to recipients in the public or private sector. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. Any violations of the laws and regulations described above may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm and other consequences.

We may not be able to obtain or agree on acceptable terms and conditions for all or a significant portion of the government grants, loans and other incentives for which we may apply. As a result, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected.

We anticipate applying for federal and state grants, loans and tax incentives under government programs designed to stimulate the economy and support the production of alternative fuel and electric vehicles and related technologies. We anticipate that in the future there will be new opportunities for us to apply for grants, loans and other incentives from federal, state and foreign governments. Our ability to obtain funds or incentives from government sources is subject to the availability of funds under applicable government programs and approval of our applications to participate in such programs. The application process for these funds and other incentives will likely be highly competitive. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in obtaining any of these additional grants, loans and other incentives or that we will be eligible for certain tax or other economic incentives.

We may need to defend ourselves against intellectual property infringement claims or misappropriation claims, which may be time-consuming and expensive and, if adversely determined, could limit our ability to commercialize our vehicles.

Companies, organizations or individuals, including our competitors, may own or obtain patents, trademarks or other proprietary rights that could prevent or limit our ability to make, use, develop or deploy our vehicles, which could make it more difficult for us to operate our business. We may receive inquiries from patent, copyright or trademark owners inquiring whether we infringe upon their proprietary rights. We may also be the subject of more formal allegations that we have misappropriated such parties’ trade secrets or other proprietary rights. Companies owning patents or other intellectual property rights relating to battery packs, electric motors, fuel cells or electronic power management systems may allege infringement or misappropriation of such rights. In response to a determination that we have infringed upon or misappropriated a third-party’s intellectual property rights, we may be required to do one or more of the following:

•        cease development, sales or use of our products that incorporate the asserted intellectual property;

•        pay substantial damages;

•        obtain a license from the owner of the asserted intellectual property right, which license may not be available on reasonable terms or available at all; or

•        re-design one or more aspects or systems of our vehicles.

A successful claim of infringement or misappropriation against us could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and demand on management resources.

Our business may be adversely affected if we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights from unauthorized use by third parties.

Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage and a decrease in our revenue, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Our success depends, at least in part, on our ability to protect our core technology and intellectual property. To accomplish this, we will rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets (including know-how), employee and third-party nondisclosure agreements, copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property licenses and other contractual rights to establish and protect our rights in our technology.

The protection of our intellectual property rights will be important to our future business opportunities. However, the measures we take to protect our intellectual property from unauthorized use by others may not be effective for various reasons, including the following:

•        as noted below, any patent applications we submit may not result in the issuance of patents;

•        the scope of our patents that may subsequently issue may not be broad enough to protect our proprietary rights;

•        our issued patents may be challenged or invalidated by third parties;

•        our employees or business partners may breach their confidentiality, non-disclosure and non-use obligations to us;

•        third parties may independently develop technologies that are the same or similar to ours;

•        the costs associated with enforcing patents, confidentiality and invention agreements or other intellectual property rights may make enforcement impracticable; and

•        current and future competitors may circumvent or otherwise design around our patents.

Patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws vary throughout the world. Some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the U.S. Further, policing the unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions may be difficult. Therefore, our intellectual property rights may not be as strong or as easily enforced outside of the U.S.

Also, while we have registered and applied for trademarks in an effort to protect our investment in our brand and goodwill with customers, competitors may challenge the validity of those trademarks and other brand names in which we have invested. Such challenges can be expensive and may adversely affect our ability to maintain the goodwill gained in connection with a particular trademark.

Our patent applications for our proprietary technology, including for the X-Platform and X-Pack battery pack, may not issue, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from commercially exploiting products similar to ours.

We cannot be certain that we are the first inventor of the subject matter disclosure or to file a patent application for our proprietary technology, including for the X-Platform and X-Pack. If another party has filed a patent application to the same or similar subject matter as we have, we may not be entitled to the protection sought by the patent application. We also cannot be certain whether the claims included in a patent application will ultimately be allowed in the applicable issued patent. Further, the scope of protection of issued patent claims is often difficult to determine. As a result, we cannot be certain that the patent applications that we file will issue, or that our issued patents will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. In addition, our competitors may design around our -issued patents, which may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Our business may be adversely affected by labor and union activities.

Although none of our employees are currently represented by a labor union, it is common throughout the automobile industry generally for many employees at automobile companies to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and increased risk of work stoppages. We may also directly and indirectly depend upon other companies with unionized work forces, such as our manufacturing partners, parts suppliers and trucking and freight companies, and work stoppages or strikes organized by such unions could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or operating results.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities

The price of our Common Stock and Warrants may be volatile.

The price of our Common Stock, as well as the Warrants, may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, including:

•        changes in the industries in which we and our customers operate;

•        developments involving our competitors;

•        changes in laws and regulations affecting our business;

•        variations in our operating performance and the performance of our competitors in general;

•        actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;

•        publication of research reports by securities analysts about us or our competitors or our industry;

•        the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;

•        actions by stockholders, including the sale by the PIPE Investors of any of their shares of our Common Stock;

•        additions and departures of key personnel;

•        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 of our Common Stock available for public sale; and

•        general economic and political conditions, such as the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, recessions, interest rates, local and national elections, fuel prices, international currency fluctuations, corruption, political instability and acts of war or terrorism.

These market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our Common Stock and the Warrants regardless of our operating performance.

We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.

We intend to retain its future earnings, if any, to finance the further development and expansion of our business and do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions contained in future agreements and financing instruments, business prospects and such other factors as our Board deems relevant.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our Common Stock adversely, the price and trading volume of our Common Stock could decline.

The trading market for our Common Stock will depend in part on the research and reports that analysts publish about our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our Common Stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our Common Stock could decline. If few analysts cover us, the demand for our Common Stock could decrease and the price of our Common Stock and trading volume may decline. Similar results may occur if one or more of these analysts stop covering us in the future or fail to publish reports on us regularly.

We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

The market price of our Common Stock may be volatile and, in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

Future resales of our Common Stock may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

In connection with the Business Combination, certain stockholders, officers and directors of Legacy Xos entered into lock-up agreements pursuant to which they will be contractually restricted from selling or transferring any of (i) their shares of our Common Stock held immediately following the Closing and (ii) any of their shares of our common stock that result from converting securities held immediately following the Closing (the “Lock-up Shares”). Such restrictions begin at Closing and end on the date that is 180 days after the Closing.

Additionally, Dakota Semler and Giordano Sordoni (the “Founders”) agreed to additional lock-up restrictions beyond those described above. During the term beginning on the 180th day after the Closing Date and ending two years following the Closing Date, the Founders are only permitted to sell their Lock-Up Shares via written trading plans in compliance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act.

NextGen Sponsor LLC (“NextGen Sponsor”) entered into a letter agreement, dated October 6, 2020, by and among NextGen, NextGen Sponsor and the other parties thereto, pursuant to which NextGen Sponsor is subject to a lock-up ending on the earlier of (i) the date that is one year after the Closing Date and (ii) the date on which the last reported sale price of Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Closing Date.

However, following the expiration of such lock-ups, NextGen Sponsor and the holders subject to lock-up agreements will not be restricted from selling shares of our Common Stock held by them, other than by applicable securities laws. As such, sales of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our Common Stock. As of August 20, 2021, NextGen Sponsor and the holders subject to lock-up agreements collectively beneficially own approximately 71.8% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock.

The shares held by NextGen Sponsor and the holders subject to lock-up agreements may be sold after the expiration of their applicable lock-up periods. As restrictions on resale end and registration statements are available for use, the sale or possibility of sale of these shares could have the effect of increasing the volatility in our share price or the market price of our Common Stock could decline if the holders of currently restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.

There is no guarantee that the Warrants will be in the money at the time they become exercisable, and they may expire worthless.

The exercise price for our Warrants is $11.50 per share of Common Stock. There is no guarantee that the Warrants will be in the money following the time they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, and as such, the Warrants may expire worthless.

The terms of the Warrants may be amended in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding Public Warrants approve of such amendment.

The Warrants were issued in registered form under a Warrant Agreement between the warrant agent and NextGen. The Warrant Agreement provides that (a) the terms of the Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the Warrant Agreement to the description of the terms of the Warrants and the Warrant Agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision or (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Warrant Agreement as the parties to the Warrant Agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the Warrants under the Warrant Agreement and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding Public Warrants; provided that any amendment that solely affects the terms of the Private Placement Warrants or any provision of the Warrant Agreement solely with respect to the Private Placement Warrants will also require at least 65% of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants.

Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the Public Warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding Public Warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the Public Warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding Public Warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the Warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant.

We may redeem unexpired Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to warrant holders, thereby making such Warrants worthless.

We have the ability to redeem the outstanding Warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our Common Stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). Redemption of the outstanding Warrants as described above could force warrant holders to: (i) exercise their Warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for them to do so; (ii) sell their Warrants at the

then-current market price when they might otherwise wish to hold their Warrants; or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding Warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of the Warrants. None of the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by us (subject to limited exceptions) so long as they are held by NextGen Sponsor or its permitted transferees.

In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding Warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our Common Stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their Warrants prior to redemption for a number of shares of our Common Stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Common Stock. The value received upon exercise of the Warrants (i) may be less than the value the warrant holders would have received if they had exercised their Warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (ii) may not compensate the holders for the value of the Warrants, including because the number of shares received of our Common Stock is capped at 0.361 shares per Warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.

We may issue additional shares of Common Stock or preferred stock, including under our equity incentive plan. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.

We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Common Stock or preferred stock, including under our equity incentive plan. Any such issuances of additional shares of Common Stock or preferred stock:

•        may significantly dilute the equity interests of our investors;

•        may subordinate the rights of holders of Common Stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our Common Stock;

•        could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and

•        may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Common Stock and/or Warrants.

Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors and their respective affiliates may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.

Our affiliates, executive officers, directors and their respective affiliates as a group beneficially own approximately 56.0% of the outstanding Common Stock. As a result, these stockholders are able to exercise a significant level of control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our Certificate of Incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions. This control could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us or changes in management and will make the approval of certain transactions difficult or impossible without the support of these stockholders.

Our Certificate of Incorporation designates specific courts as the exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit the ability of our stockholders to obtain a favorable forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our Certificate of Incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against current or former directors, officers or other employees for breach of fiduciary duty, other similar actions, any other action as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and any action or proceeding concerning the validity of our Certificate of Incorporation or our Bylaws may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any state court located in the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware), unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum. This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an

alternative forum, the federal district courts of the U.S. shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. This provision may limit our stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us and our directors, officers or other employees and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers and other employees. Furthermore, our stockholders may be subject to increased costs to bring these claims, and the exclusive forum provision could have the effect of discouraging claims or limiting investors’ ability to bring claims in a judicial forum that they find favorable.

In addition, the enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that, in connection with one or more actions or proceedings described above, a court could rule that this provision in our Certificate of Incorporation is inapplicable or unenforceable. In March 2020, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a decision in Salzburg et al. v. Sciabacucchi, which found that an exclusive forum provision providing for claims under the Securities Act to be brought in federal court is facially valid under Delaware law. We intend to enforce this provision, but we do not know whether courts in other jurisdictions will agree with this decision or enforce it. If a court were to find the exclusive forum provision contained in our Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Investments in us may be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations which may impose conditions or limitations on certain investors (including, but not limited to, limits on purchasing our Common Stock, limits on information sharing with such investors, requiring a voting trust, governance modifications, forced divestiture, or other measures).

Certain investments that involve the acquisition of, or investment in, a U.S. business by a non-U.S. investor may be subject to review and approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). Whether CFIUS has jurisdiction to review an acquisition or investment transaction depends on — among other factors — the nature and structure of the transaction, including the level of beneficial ownership interest and the nature of any information or governance rights involved. For example, investments that result in “control” of a U.S. business by a foreign person always are subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. Significant CFIUS reform legislation, which was fully implemented through regulations that became effective on February 13, 2020, among other things expanded the scope of CFIUS’s jurisdiction to investments that do not result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person but afford certain foreign investors certain information or governance rights in a U.S. business that has a nexus to “critical technologies,” “critical infrastructure” and/or “sensitive personal data.” Moreover, other countries continue to strengthen their own foreign direct investment (“FDI”) regimes, and investments and transactions outside of the U.S. may be subject to review by non-U.S. FDI regulators if such investments are perceived to implicate national security policy priorities. Any review and approval of an investment or transaction by CFIUS or another FDI regulator may have outsized impacts on transaction certainty, timing, feasibility, and cost, among other things. CFIUS and other FDI regulatory policies and practices are rapidly evolving, and in the event that CFIUS or another FDI regulator reviews one or more proposed or existing investment by investors, there can be no assurances that such investors will be able to maintain, or proceed with, such investments on terms acceptable to such investors. CFIUS or another FDI regulator may seek to impose limitations or restrictions on, or prohibit, investments by such investors (including, but not limited to, limits on purchasing our Common Stock, limits on information sharing with such investors, requiring a voting trust, governance modifications, or forced divestiture, among other things).