In response to the short-seller that released a negative report about its alleged misleading practices, electric vehicle manufacturer Lordstown Motors quoted a Taylor Swift song and said that sometimes "Haters gonna hate."
Lordstown CEO Steve Burns made the remark in response to a report released by short-selling company Hindenburg Research. In its report, Hindenburg accused the company of being a SPAC with no sellable product. It alleged that Lordstown had been misleading its investors by releasing "faked" orders to generate investor interest.
"I quoted Taylor Swift to somebody the other day: 'Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. You gotta shake it off," Burns told reporters at a press conference Tuesday.
Hindenburg cited several preorder holders in its report, stating that most of them had no intention of following through with their purchase. Hindenburg said that Lordstown was still years away from publicly releasing its publicly touted new electric truck - called the Endurance.
Lordstown said that Hindenburg's report was full of "half-truths and lies." The company said that its preorders were non-binding. Burns also denied Hindenburg's claim that it was years away from producing its truck. Burns said in a statement that the company "remains on track" to produce the vehicle in September this year.
"We will be sharing a full and thorough statement in the coming days, and when we do we will absolutely be refuting the Hindenburg Research report," the company said.
Hindenburg Research, best known for its strategy of taking short positions on company stocks, released its report late last week. Following the release of the report, Lordstown Motors' share price dropped by more than 16.5% to $14.78 per share as of last Friday's closing. The stock bounced back Monday, gaining 9.74% to $16.22 per share. The stock closed slightly lower at $15.22 per share as of Tuesday's close.
Lordstown went public in October last year through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. The company was valued around $1.6 billion during its debut. As of Tuesday's close, the company's market valuation stood at $2.5 billion.
