Electric vehicle company Canoo facing breach of contract lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Electric vehicle company Canoo is facing a breach of contract lawsuit after allegedly failing to pay communications firm Saxum, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.

Court documents allege that Canoo agreed to pay Saxum a minimum monthly payment of $5,000 in exchange for "media and strategic communication services" as part of a contract both parties agreed to on August 10, 2023.

Canoo reportedly defaulted on their contract in October 2023 after failing to pay Saxum. As a result, Saxum discontinued their partnership with Canoo, and is suing for $10,600 in damages.

Saxum's lawsuit against Canoo isn't the first time the company has been in the hot seat over their finances.

Canoo initially reached an agreement to bring manufacturing to the Sooner State in June 2021. The contract gave Canoo the green light to begin building a 400-acre facility in northeast Oklahoma that was expected to create 2,000 new jobs for Oklahomans.

The contract between the state and Canoo sparked controversy after a copy of the contract obtained by The Frontier revealed that the manufacturer was awarded the contract without a competitive bidding process. At the time of the agreement, Canoo had still not put any cars on the market for the public.

A quarterly financial report detailing Canoo's financial woes also had Oklahoma lawmakers concerned in May 2022. The manufacturer admitted in the report that “as of the date of this announcement, we are reporting that there is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Canoo then purchased property in Oklahoma City for electric vehicle manufacturing in April 2023. The state later received its first three made-in-Oklahoma electric vehicles as part of the agreement with Canoo, which reportedly cost just under $120,000.