Arcimoto, the new three-wheel electric vehicle company, once again reorganizes its management leadership

archimoto, a Eugene, Oregon-based start-up that makes doorless electric three-wheelers, has a new management team.

On Thursday, the company announced that --Chris Dawson, a member of the board of directors, will assume the role of CEO, replacing interim CEO Jesse Fittipaldi. Arcimoto added that Fittipaldi will remain as president and will report to Dawson in the future.

Two executives have recently left the company: Doug Campoli, a former chief financial officer, and Lynn Yeager, a former chief experience officer. In addition, Arcimoto's product manager, Dwayne Lum, is now the company's chief operating officer.

Fittipaldi, who has worked at Arcimoto since 2015, took over on an interim basis at August, weeks after Arcimoto founder and former CEO Mark Frohnmayer was cited by police for driving under the influence, according to the Register-Guard from Oregon. Around this time, Dawson joined the company's board of directors.

Who is Chris Dawson?

Arcimoto says in a statement that his new CEO "has recently been CEO of Nikola Tesla Co." Nikola Tesla Co.” is not affiliated with Nikola Corporation or Tesla Inc.

To complicate matters (at least for this reporter), Arcimoto said Dawson also spent five years at (Musk's) Tesla working on "battery production, the Model S/X line, and general assembly of the Model 3."

In a call, Dawson said he "was a huge Nikola Tesla fan" growing up. When I explained that he was puzzled by the similarity of the name to the aforementioned electric vehicle companies, Dawson said, "You're right that it's confusing."

He added: "Every other day, I have to correct someone about my level of commitment to Tesla, because what also makes it confusing is that I spent a long period of time with Tesla." I've contacted Tesla Inc. for more information, but I doubt they'll hear back, given the disbandment of their media team.

Arcimoto's press release described Nikola Tesla Co. as an "engineering services company with projects including electrification, hybridization, EV charging, hydrogen powertrain development, hydrogen-powered VTOLs, hydrogen fueling systems, fuel cell development, and hydrogen electrolyzers."

Dawson said the Texas-based corporation does consulting work, but added that "we're really more of a hands-on type of organization." According to Dawson, Nikola Tesla Co.'s customers include a drone company called Tesla Aerial Robotics and the Department of Defense.

Asked for more details about his connection to the DoD, Dawson said, "I can't go into a lot of detail, but overall, it's about electrification, the hybridization of current tactical teams that are out on the battlefield, as these different DoD organizations try to transition both to more sustainable, but also better, green solutions." he has contacted the Department of Defense for confirmation.

What awaits Arcimoto?

Arcimoto ended 2022 with less than half a million dollars in cash, warning investors in its annual report that it had "substantial doubts about [its] ability to continue" operating. However, earlier this year the company secured $18 million in additional funding through two separate raises, saying it would start shipping new EVs in March.

According to Dawson, Arcimoto now produces new vehicles every week. According to Dawson, the company has reduced costs in recent months by laying off or terminating contracts with about 200 people. The company currently has about 110 people on its staff, Dawson added.

The new CEO stated: “We believe that by the end of the year we will be able to be profitable at the product level. And those pieces are really the bones that we need to pull this off."

Asked about future products, Dawson said Arcimoto is focused on its existing vehicles, which include its consumer-focused Fun Utility Vehicle and a delivery-focused version called the Deliverator.