Lordstown CEO Was Ghosted by Foxconn Unit a Year Before Collapse

Lordstown Motors Corp. executive Ed Hightower flew to Taiwan from Detroit last year for meetings with leaders of Foxtron, a company affiliated with iPhone assembler Foxconn Technology Group, for talks he thought would kick off development of a new electric vehicle. The CEO ghosted him.

Hightower spent three days in isolation due to Covid-19 protocols before he could meet with the Taiwanese executives. He got face time with Young Liu, Foxconn’s chairman, and some of his lieutenants. But the crucial work was to be done with Foxtron, which Foxconn majority owns. The idea was to partner on a ...