NASA and USPS stop using Canoo EVs despite CEO pledge of support

NASA and the US Postal Service have stopped using electric trucks made by now-bankrupt electric vehicle startup Canoo, despite a former CEO’s claim that he would provide support for the vehicles.

NASA will purchase three of Canoo’s electric vehicles in 2023 with the goal of using the trucks to transport astronauts to the launch pad for Artemis missions to the moon. The space agency told TechCrunch that Canoo “can no longer meet our mission requirements.” Starting in October, NASA said it will lease from Boeing the Airstream-built “Astrovan” aircraft that the aerospace company has commissioned for its crewed space missions.

Meanwhile, USPS said in an email statement that the six vehicles it purchased for “evaluation purposes” in 2024 are “no longer in use.” “The evaluation has been completed, and no further investment is anticipated,” the Postal Service wrote. USPS declined to share any details or final results of the evaluation.

Canoo also provided at least one demonstration vehicle to the Department of Defense (DOD) before its bankruptcy. The Department of Defense did not respond to emailed requests about whether it continued to use the truck.

Canoo declared bankruptcy in January 2025 after years of financial difficulties and failure to create a market for its electric trucks. Shortly after, former CEO Tony Aquila made a $4 million bid to buy the startup’s assets in March. Aquila told the bankruptcy trustee that his “primary motivation” for purchasing the assets was his “desire to respect… [Canoo’s] Commitment to providing service and support for some government programs.”

NASA and USPS declined to share whether Aquila has contacted either agency about supporting the vehicles. Aquila did not respond to a request for comment. The attorney who represented Aquila in the bankruptcy proceedings also did not respond.

A bankruptcy judge approved the sale to Aquila in April. It was not the only entity interested in purchasing the company’s assets.

As many as eight parties signed nondisclosure agreements to evaluate Canoo’s intellectual property, prototypes and equipment, the bankruptcy trustee said at the time. Cano’s lawyer said a handful of those parties have come close to making an offer. One was Harbinger, a California-based electric trucking company set up by former Canoo employees in 2021. The other was a mysterious financier from the UK named Charles Garson.

Harbinger, at the time, had accused Canoo of hiding assets from the sale. It also claimed that the bankruptcy trustee “unfairly favored Mr. Aquila” by accepting his offer without extensively marketing the bankrupt company’s assets. Garson claimed to be willing to pay up to $20 million for Canoo’s assets, but the judge ultimately decided that the investor had not formalized his offer in a timely manner.

Canoo’s trustee and lawyers argued that Aquila made the best and most consistent offer. They also claimed that another potential bidder — though they never specified who — could have raised concerns with CFIUS due to his “foreign ownership.” Aquila and Kano’s attorneys noted that this is a particular problem in light of contracts with NASA, the USPS, and the Department of Defense. Harbinger and Garson declined to comment.