Lordstown Motors execs sold millions in stock before woes became public

A handful of executives at Lordstown Motors Corp. sold millions of dollars worth of stock before the electric-truck startup released disappointing first-quarter earnings.

The company's current president and former chief financial officer are among the five executives who sold more than $8 million in stock in early February, regulatory filings show. The transactions, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, include Chuan "John" Vo, the head of the company's propulsion unit, selling 99.3% of his vested shares for more than $2.5 million. Lordstown Motors President Rich Schmidt sold 39% of his vested shares over a two-day period to pocket $4.6 million, according to the filings. The two-year-old startup in mid-March reported year-end results that had it tallying a net loss of $100.6 million in 2020 and sales of just $2.6 million.