The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Postal Service (USPS) have both halted the use of electric vans supplied by the now-bankrupt EV startup Canoo. The decisions mark the abandonment of two high-profile government vehicle programs that Canoo had secured prior to its financial collapse.
NASA, which purchased three Canoo EVs in 2023 for transporting astronauts to the launchpad for its Artemis lunar missions, informed media that Canoo “was no longer able to meet our mission requirements.” As of October, the space agency confirmed it is leasing the Airstream-built “Astrovan” from Boeing for its crewed space missions.
Concurrently, the USPS confirmed that the six Canoo vehicles it purchased in 2024 “for evaluation purposes” are no longer in use. The postal service stated that the “evaluation has been completed,” and “no further investments are anticipated,” while declining to release any specific results regarding the vans’ performance.
Canoo filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in January 2025 following years of financial struggles. Shortly after the filing, former CEO Tony Aquila made a $4 million bid for the company’s assets, telling the bankruptcy trustee that a “principal motivation” for his purchase was his “desire to honor [Canoo’s] commitment to provide service and support for certain government programs.”
The bankruptcy judge approved the sale of the assets to Aquila in April. However, both NASA and the USPS declined to comment on whether Aquila or his new entity ever approached them regarding continued support for the vehicles. The Department of Defense (DOD), which also received at least one demonstration vehicle from Canoo, did not respond to inquiries about the status of its van.
The asset sale process drew competing interest, with as many as eight parties signing non-disclosure agreements. Other potential bidders, including electric trucking company Harbinger and U.K. financier Charles Garson, were ultimately unsuccessful. During proceedings, lawyers for Canoo and Aquila argued that one potential bidder’s foreign ownership could raise concerns with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, given Canoo’s government contracts.