EVmo board leader resigns as company defaults

EVmo board executive chairman Terren Peizer resigned as the company received notice that it defaulted on a $7.5 million loan, according to regulatory filings Friday.

Why it matters: EVmo's business model — renting its fleet of EVs and hybrid vehicles to rideshare drivers — has crumbled under inflationary pressures and lackluster demand following the pandemic.

Driving the news: Peizer personally loaned $1 million to the company in an effort to help it avoid default, per three 8-Ks filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• EVmo CEO Stephen M. Sanchez will replace Peizer as chairman of the board, per the filing.
• The filing states that Peizer's departure was not a "result of a disagreement with the Company regarding its operations, policies or practices."

Separately, EVmo was notified that it had defaulted on a $7.5 million loan, the company stated in another 8-K filed Friday.

• Energy Impact Credit Fund I provided the loan, which closed in July 2021. The loan had an aggregate principal amount of $15 million, per its initial filing.

Context: Peizer is the second board member to resign since the start of 2023.

• Harbant Sidhu resigned from his role on EVmo's board on Jan. 4.
• Gregory Miller resigned from his role as chief operations officer of the company in August 2022. His role was filled in January by Michael Harris, the company's former executive vice president of operations and engineering.

Catch up fast: Founded in 2016, EVmo lets rideshare and gig workers rent EVs, hybrids and large delivery vehicles.

• The company announced a fleet acquisition of Tesla vehicles in 2021.