By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com -- Mullen Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:MULN) shares have jumped 241% in the past month, but they have dipped slightly on Wednesday after Hindenburg Research released a short report on the electric vehicle firm.
Mullen stock is down 3.68%.
Hindenburg Research, a short-selling firm, wrote in a report titled "Mullen Automotive: Yet Another Fast Talking EV Hustle" that the company has made "bold claims of ground-breaking technology, near term production of its EV vans, and a major as-yet-unnamed Fortune 500 customer."
However, they add that a recent update about its battery technology is a "rehash of testing the company had already announced in 2020," and Mullen "apparently misrepresented the test results, according to the CEO of the company that performed the tests."
"Mullen’s battery claims were based on technology licensed from a 1-year-old Chinese battery technology company. After hyping the importance of the relationship, Mullen made one payment under the deal and promptly terminated the relationship. The Chinese company’s website no longer works," stated Hindenburg.
Hindenburg also goes on to claim that two electric cargo vans Mullen says it will be manufacturing are "actually Chinese EVs rebranded with a Mullen logo," while it also has other production hurdles such as no EPA certificates for its vans or any vehicle, and it hasn’t begun significant hiring.
"We have seen this story before, but Mullen strikes us as one of the worst. With echoes of Nikola, Lordstown, Kandi and Ideanomics, we think Mullen is just the latest in a long line of EV hustles," said Hindenburg.