The image is called "ScreenShot20211213at9.57.21AM.0"
The Alpha Motor Ace is an electric car.
Alpha Motor Corporation has images.
Alpha Motor Corporation is a startup. One of the retro-futuristic designs that it has been promoting over the last year won the award for best electric car at the LA Auto Show. There are more questions left unanswered for every new vehicle design that Alpha Motor Corporation has released. How is the startup funded? What are the plans for these vehicles? What is the name of Alpha Motor Corporation?
In August, Green Car Reports put up a huge effort to find out what those answers were. It appears that the startup was founded and funded by the same person or people behind another EV startup called Neuron, which disappeared from the US startup scene as quickly as it arrived. Alpha Motor says there is no relationship. He asked more questions, like why are two auto show baristas moonlighting as Alpha Motor's spokespeople?
Joshua Boyt and Jay Lijewski now say they are full time Alpha Motor employees. Boyt and Lijewski are the heads of marketing. I spoke to them via video call in an attempt to answer some of the questions Halvorson had.
Another mysterious EV startup.
Boyt and Lijewski made some admissions. The startup does not currently have any drivable prototypes and there is no parent company above the Alpha Motor corporate entity registered in Delaware. Funding, the size of the team, and why Alpha Motor shares a registered address with another company were all kept under wraps.
Boyt said that they are just trying to build a different kind of company, and that they are not trying to do anything that confuses or misleads people. There are still billions of dollars flowing into the space, so maybe that is the safer move when there are many well-funded EV startups under investigation for potentially overpromising or misleading investors.
Some money can be captured by playing the mysterious EV startup. Alpha Motor is showing there is a line between being cautious and muddy about what the new company is up to.
The interview has been edited for clarity.
Many people have seen the designs that Alpha has put out. I was unable to attend the LA Auto Show, but I saw you guys won an award there. There is a lot of attention on the startup. I want to know more about what is happening. There is not a lot of information about the origins of this startup, how it plans to execute on any of the things we have seen, and so on. I just want more answers on that.
Joshua Boyt: Yes. A lot of what we are doing is intentional. We put a lot of thought and care into everything that we do, and the designs that have been put out show that. We want to create cars that people will love. We want to create a different kind of company. We want to be a different kind of company, because there is a lot of people in this space who are moving within traditional methods. For that reason, we have been more strategic in how we share information, when we release vehicles and how we share information. It is meant for a specific purpose, to make sure that we are in control of what we do as we develop the company.
We want to be a different kind of company.
There are a couple of different ways to build a company. At this stage of the timelines. We could have chosen to remain extremely stealth and not put any vehicles out until we were ready to go. That is the vehicle designs. We decided to put as much information as we could because we can. We have to put these vehicle designs out there to see what the public is interested in. Knowing what people will like before we get to the production phase can help steer the company.
Okay. Is the company you joined already in motion? Is it something you two created?
We joined when the company was formed. I fell in love with the design Alpha put out months ago, and I was working on an online event that was meant to raise awareness, but at that particular time I was working on an event that was meant to be a humanitarian effort.
I was working on a project that would change the narrative about the country of Yemen. After falling in love with Alpha, I realized our mission here is to move humanity. Alpha was trying to share their platform for causes just like the Yemen project that I was working on. I was really impressed by the fact that they shared it on their platform after I sent the email. Four months ago, Joshua and I joined the Alpha team, what about that?
We were drawn by the design.
I think it was around September. We have been involved with the project for a while. Same thing. We were drawn by the design. We did a lot of things in marketing and support in our career while we worked in automotive. The idea of mission and companies that are driven by heart and driven by a bigger objective than just monetary return has always been attractive to us. The goal is to just be a platform that connects people and the way that we live, and that is what we worked with the team to do. That is a very admirable trait of the company.
Noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com.
The Alpha Motor Wolf is a pickup truck.
Alpha Motor Corporation.
There is a lot in the strategy that we have learned working with the company, not trying to do anything that confuses or misleads people. We don't want to build hype so we want to be very confident and cautious. We haven't promoted anything, even though you mentioned the award at the LA Auto Show. We have over a million views on the video sharing site, and we have two posts of cars that we launched. We are focusing on the things that we love and building a great company because we think people will love them. I think that ambition is proving itself. We don't want to be self promoting so we're a little bit more strategic on how we reveal information. We don't want to be marketing ourselves, but we do want to leave an open door for people to access information.
Everybody that is involved can't be revealed.
The team at Alpha was mentioned a couple of times. The team at Alpha is not known.
Boyt: We have a pretty good group, but we can't reveal who is involved because we are a company. There is public knowledge on the internet. We can't reveal everyone that is involved right now, but we will make sure you know.
How big is the team?
Boyt: How big is the team? I can not. A lot of people are working in different departments. We recently put out a lot of information about our design centers and our battery, extended life batteries that we will be using for mobile use. A lot of stuff is being worked on by the team. We can't really...
The individuals who are in a spot where they can share their involvement with the company are all on LinkedIn right now. We are all on LinkedIn, and the people who are not listed on the team are for reasons. The way it is right now is that a startup is built with a lot of hustle and a lot of determination. When the time is right, you know who is on the team.
We are begging for people to be patient with us.
We have seen a lot of companies out there, a lot of companies that are in the startup phase, a lot of companies that are bringing different things to market, and we have tried to be very objective and step back and look. It can change a company's trajectory if the push is for... Whatever the motivation in a startup is, whether it's monetary or whatever, it can change a company's trajectory. We don't want to open up too much because we want to be a different kind of company and have something that we can carry for many years into the future. We don't want there to be any deviation from the mission.
It is difficult because we know the importance of media and everyone involved and we understand the game we want to play. We want people to be patient with us because we are so confident in what we are building. The result is happening. The response from the cars we are producing has been amazing. We are very excited about it.
I want to be absolutely clear about this, because you have used a couple different words to describe the things that you are working on. You talk about the vehicles that you are designing, and you say the cars that you are producing. What is happening at Alpha Motor right now? If you feel that your designs are popular enough, are you designing vehicle designs that you hope to produce? Are you trying to make something that looks like a car? What is happening?
All of the vehicles we have released are in the production process. In the production process. Our production process has every one of those in it.
I am clear about what that means.
It just means that they are all at different stages of the production process. For sure.
That lift is amazing. Large automotive companies are spending billions of dollars to get the first electric vehicle out the door.
Boyt: Correct, correct. Yeah. The timelines on all of those are different. Our goal is to make sure that our process is intentional. The Wolf is in a different part of the production process where we have non-drivable vehicles, so we are putting out at the phases where we can. The production timelines on all of these vehicles are different, but they are all in the same process.
We are in a delicate phase.
Considering the financial lift that would be involved in attacking that, how is the startup funded?
Boyt: Well, again...
We can't really get into that at the moment. We are in a delicate phase when it comes to that aspect of the company which informs the slow release of a lot of information. We are fleshing out the accessory lineup, even the concept for our retail locations down the road, as we work on putting out as many vehicle designs as we can. We are trying to be prepared for every aspect of our business, so that when it is time, we are ready.
I will ask one more question and then follow up on some of that. The startup is registered in Delaware. Is that part of the company Alpha Motor US, or is it a parent company?
That is where it stops. We are located in Irvine, California. At the moment, we are a private entity. Our team is very hard at work on many aspects of the company and we are at the moment.
Boyt: I know all that information is public knowledge, and we want people to know that. We have any of those more detailed questions. We just recently posted a FAQ on our website that goes through any of the information that you might be interested in. Feel free to check it out on the website.
Got it. You don't want to talk about individuals. Can you tell me who the executives of the company are, but you said there are people on LinkedIn who have the company name out there? Who founded the company? Because you said that you are not trying to do anything that confuses or misleads people, that kind of information usually comes out with startup that are trying to raise money and exist in the real world.
Boyt: We are not trying to raise money or do this, we are just trying to do something. The difficult part is that the media really wants to pull all those details out for other people that would want to get involved. We are not trying to do things the same as everyone else. I can feel that it's frustrating. A lot of media talk about this. We just want to keep doing what we are doing. That is the reason we are a privately held company. We feel very confident that what we are doing will create a different kind of company. If you want to know more about the founder, Edward Lee, you can read about it in our FAQ.
Jada Lee is our vice chair and counsel for the company. The leadership team is right there. I am the head of marketing and Joshua is the head of business development. There are more people on the team, but they are not ready to reveal that information.
We want to help people get to know us. That doesn't mean that only comes by introducing the individuals. We want to be the kind of company that shows how we operate, the kind of energy and heart that is put behind our designs, and the things that we want to support. We are trying to get connected with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and promote some other things that we can use the visibility of our company to do. We are excited about that. We can use the attention that we are getting, the reviews on YouTube, and all that, that we can use for good. We are focused on that right now. We just want to put our attention on the things that we know we can use for good right now, because everyone will be excited in that time that it is.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com
The Jax is an electric SUV.
Alpha Motor Corporation.
You are accepting pre-orders for some of the vehicles, right?
Lijewski: Not a dime. Reservations are being taken to get in the queue. We will get into fully refundable cash deposits once we develop or further our timelines. We are not at that point yet.
Do you feel any obligation to let people who have expressed interest in sharing more information know that you already have?
Boyt: I think people are excited enough about what we have going on to want to reserve those vehicles, they are on that journey with us and their excitement is right there with us. We think that bringing more vehicles to the table will support different people in different seasons. The four-door sedan option in the Saga is really cool. We are excited about that. We teased another model that is coming up soon. We are trying to create cars that will fit in with people's lifestyle and that helps to continue our process on them.
Alpha Motor has no drivable prototypes.
We are interacting with people who have shared their interest in our vehicles and will continue to do so. Finding unique and clever ways to interact with these folks and have them interact with our vehicles in a way before they are actually physically produced. We are working on that. We don't take that excitement lightly. The love that has been given to us by people who are already in the reservation queue, it puts a lot of wind in our sails, and it definitely encourages us to keep going and to push through all the heavy lifting that a startup will endure.
One last thing on the different models. There is a museum that is built out, but it is not drivable. What about the other ones? Do you have any prototypes of the other vehicles?
Lijewski is not yet.
Not currently, no.
Okay. How deep into the functional side of those designs do you think you have left? Are the internals of these theoretical vehicles that are modeled in acad, or the battery pack, that you have actually done the work on?
Sean, you are asking good questions in our processes. Unfortunately, that is one of the things that we can't give you more information about. Like anyone that knows what it takes to make visuals like we do, you will understand the amount that goes into that. We are investing a lot of care in the cars that we release.
The folks on our team, design, engineering, and beyond are well-versed in what it takes to bring vehicles to the market. I think your answer is related to that statement.
Okay. Some of the things that have been written have been mentioned. A lot of people have been curious about the situation, and I know that the company has been very particular in expressing what it sees as the facts of the situation, and that it was close to another company called Neuron. Alpha has released statements saying that there is no relationship but there are obvious overlaps, as well as addresses registered to these businesses. What is happening with Neuron?
Boyt: We are not associated with that. Alpha is not the same company.
Is it a coincidence that you ended up at the same address?
Boyt: I don't know, we are completely separate and not connected in any way to that company.
Edward Lee is at the top of the company, so they are separate as well.
If you want to speak with Edward about anything in his past, we can set up an interview with him, but we can't talk about Edward's past. We can assure you that Alpha Motor Corporation is its own entity, privately held, and we are pushing forward with our mission here at Alpha.
Yeah. I would love to talk to him if he is available.
Yeah, Lijewski. We will see what we can get on the books if you give us a couple of dates and times that work for you.
We don't feel like we have to justify what we are doing.
As you release more designs, what should people be looking for as far as trying to get a sense of how you are actually going to succeed as a startup? What kinds of things are going to be used to show people that you can build these vehicles?
Boyt thinks that people will see the progression of seeing vehicles. We will have prototypes. Cars will drive on the road. We will make cars. I think it will happen as expected. We are not trying to over promise or under deliver. We want to stick to what we know, and that's how it works. Our team is well versed in bringing vehicles to market, is well versed in doing everything from design, engineering, production, and so on. We want to make sure that we are not giving people something that they are hanging on to, like, "Oh you said this date and that." We are trying to do it.
We don't feel like we have to justify what we're doing at this point. We are having detailed conversations with people who will provide resources, but we are not having them with the general public or the media at this time. When we start accepting cash deposits for vehicles, we will have to share a lot more of that information because it will show that the pathway is clear for production.
Okay. Alright. I appreciate you guys giving as much information as you can.
Boyt: Before we leave, ask a quick question. What made you interested in Alpha? What made you want to talk to us?
There is no information about some of the specifics.
Didn't like any of the designs?
The designs are great, but I have been covering this industry for a while now, and not to try and compare your designs to other people's designs, but we have seen a lot of designs. A lot of companies struggle to come up with the resources that are required to execute on one of those designs. A lot of companies are stopped from ever succeeding in this space because of general blockers. Even a company likeTesla has been close to death before.
Boyt: Absolutely. We are excited about what we are doing, and I know there is a lot of people that want to see EV take its place in the world, and we are about that. We understand that EV is the future. We believe in the direction of the company and the process that we are taking. I know that it is hard to give people confidence and comfort in a new market, and that is one of the hardest jobs you can do. There is a lot of market potential. You know what I mean? The EV market is still small compared to internal combustion engine, and a lot of people are afraid of what the future will look like. Do we have the necessary infrastructure? Do we have everything? It will take a lot of people to get us to that space.
The people are either afraid of the lack of infrastructure or they just haven't found an EV design that really meshes with them. At Alpha, we offer a different take on the design ethos of EV. When people look at these vehicle designs, whether they are posted on our website, MotorTrend's website, or even someone like our social media accounts, they're getting an insane amount of interest. That pushes us to fulfill this mission because of the wind in our sails. We are up for the challenge and we are on track. We know that it is going to be an uphill battle, but we are very confident that we will be able to see it through.
I'm going to ask you one last question about that design piece. A lot of people would agree that there could be some fresh competition on the design side. Some people have gone out of their way to stand out. A lot of what drives modern vehicles toward looking like each other and gives these companies trouble in making vehicles that stand out and have really radical designs is that they have to hit certain efficiency targets in order to be able to make vehicles with stringent federal safety standards in mind.
How much of that goes into the process of coming up with these vehicle designs that Alpha Motor has put out, or are you just using the ability and the freedom of maybe not having to answer those questions just yet, and sort of being able to flex design muscles because you're not
All those things are being considered. We want to make vehicles that are actually going to be produced. They are not just cool designs. They are drawings on paper too. We want to make vehicles that people can drive.
I think our designs are unique, but I don't think they are radical in terms of the testing that will have to be done. I don't think we're introducing any new designs to the agencies. We are not trying to give people our take on the future, but we are taking an approach of tapping into what people have always loved about cars. I think that is a key. We take that into account. The folks on our team are well versed in what it takes to bring cool looking vehicles to the market, and they are also well versed in what it takes to bring those vehicles to the market. I think that is important to share.
