DeLorean Motor Co. crashed onto San Antonio’s startup scene in early 2022 with a bang and a big pitch: By 2026, it said, it would have hundreds of workers and invest millions to manufacture an updated electric version of the gull-wing car made an icon in “Back to the Future.” The new company’s CEO began making public appearances, hinting at a hunt for a manufacturing plant and suggesting that prototypes of its luxury Alpha5 sports car would soon be spotted on San Antonio streets.
DeLorean CEO steps down; customers who paid to reserve ‘Back to the Future’ car push for information There had been no major hiring and no manufacturing deals. The company was facing a lawsuit alleging it was founded on intellectual property stolen from the EV maker for which its founders previously worked.
DeLorean steers around legal roadblocks that raised doubts about San Antonio company’s future The California-based luxury EV maker alleged the new DeLorean was being built on EV technology the company’s founders had stolen when they worked at Karma. Along with former CEO Joost de Vries, defendants were Yuan, who was then chief operating officer, Chief Marketing Officer Troy Beetz and Neilo Harris and the company itself. Officials of both companies declined to disclose terms of the settlement.