gdean@insider.com (Grace Dean,Grace Kay)
Lordstown Motors ' Endurance truck.
Lordstown Motors' CEO and CFO have resigned, the company announced on Monday.
The electric-vehicle startup said it had already started the search for permanent replacements.
It said last week that it didn't have enough cash to begin commercial production.
Two key Lordstown Motors executives, CEO Steve Burns and Chief Financial Officer Julio Rodriguez, have resigned, the company said on Monday.
The electric-vehicle startup didn't give reasons for their resignations. But their departure came on the same day Lordstown released the results of an internal investigation into the short-selling firm Hindenburg Research's claims that the company had misled investors by overstating the demand for its product.
Lordstown's special committee said that while it didn't find any issues with the vehicle or its technology, the company had caused confusion about the demand for its electric truck; Lordstown had repeatedly said it had over 100,000 preorders for its $52,500 Endurance pickup truck.
"Lordstown Motors made periodic disclosures regarding pre-orders which were, in certain respects, inaccurate," the report said.
The internal investigation found that some preorders - letters of intent that require only a signature - had been secured from companies that did not intend to purchase the vehicle, while other companies that had signed letters of intent did not have enough capital to purchase it.
Video: Lordstown Motors CEO and CFO resign — Here's what to know (CNBC)
The release of the pickup truck has been delayed five times since Lordstown's predecessor, Workhorse Group, introduced the concept.
Read more: A 2017 lawsuit shows how electric-car startup Lordstown paid outside workers to gin up 10,000 preorders a year
Lordstown's stock price plunged more than 17% in trading on Monday following the announcements.
Last week, the startup told investors it would not be able to start commercial production of its truck without additional funding.
That going-concern notice raised doubts about whether Lordstown would be able to stay in business without more funding. A spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that it was securing more funding and that it did not expect to delay production.
The company said on Monday that it was looking for permanent replacements for the two executives. In the meantime, Angela Strand will serve as its executive chairwoman and Becky Roof as its interim CFO. Strand has worked with Burns since 2017: She was the vice president of Workhorse Group, Burns' former startup, according to her LinkedIn.
Lordstown, founded in 2018, plans to manufacture the Endurance at a former General Motors plant. Last year, President Donald Trump showed off the electric pickup truck at the White House while celebrating Lordstown and Burns for reopening the plant.
In October, the company went public through a blank-check merger in a deal that valued the firm at $1.6 billion.
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