From $1.6B to $13M: The Rad Power Collapse

$1.65 billion to $13.2 million in just over four years. That's the staggering fall of Rad Power Bikes, once the darling of America's e-bike boom, now sold for less than 1% of its peak valuation after a swift bankruptcy process.

Life Electric Vehicles Holdings, a Florida-based company, emerged as the winning bidder in a weekend auction that saw five entities compete for Rad Power's assets. The final bid of $13.2 million (or $14.9 million when accounting for liabilities) came after a bidding war that started at just $8 million. E-bike competitor Retrospec placed the second-highest bid at $13 million and stands as the backup buyer if the deal falls through.

The numbers tell a brutal story of how quickly fortunes can reverse in the startup world. Rad Power had raised $329.2 million from investors who believed in the e-bike revolution. At its October 2021 peak, the company was valued at $1.65 billion, riding high on pandemic-fueled demand for alternative transportation.

The Micromobility Reckoning

Rad Power's collapse isn't an isolated incident—it's part of a broader shakeout in the micromobility sector. VanMoof, Cake, and scooter company Bird have all gone through bankruptcy or restructuring in recent years. The pattern is eerily similar: explosive pandemic growth followed by devastating contraction as consumer behavior normalized.

The company's troubles weren't just about market conditions. Multiple rounds of layoffs, CEO changes, and a significant safety issue with older batteries catching fire created a perfect storm. The Consumer Product Safety Commission identified 31 reported fires tied to Rad Power's batteries, though the company disputed characterizations of their products as defective.

Life EV CEO Robert Provost remains tight-lipped about future plans, directing questions to Rad Power and only hinting at "an exciting future being planned." This vagueness raises questions about whether the acquisition is a genuine revival attempt or simply an asset grab.

Beyond the Headlines

The Rad Power story reflects deeper questions about venture capital's role in mobility innovation. The company's journey from garage startup to billion-dollar unicorn to bankruptcy fire sale happened in less than a decade—a timeline that's becoming increasingly common in tech.

For the e-bike industry, this consolidation might actually be healthy. The pandemic created artificial demand that led to overinvestment and unrealistic expectations. Companies like Rad Power expanded rapidly to meet temporary demand spikes, building infrastructure and inventory levels that couldn't be sustained when the market cooled.

The winning bidder, Life EV, operates in the "light electric vehicle industry" but has most of its own products marked as "sold out" on its website. This raises intriguing questions about whether they're acquiring Rad Power for its technology, brand recognition, customer base, or simply its manufacturing capabilities.