Shares of autonomous trucking company TuSimple soared 28% on Monday after the company narrowly dodged a delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange. TuSimple shares closed at $1.06 per share.
TuSimple reported last week that received a delisting notice of the Nasdaq for not submitting its quarterly report on time. The stock market was to suspend trading in TuSimple shares on May 15. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it has asked the Nasdaq for an extended stay of the suspension and is currently in an appeals process. TuSimple will remain public until it has a hearing with the Nasdaq. It’s unclear if a hearing date has yet been set, but it should happen within the next 45 days, according to a regulatory document.
The company did not respond in time to say when it expects to report earnings for the past two quarters and for the full year of 2022. TuSimple last reported earnings for the quarter ended September 30. The company recently hired UHY LLP as its new registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 to help get it back on track.
TuSimple was once at the top of the AV game, but has been beset by internal drama, including multiple executive upheavals culminating in the ouster of co-founder Xiaodi Houan SEC investigation, the navistar loss as a partner and a restructuring in December that saw 25% of staff laid off.
The autonomous truck company went public in April 2021 after receiving strategic investments from several big names including Traton Group, Navistar, Goodyear, and US Xpress. TuSimple saw its share price peak in July 2021 when it reached $62.58, but that number has fallen 98% since then.
Despite the fact that its founding team and early backers hail from China, the company has positioned itself as an American entity based in San Diego. The company faced regulatory scrutiny over its ties to China, prompting TuSimple to work to divest its China business. It also led to the dismissal of then CEO Houwho was accused of facing concurrent investigations by the FBI, SEC, and CFIUS regarding TuSimple’s relationship with Hydron, a hydrogen-powered trucking company run by TuSimple’s other co-founder, Mo Chen.
Hou disputed the reasons over his dismissal, which also included allegations that Hou was trying to steal staff for a new company. The founder told TechCrunch that he had disagreements with current CEO Cheng Lu over Lu’s compensation package and the company’s shift to focus on Level 2 autonomy instead of exclusively Level 4 autonomy.
Level 4 is a designation of the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE), which means that the vehicle can handle all aspects of driving under certain conditions without human intervention. Tier 2 systems, where two major functions are automated, still have a human driver in the loop at all times.
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