Honestly, when Fuell first burst onto the scene, I was hopeful. It was the brainchild of Erik Buell, the legendary motorcycle racer and entrepreneur, and had the likes of Ferrari's Fred Vasseur and Francois Terny as part of the board. The company also had working prototypes, which isn't that common with startups these days.
Suffice it to say, there was promise.
But that quickly dried up. It shifted production dates, it shifted what it'd be building to electric bicycles, and last year, the company finally filed for bankruptcy. It was another sad chapter in Erik Buell's motorcycle ventures, which is maybe why he's now just focusing on his music. Yet, things aren't quite over for Fuell, as the company was recently listed for sale and then promptly sold for what amounts to a nice full-size heavy-duty truck these days.
I'm talking pennies on the dollar for something once valued at millions.
Fuell shuttered its doors last October, so it's been a minute since it's been in the cultural zeitgeist of the industry. And, honestly, it fell short nearly everywhere else, including marketing, so the number of folks who knew about the company, its closure, and its subsequent sell-off is likely few and far between. I mean, I definitely forgot about Fuell up until I read it had been sold off, too.
This might be one of the reasons why the supposed sale price for the entire company and its IP went for such a small amount.
The company was auctioned off by Heritage Global Partners, and included trademarks, intellectual property, machinery, prototypes, the brand's web domain, and a host of other items totalling some 185 lots. The proceeds of which, however, were designed to go against a supposed $7 million in debts owed. As for the total purchasing price of everything, well, that crossed at just $170,000 or thereabouts, which is barely a scratch on the surface.
Wilder yet, according to Electrek, the auction house itself took $38,000 in fees, so those debts got even less paid down.
It's unclear whether or not anyone bought the nameplate to revive it, but given that there wasn't much cache garnered in the company's short life, I'd sincerely doubt a future where we see Fuell rise from the proverbial ashes. I mean, there'd have to be ashes to begin with, and the company didn't live long enough to really materialize anything outside a few e-bikes and prototypes.
I get why Erik is sticking to music these days.
