My legal defense fund against Saleen suing me

I am Fred Lambert, editor-in-chief of Electrek, Steve Saleen

and Saleen Automotive are suing me personally for my reporting on the

company's new financing effort and the claims they have made about their

electric vehicle mods.

This is not the first time Saleen has sued me. In 2014 and 2015, I wrote some

articles and blog posts about Saleen's previous financing effort involving modified Tesla vehicles. I had serious concerns about both the financing and the product, and I explained why. I warned small investors to stay away from the stock and not to expect the promised “Saleen Tesla Model S” with higher performance than the stock version.

Saleen and Saleen Automotive took me to court to shut me up. I was just starting out and I lacked the resources to go to trial, so I consented to the injunction. As a result, the court never examined the facts I had uncovered, and Saleen never had to explain what, if anything, I had got wrong.

I had been silenced, but my predictions were not wrong. Saleen Automotive’s

production did not match its promises, and small retail investors lost a lot of

money when the company’s noteholders sold high volumes of heavily discounted shares. The stock went from ~$1 a share to being delisted by the SEC.

Now, Saleen Automotive is once again going to the market to raise money from

small investors while making claims about modifying Tesla vehicles — something that catches investor attention in the red-hot EV investing marketplace.

Like last time, I did some investigating. Last month, I posted an article on Electrek in which I referred to the new financing effort as “shady”, and I outlined in detail the facts that led me to that opinion. The same investors that I had such serious concerns about last time are involved in the new financing. Based on public filings, the company appears to be critically low on funds, and $9 million out of the $30 million it is trying to raise will go directly into the pockets of the same people who converted those toxic notes years ago.

Meanwhile, from Saleen's own SEC filing:

"Investors in this offering will grant an irrevocable voting proxy to the Company’s CEO that will limit their ability to vote their shares of Common Stock purchased in this offering until the occurrence of certain events specified in the proxy, none of which may ever occur."

Incredibly, in a video promoting the new fundraise, Steve Saleen literally claims that it's the "first time he is offering Saleen up for public investment":

Saleen is acting like the company's previous venture into the public market never happened even though Saleen Automotive (SLNN) traded publicly on the OTC market before being delisted by the SEC:

I wrote the new article because there are many things that I think investors should know about the new capital raise. I believe that the article is fair and that it highlights important information and background for people interested in this story or investing in this venture.

I received a letter from Saleen’s lawyer demanding that I publish a “retraction and correction” of the article. I replied that in order to print a retraction, “you have to explain what is false in what I wrote in order for us to correct it. I’d be curious to know what you think is inaccurate in this article.” Saleen has never responded.

Saleen now wants the court to find me in contempt of the injunction, and to issue another injunction that would permanently bar me from even alluding that anyone associated with Saleen participated or was otherwise involved in “shady financing … or any other behaviour of that nature.”

I am fighting back because small investors need information to protect themselves, because a free press is fundamental, and because I refuse to be bullied into retracting things that are based on facts because of legal or financial threats, the way I was last time.

This is going to be a costly legal battle. If you want to help either financially or by sharing this campaign, it would be greatly appreciated. Mainly, I would like to not feel alone in this battle. I plan on putting up to $30,000 myself, but it could cost a lot more than that. Anything would be appreciated.

I do not expect anyone to support my legal battle without being properly informed. If you want to read the allegations against me, Saleen’s proceedings are available here: https://www.scribd.com/document/583573237/2022-07-20-Application-for-Injunction-1682584-1-Copy