Electric vehicle firm championed by Biden files for bankruptcy in black eye for green agenda

Proterra, the electric vehicle company championed by President Joe Biden, has filed for bankruptcy in a move that delivers a black eye to the administration's green and economic agendas.

The announcement late Monday came as the president is touring the country trying to convince voters his Bidenomics agenda is working, a claim polling shows is not being accepted by voters. Proterra cited the economy as part of the reason for its collapse.

"We have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale," CEO Gareth Joyce said in a statement.

The company submitted documents for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware but says it will continue business as usual, including fulfilling employee salaries and benefits, as it navigates bankruptcy proceedings.

The firm most famously assembles electric buses out of its South Carolina facility, where Biden received a virtual tour in 2021. In February, the president also announced CEO Joyce's appointment to the White House's Export Council, which advises on matters of overseas trade.

Joyce's appointment was celebrated by the Biden administration, who hailed the CEO for "growing Proterra’s EV battery manufacturing footprint in the United States and accelerating the transition of transit and other commercial vehicles to zero emission solutions."