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Bad news, performance fans: Saleen says it’s out of money, and owes millions of dollars

Saleen 302 Mustang
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Saleen Automotive has been on a roll lately, announcing plans to tune the 2015 Ford Mustang and unveiling a modified Tesla Model S. However, it may not survive long enough to see these plans through.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission uncovered by Jalopnik, Saleen admitted that it only had $7,261 in cash on hand as of September 30.

Things get worse from there. The company apparently owes $5,634,841 to various parties, including $500,000 in payroll taxes.

Over $1 million of those bills are 90 days overdue, and Saleen expects to default on a $398,176 loan unless the bank gives it an extension.

Worse still, Saleen is reportedly posting quarterly losses in the millions, and it only has $668,629 in assets, so selling things off to service debt isn’t really an option either. The company is hoping for a buyer that will provide a major infusion of cash.

It’s latest episode in what has become something of a soap opera.

Founder Steve Saleen left his namesake business in 2007, and went on to compete with it by starting SMS Supercars. He regained control of Saleen Automotive in 2012, and restarted production of high-performance tuned Mustangs.

The subsequent ambitious move into the electric-car field seemed to indicate that things were going well, but apparently that’s not the case.

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Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
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