Canoo: Lesson Learned (Editorial)

Canoo Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles branded for Zeeba (Canoo)

We’ve editorialized a couple of times to applaud Canoo Technologies’ planned move to Arkansas, but, as Assistant Editor Kyle Massey relates in this week’s issue, that appears unlikely to happen any time soon.

While that may or may not be unfortunate — the future of the electric vehicle manufacturer is very much up in the air — there is at least one lesson to be learned and that is this: The state of Arkansas was wise (or lucky?) in failing to sign a financial incentive agreement with Canoo. That’s because once the state grants incentives to a business, they are very hard to claw back when the business fails to deliver on its promises of new jobs or investments.

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission appeared to acknowledge the need for due diligence in a statement to Online Editor Scott Carroll for a March article on Canoo, saying, “We are committed to the transportation and mobility sector. We are looking forward to partnering with established and promising mobility companies with solid market fundamentals and potential for growth.”

We don’t much care for the taxpayer-funded incentives game, though economic development officials say it’s necessary. But if the state is going to play, it should play to win, and failing that, it should play to not lose.