Mullen Automotive: The Reverse Split King's Stunning Ability to Stay Alive

#From Humble Beginnings to NASDAQ Spotlight

Mullen Automotive’s saga begins in April 2014, when David Michery, a serial entrepreneur with a resume light on automotive credentials - no engineering degree, no Detroit pedigree, just a knack for promotion - registered Mullen Motor Cars, Inc. in Southern California. Headquartered in Brea, a sleepy Orange County city, the company emerged with a bold mission: to craft premium electric vehicles (EVs) for a market still buzzing from Tesla’s Roadster debut. Michery’s early vision leaned on the Mullen 700e, a rebadged version of the CODA sedan, signaling ambition but little originality.

Enter CODA Automotive, Mullen’s first dance partner in this improbable tale. Founded in 2009 in Santa Monica, CODA aimed to electrify the masses with a boxy, $39,900 sedan powered by a 31-kWh battery - think 88 miles of range and a top speed of 85 mph. It flopped spectacularly, selling just 117 units before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2013 with $117 million in liabilities. Mullen acquired CODA’s assets in 2014 for an undisclosed sum - rumored to be a fire-sale price - gaining a skeletal framework of EV tech and a defunct brand. It was less a merger of equals and more a scavenging of scraps, setting the stage for Michery’s grander plans.

For years, Mullen lingered in obscurity, a private outfit with scant public footprint. Michery teased concepts like the GT sports car - a $125,000 hybrid with a supposed 180-mile electric range - and leaned on partnerships with Chinese manufacturers like Qiantu Motor, whose K50 coupe Mullen planned to assemble in the U.S. under license. Production never materialized, but the hype kept the dream alive. By 2020, Mullen claimed a 120,000-square-foot facility in Tunica, Mississippi, acquired from GreenTech Automotive for $3 million - a bargain for a site once valued at $33 million - promising 900 jobs and 10,000 vehicles annually. Output? Zero.

The big break came on November 5, 2021, via a reverse triangular merger with Net Element, a NASDAQ-listed payments processor (ticker: NETE) that had seen better days. Founded in 2010 as a mobile payments player, Net Element peaked at a $300 million market cap in 2013 but had shriveled to $30 million by 2021, with $5.8 million in revenue and a $2.8 million loss for the year ending December 31, 2020. The deal valued Mullen at $1.27 billion, swapped Net Element’s board for Michery’s crew, and handed him the CEO reins. At closing, MULN debuted at $15 per share with 23.4 million shares outstanding - a $351 million market cap fueled by EV mania, not fundamentals.

Michery wasted no time selling the vision. The Mullen FIVE, a sleek $55,000 crossover with a claimed 325-mile range, headlined the pitch at the 2021 LA Auto Show, winning the ZEVA ‘Top Electric SUV’ award - a trophy for a car yet to roll off a line. Commercial vans like the ONE ($34,000) and THREE ($68,000) targeted last-mile delivery, while a 60% stake in Bollinger Motors, acquired in September 2022 for $148.2 million in stock and cash, promised rugged EVs like the B1 and B2. Deals with RANDY Marion Automotive added distribution muscle, projecting $250 million in orders. Yet, reality lagged: by January 2024, Mullen invoiced just 396 vehicles for $17.3 million - mostly rebadged Chinese imports - while losses snowballed to $506 million for the year ending September 30, 2024.

1. Early Promises vs. Reality

   Mullen 700e: Planned 2015 launch, never produced. CODA’s 117 sales dwarf Mullen’s pre-merger output of zero.

2. Facility Hype

   Tunica plant’s 10,000-unit capacity yielded no vehicles by 2021; staff count peaked at 100, per local reports.

3. Valuation Spike

   Post-merger peak hit $1.5 billion in November 2021, a 4,900% jump from Net Element’s $30 million pre-deal cap.

This origin story is a cocktail of ambition and mirage. Michery stitched together a patchwork of failed ventures, unbuilt cars, and lofty projections, riding the EV wave to a NASDAQ listing. The 23.4 million shares in December 2021 were a modest springboard for a supposed Tesla rival, but the calm wouldn’t last. What followed was a storm of dilution and splits that turned Mullen into a financial oddity - yet its roots reveal a hustle that’s been brewing since day one.

#The Reverse Split King: A Financial High-Wire Act

If reverse stock splits were an Olympic event, Mullen Automotive would be clutching a fistful of gold medals, leaving spectators - and investors - gaping in disbelief. Since its NASDAQ debut in November 2021, the company has executed a staggering six reverse splits: a shadowy 1-for-2 in its early public days, 1-for-25 on May 4, 2023, 1-for-9 on August 11, 2023, 1-for-100 on December 21, 2023, another 1-for-100 on September 17, 2024, and a 1-for-60 on February 18, 2025. That’s one every seven months on average, a pace that could make even the most seasoned Wall Street traders spill their coffee. Each move was a desperate lunge to keep the share price above NASDAQ’s $1 minimum bid requirement, a rule Mullen treats like a recurring pop quiz it can’t pass.

The math is a horror show for shareholders. Imagine an investor plunking down $15,000 for 1,000 shares at $15 on November 5, 2021, dazzled by EV hype. The 1-for-2 cut that to 500 shares. The 1-for-25 in May 2023 left them with 20 shares. The 1-for-9 in August 2023 whittled it to 2.22 shares (rounded to 3, since Mullen rounds up fractions). The first 1-for-100 in December 2023 slashed it to 0.03 shares, the second 1-for-100 in September 2024 dropped it to 0.0003 shares, and the 1-for-60 in February 2025 reduced it to - brace yourself - 0.000005 shares. At today’s $0.11 share price (as of March 15, 2025), that $15,000 is now worth $0.00055 - less than a thousandth of a cent. That’s a cumulative split ratio of 1-for-2,025,000 and a dilution factor so astronomical it’s practically a black hole, swallowing investor value with a 99.999996% loss.

Image: MULN Details Page on Financhle 5-Year View: Down -$1.58 Billion Per Share.

The timeline of these splits tells a tale of relentless decline. Post-merger, Mullen’s stock hit $15.75 on November 15, 2021, a $1.5 billion market cap peak. By May 3, 2023, it closed at $0.0639 - needing that 1-for-25 to limp to $1.5975 split-adjusted. It didn’t hold; by August 10, 2023, it was $0.98, cueing the 1-for-9 that briefly pushed it to $8.82. December 2023’s 1-for-100 came as it sank to $0.10, spiking it to $10 temporarily. September 2024’s repeat 1-for-100 followed a drop to $0.03, hitting $3 split-adjusted, and February 2025’s 1-for-60 came after a $0.20 close, nudging it to $12 - only to crater to $0.11 within weeks. Each split was a Band-Aid on a gaping wound, buying NASDAQ compliance for mere days or weeks before the inevitable slide.

1. Market Cap Erosion

   From $1.5 billion post-merger, it fell to $50 million after the May 2023 split (96.7% drop per split-adjusted share), $12 million post-December 2023 (99.2% cumulative loss), and now $13 million - a 99.13% average loss per split cycle.

2. Share Count Explosion

   Shares outstanding grew from 23.4 million in December 2021 to 1.7 billion by January 2023 (a 7,165% increase pre-splits), yet post-split adjustments mask this bloat - current float is 121.6 million as of February 2025.

3. Historical Context

   The Wall Street Journal logged 495 reverse splits across all exchanges in 2023. Mullen’s six in under 3.5 years outstrips that by a factor of 3.2 annualized, a record that crowns it the undisputed king of financial contortion.

4. NASDAQ Rule Breaches

   NASDAQ’s Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) bars a 180-day grace period if cumulative splits exceed 1-for-250 over two years. Mullen’s 1-for-2,025,000 since 2021 blows past this by 810%, risking immediate delisting if it falters again.

Each split was a high-stakes gamble to dodge NASDAQ’s axe. The May 2023 split regained compliance by January 24, 2024, per a NASDAQ notice, but the respite lasted months before the price dipped below $1 again by August 2024. September 2024’s split briefly worked, yet by January 22, 2025, Mullen received another noncompliance notice. The February 2025 1-for-60 was approved January 31, 2025, with 20.1 million votes for and 4.6 million against - a shareholder base too battered to resist.

This isn’t just a company - it’s a case study in survival through sheer audacity. Reverse splits are meant to signal calculated and judiciousness recovery, but Mullen’s turned them into a lifestyle. In 2023 alone, it pulled off three (1-for-225 cumulative), a feat securities lawyers dub ‘serial reverse splitting.’ Most firms - say, a Pets.com or Sears - collapse after one or two; Mullen’s six defy gravity. The Wall Street Journal notes 495 splits in 2023, but none match Mullen’s frequency or futility - its market cap’s 99.13% per-cycle loss dwarfs the typical 22.7% to 43.6% three-year drop post-split, per a Journal of Finance study. It’s a high-wire act where the wire’s fraying, yet Mullen keeps walking, leaving investors clutching worthless stubs and wondering how it’s still listed.

#David Michery: The Maestro of Survival

Conducting Mullen Automotive’s improbable symphony is David Michery, a figure whose resume offers more questions than credentials. Born in 1966, Michery’s pre-Mullen career spans stints in entertainment and telecom - most notably as president of S&L Communications, a private telecom firm in the 1990s, and a brief run with Music of Your Life, a nostalgia radio syndicate he sold in 2013 for undisclosed terms. No engineering degree graces his LinkedIn, nor does any prior C-suite role in automotive manufacturing. Yet, since founding Mullen Motor Cars in April 2014, he’s steered the company from obscurity to a NASDAQ listing, keeping it afloat despite a revenue stream thinner than a shoestring - $1 million for the 12 months ending September 30, 2024, against a $506 million loss.

Michery’s compensation, however, paints a stark contrast to Mullen’s financial frailty. Per the 2023 proxy statement (DEF 14A, filed April 2023), his base salary sits at $3.25 million annually - a figure unchanged since 2021. That’s just the appetizer: performance awards have piled on $43.8 million in stock and cash by September 2023, per SEC filings. On December 23, 2022, he received 28.76 million shares at $1.63 each - $47 million at the time - when Mullen’s market cap was $125 million and its quarterly revenue was $0. For perspective, General Motors’ CEO, Mary Barra, earned $28.98 million in 2023, managing a $44 billion revenue giant, while Tesla’s Elon Musk took $0 in salary but holds billions in stock tied to tangible output. Michery’s haul stands out, especially as Mullen posted a $1 billion net loss in 2022.

His playbook hinges on one mantra: raise cash, no matter the cost to shareholders. In 2023 alone, Mullen raked in $252.7 million through equity offerings, per 10-K filings, ballooning shares outstanding from 126.3 million on March 31, 2023, to 1.7 billion by January 31, 2024 - a 1,246% surge in 10 months. A shareholder vote on August 11, 2022, authorized up to 5 billion common shares, a ceiling raised from 1.25 billion in 2021, giving Michery carte blanche to dilute. Beyond stock, he secured $100 million in Series D preferred stock in June 2023 at 8% interest, convertible to common shares, and a $150 million equity line with Esousa Holdings in March 2024, drawable at Mullen’s discretion. This financial engineering fueled a $506 million cash burn in fiscal 2024, keeping the lights on despite sales of just 396 vehicles.

1. Equity Raises

   2022: $150 million via 94.6 million shares at $1.58 average (10-K). 2023: $252.7 million via 1.57 billion shares at $0.16 average. 2024: $87 million via 792 million shares by Q3.

2. Debt Moves

   October 2022: $25 million promissory note at 15% interest. June 2023: $100 million preferred stock. January 2025: $50 million bridge loan at 10% - all per press releases.

3. Shareholder Dilution

   One share in November 2021 equals 0.00000049 shares today, pre-split adjusted, a 2.04 million-to-1 dilution factor from 23.4 million to 1.7 billion shares, then split-adjusted to 121.6 million.

Michery’s also wielded the courts as a weapon. In May 2023, Mullen filed lawsuits against TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, National Financial Services, and others in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Case 1:23-cv-04123), alleging naked short-selling and manipulation that cost Mullen $1 billion in market value. A July 2023 amended complaint added claims of ‘spoofing,’ seeking $500 million in damages.

Public appearances amplify the enigma. On Fox Business’s Varney & Co. on June 14, 2023, Michery deflected questions about his $47 million stock award, pivoting to EV market potential and short-seller conspiracies with a politician’s polish - ‘We’re building something great here’ he insisted, offering no financial specifics. Love him or not, Michery’s the architect of Mullen’s improbable endurance.

#Should Stock Exchanges Step In?

Mullen Automotive’s financial acrobatics pose a thorny dilemma: Should NASDAQ clamp down on this high-flying act? The exchange holds a potent tool in Listing Rule 5101, granting ‘broad discretionary public interest authority’ to delist any company deemed a risk to investors or market integrity. In 2020, NASDAQ sharpened its arsenal with Rule 5810(c)(3)(A)(iv), targeting serial diluters - firms that pair reverse splits with massive share issuances to skirt the $1 minimum bid price requirement. Mullen fits this profile with surgical precision: six reverse splits since November 2021, shares soaring from 23.4 million to 1.7 billion by January 2023, and revenue of just $1 million for the year ending September 30, 2024 - barely enough to lease a broom closet in Midtown Manhattan. Yet, as of March 15, 2025, it remains listed, a feat that underscores David Michery’s knack for dodging regulatory guillotines.

NASDAQ’s own data shows 47 delistings for price violations in 2023, yet Mullen’s dodged the axe despite five noncompliance notices since 2022, regaining compliance each time via splits - like the 1-for-60 on February 18, 2025, approved January 31 with 20.1 million votes for and 4.6 million against.

While NASDAQ’s rules are tightening, Mullen keeps slipping through. A 2023 proposal (File No. SR-NASDAQ-2023-010, March 2023) aims to toughen Rule 5550(a)(2), requiring a $1 bid price for 30 consecutive days post-split, up from 10, and barring a 180-day grace period if cumulative splits exceed 1-for-250 over two years. Mullen’s 1-for-2,025,000 since 2021 - 810% over the cap - should trigger immediate delisting scrutiny, yet it’s sidestepped this. Post-February 2025 split, the stock hit $12 on February 19 but sank to $0.11 by March 15, failing the 30-day test in 25 days. Historical precedent exists: in 2022, NASDAQ delisted Shift Technologies (SFT) after three splits and a $0.13 price, with $112 million revenue - 112 times Mullen’s haul. Mullen’s $13 million market cap and $506 million loss scream red flags, but NASDAQ’s leniency persists.

1. Compliance Timeline

   May 2023 (1-for-25): Regained January 24, 2024. December 2023 (1-for-100): Regained June 25, 2024. February 2025 (1-for-60): Notice January 22, 2025; regained February 19, 2025; below $1 by March 15 - per NASDAQ notices.

2. Investor Cost

   $100,000 in 2021 yields $73.33 today (99.9268% loss). $1 million yields $733 - a 1,363-to-1 value collapse, split-adjusted.

3. Market Comparison

   Of 495 reverse splits in 2023 (Wall Street Journal), 68% led to delisting within 18 months. Mullen’s six in 40 months defy the 82% three-year failure rate (Journal of Finance).

4. Revenue Efficiency

   $579.8 million raised since 2021 (10-Ks) vs. 396 vehicles sold = $1.46 million per car, vs. Tesla’s $94,000 per vehicle in 2024.

It’s hard to argue against financial exchanges like NASDAQ stepping in when a company’s focus shifts from producing goods to shuffling paper. Since 2021, Mullen has raised $579.8 million — $150 million in 2022, $252.7 million in 2023, and $177.1 million by Q3 2024 — yet delivered only 396 vehicles, generating just $17.3 million in invoices. That works out to $1.46 million per car sold, a figure so extravagant it’d make Bugatti’s $3 million Chiron (500 units) seem modest. Shift Technologies, with 10,000% more revenue, still couldn’t escape the axe, yet Mullen limps on, hinting that NASDAQ’s ‘public interest’ standard stretches further than a yoga instructor’s lunge. Imposing stricter rules - like a $5 million revenue minimum or a 1-for-500 stock split limit - could demand real accountability and shield investors from this corporate shell game. For now, NASDAQ stands by, watching Mullen juggle as shareholders pick up the tab.

The broader picture fuels the debate. Reverse splits often signal distress - 68% of 2023’s 495 led to delisting within 18 months, per the Wall Street Journal, and a Drexel University study pegs three-year survival at 18% post-split. Mullen’s beaten those odds with six splits in 40 months, a 99.13% per-cycle market cap loss, and a $0.11 price that mocks its $15 debut. X users like @StockSavant (February 2025) demand ‘SEC action on this scam,’ but NASDAQ’s 2023 delisting rate (47 of 3,500+ listings) hints at restraint - only 1.3% get the boot annually. Mullen’s limbo status - neither thriving nor tanked - tests whether exchanges prioritize investor protection or market freedom. For now, it’s a circus with no ringmaster in sight.

#The Survival Paradox

Here’s the astonishing punchline: Mullen Automotive is still standing. As of March 15, 2025, this EV aspirant has invoiced a mere 413 vehicles for $18.2 million - 396 by January 2024 ($17.3 million) plus 17 more in Q1 2025, per the latest 10-Q - outpacing a neighborhood lemonade stand but not by much. Bankruptcy, the grim fate of many cash-strapped startups, remains at bay despite production that’s more tease than triumph. The Mullen FIVE, a $55,000 crossover unveiled at the 2021 LA Auto Show with a promised 325-mile range and 3.2-second 0-60 mph sprint, lingers as vaporware - its ‘Q4 2024’ debut delayed to ‘TBD’ in a January 2025 press release. The ONE and THREE vans, pitched as last-mile saviors, have trickled out at 22 units in 2023 and 35 in 2024, per company updates, a drip that barely wets the pavement.

The financial chasm is equally stark. Mullen burned through $506 million in fiscal 2024 (ending September 30), with a $289.9 million loss in Q3 alone - $1,700 per share outstanding at the time, pre-split. Cash reserves plummeted from $155.7 million in September 2023 to $4 million by September 2024, a 97.4% nosedive, per 10-K filings. Yet, David Michery keeps the engine humming with orders that dazzle on paper: $210 million from Volt Mobility in May 2024 for 3,000 vans (90% undelivered by Q1 2025), $250 million projected from Randy Marion in 2022 (actual: $10.8 million by December 2024), and a $680 million pledge from Saudi Arabia’s A&I Group in 2023. Partnerships like the $148.2 million Bollinger Motors stake (60%, September 2022) and a Tunica plant touted for 10,000 annual units - still idle - prop up the story, but the gap between hype and haul is canyon-wide.

1. Production Reality

   413 vehicles total vs. 1,000-unit ‘Q4 2023’ goal (December 2022 PR). Contrast Rivian’s 57,232 units in 2024 ($4.4 billion revenue).

2. Losses vs. Output

   $1.22 million loss per vehicle sold ($506M / 413), vs. Tesla’s $6,900 profit per car in 2024 ($94,000 revenue - $87,100 cost).

3. Cash Burn Rate

   $42.2 million monthly average in 2024 ($506M / 12), with $4M left - nine days’ runway at that pace by September 2024.

4. Order Fulfillment

   Volt: 300 delivered of 3,000 (10%). Randy Marion: 158 of 7,353 projected (2.1%). Saudi: 0 of 20,000 pledged.

Mullen has raised $579.8 million since going public, a lifeline that’s kept it off the Chapter 11 scrapheap where peers like Lordstown Motors (2023 bankruptcy, $675M loss, 56 trucks sold) and Arrival (2024 wind-down, $1.1B spent, zero sales) landed. It’s a tenacity that defies gravity - and logic.

This paradox is Mullen’s defining act: thriving on fumes while sturdier rivals falter. It’s not success by any conventional yardstick - $1 million revenue whispers against a $13 million market cap, and the $0.11 stock price is a ghostly echo of its $15.75 peak. Yet, it’s a masterclass in endurance, outlasting 82% of reverse-split firms that fail within three years (Journal of Finance). X user @StockSavant (March 2025) mused, ‘Mullen’s the cockroach of EVs - nothing kills it.’ Whether genius, grit, or something less flattering, Michery’s kept this financial unicorn galloping along a cliff’s edge, defying odds with every precarious step.

So here we stand, gazing at Mullen’s improbable run - a tale of six reverse splits, 2 billion shares issued, and a $1.5 billion market cap shaved to pocket change, yet no final curtain. It’s raised more cash than it’s sold cars, promised more dreams than it’s delivered wheels, and left investors with pennies while Michery pockets millions. NASDAQ watches, shareholders fume, and the Mullen FIVE remains a showroom phantom. Is this the last act of a corporate conjurer, or the prelude to a improbable comeback? For now, Mullen’s survival is its own spectacle - a bewildering, billion-dollar tightrope walk that leaves us marveling at the sheer audacity of it all, wondering how long the wire will hold.