Walmart Deal Prohibits Canoo from Selling Vehicles to Amazon

The EV startup's windfall comes with red tape.

It was recently reported that struggling EV maker Canoo had brokered a deal with retail giant Walmart that could keep the vehicle company afloat.

Walmart says it will buy 4,500 of Canoo’s uniquely shaped electrics to be used for deliveries.

In the end, Walmart could buy as many as 10,000 to use in support of its swelling e-commerce sales.

And while the deal between the companies isn’t exactly exclusive, there is one catch.

Reports say Walmart has included a caveat that requires Canoo to avoid selling vehicles to the retailer’s e-commerce rival, Amazon.

But Amazon has its own initiatives underway, with a 20% stake in EV-maker Rivian and plans for commercial use of the upcoming Ram ProMaster electric van.

With that in mind, it may have been unlikely that Amazon and Canoo would have pursued any type of deal in the first place.

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