Earth Rides, an all-electric ride-hailing app with a fleet of Teslas, has hailed its final fare.
The Nashville-based startup permanently shut down Jan. 19, according to a Fox 17 report, which cites anonymous employees.
The employees said they were not given notice of the closure and that Earth Rides still owes them three weeks of pay.
Founder and CEO Raven Hernandez did not immediately respond to a Business Journal request for comment.
The company’s home page says “Earth operations are currently paused." Riders who text a provided number for more information receive this message:
As of 2021, Earth Rides was nearing 50 local employees and had raised about $750,000 of a $1 million target on crowdfunding platform WeFunder. The company also attracted a $25,000 grant from Marcus Lemonis, host of CNBC's "The Profit" and CEO of Camping World, and had operations in Austin and Scottsdale.
Hernandez has been considered a rising star in Nashville’s entrepreneurial scene, as she and the company were featured on NBC’s Today Show in September and Earth Rides was a finalist for Technology Startup of the Year at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s 2022 Next Awards.
Earth Rides employees said they’ve received a message from the company saying their paychecks are delayed but have not received any other information and do not get phone calls or emails returned, according to the report.
"We are really sorry, we were working deals and trying to save the company but couldn't make it happen," the message reads.
Employees said they will pursue legal action if nothing changes.
