MULLEN AUTOMOTIVE INC. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____ to ___

Commission file number: 001-34887

MULLEN AUTOMOTIVE INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (714) 613-1900

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☐ YES   ☒ NO

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐ YES   ☒ NO

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ YES   ☐ NO

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ YES   ☐ NO

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ☐ YES ☒ NO

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common equity, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, as of March 31, 2021 was approximately $47.1 million.

The registrant had 23,383,202 shares of common stock outstanding as of December 27, 2021.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report” or “Report”) contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements contained in this Annual Report, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives of management and expected market growth, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this Report include but are not limited to:

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These forward-looking statements are only predictions and we may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, so you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in one or more of the forward-looking statements we make in this Annual Report. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We have included important factors in the cautionary statements included in this Annual Report, particularly in Part I, Item 1A, titled “Risk Factors,” that could cause actual future results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. Our forward-looking statements in this Annual Report do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.

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You should read this Annual Report and the documents that we have filed as exhibits to this Annual Report with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements in this Annual Report, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

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WEBSITE AND MEDIA DISCLOSURE

We use our website (www.mullenusa.com) and various social media channels as a means of disclosing information about the company and its products to our customers, investors, and the public (e.g.,  Instagram: @mullenusa; Twitter: @mullen_usa; Facebook: @MullenUSA; LinkedIn: @mullen-technologies; and Youtube: @mullenautomotive). The information provided on social media channels is not incorporated by reference in this report or in any other report we fie with the SEC.

The information we post throughout these channels may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor these channels, in addition to our following press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about the Company when you enroll your email address and other information by visiting “Investor Resources” section of our website at www.mullenusa.com.

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PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

References in this Annual Report to the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our” or similar references, or “Mullen,” mean Mullen Automotive Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiary/ies Ottava Automotive, Inc., a California corporation, and Mullen Investment Properties LLC .

Background

The Company was originally formed on April 20, 2010 as a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company. On October 2, 2012, the Company completed a merger with Net Element, Inc. changing its jurisdiction of incorporation to Delaware. On November 5, 2021, we closed a merger (as described below) with Mullen Technologies, which was formed in 2018. We are a Southern California-based electric vehicle company that operates in various verticals of businesses focused within the automotive industry.

On November 5, 2021, we closed a merger pursuant to a Second Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger dated July 20, 2021, and as amended by a First Amendment dated August 18, 2021 (together, the “Merger Agreement”), with Mullen Technologies, Inc., a California corporation (“Mullen Technologies”), Mullen Acquisition, Inc., a California corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), and Mullen Automotive, Inc., a California corporation (“Mullen Automotive-California”) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mullen Technologies, providing for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Mullen Automotive (the “Merger”), with Mullen Automotive-California, which changed its name to “Ottava Automotive Inc.”,  surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The Company also changed its name from “Net Element, Inc.” to “Mullen Automotive Inc.” and The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (Nasdaq Capital Market) ticker symbol for the Company’s Common Stock changed from “NETE” to “MULN” at the opening of trading on November 5, 2021. The new CUSIP number of the Common Stock is 62526P 109.

Pursuant to the Merger, the Company issued, or reserved for future issuance pursuant to outstanding warrants, an aggregate of 43,971,895 shares, which represented 85% of the combined company. The Merger was accounted for as a reverse merger transaction, in which Mullen Automotive-California is treated as the acquirer for financial accounting purposes.   For more information on the Merger, see “The Merger and Related Transactions” on page 15 of this Annual Report.

In connection with the Merger Agreement, and as disclosed in our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”)  on November 12, 2021, our fiscal year end has changed from December 31 to September 30, effective for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. As a result, and unless otherwise indicated, references to our fiscal year 2021 and prior years mean the fiscal year ended on September 30 of such year.

The Company

Mullen Automotive Inc. operates a Southern California-based electric vehicle company that operates in various verticals of businesses focused within the automotive industry. The Company has two electric vehicles under development, one of which we expect to begin delivery of in the second quarter of 2024. Mullen has several divisions that operate synergistic businesses, being: CarHub, a digital platform that leverages artificial intelligence to offer an interactive solution for buying, selling and owning a car, and Mullen Energy, a division focused on advancing battery technology and emergency point-of-care solutions.

Company Overview

Our Strength and Strategy

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For our initial launch we will use state-of-the-art Li-Ion technology, but we believe that our future battery technology will eventually allow us to deliver our high voltage batteries under $100 per kWh at over two times the energy density of current commercially available lithium batteries. We anticipate the batteries used in our cars will be able to withstand extreme abuse testing, which we believe should make them safer than other commercially available lithium batteries. We plan to utilize a more environmentally sustainable chemistry that does not have a high content of rare precious materials.

Our Market Opportunity

Sustainable vehicles are the future of transportation

In the last few years, we have observed a significant transformation in the motor vehicle landscape. Electric cars, which were once only a fringe element in a market dominated by major global automakers, are quickly becoming mainstream. Along with Tesla, which has been public since 2010, many major automakers are transitioning towards electric models. Joining them, our company and several other start-ups are developing EV offerings.

In our view, this trend is driven by several factors. A rising environmental consciousness is encouraging customers to weigh their emission footprint. As a zero-emission alternative to traditional internal combustion engine (“ICE”) options, an EV that can match or exceed an ICE in performance is a natural choice. Assisting with that choice, local and national governments are offering various forms of rebates and credits for the purchase of an EV and have otherwise begun to support the rise of e-mobility by accelerating the push for zero emission vehicles due to increased awareness of the impacts of global warming. As EV sales grow, parts volume is expected to grow in tandem, allowing automakers to purchase parts at a lower cost and further accelerating the switch to EVs. Lastly, the continuing improvement in battery technology,

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continuing build-out of electric charging infrastructure, and the growing comfort with EV range capabilities could ease “range anxiety” and facilitate adoption.

Source: Derived from data in Bloomberg Electric Vehicle Outlook 2020

The rise of the Sports Utility Vehicle

When designing our first EV offering, our team elected to develop a Sport Utility Vehicle (“SUV”) because of the recognized growth in SUV sales. According to market research, today’s customers increasingly prefer SUVs to traditional sedans or crossovers. According to JATO, an automotive market research firm, 2018 SUV sales globally, in the United States and the European Union were 29.8 million, 7.8 million and 5.4 million vehicles, respectively. According to Research Nester, a strategic market research and consulting firm, the global SUV market is forecasted to be 53.2 million SUVs in 2027.

Our Vehicles

Our initial entry into the EV and Crossover market will be designed, engineered, and manufactured in the United States. Our business model for entry into the EV market consists of core tenets that include speed-to-market (36 months), efficient use of funds and investments, experienced leadership and engineering, designed to US market needs, and complemented with a portfolio of competitively priced vehicles (multiple vehicles on one platforms) in the fast-growing ESUV segment.

We expect our products and services will include the following:

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Our Growth Strategy

We intend to leverage the following growth strategies to drive stakeholder value:

Our Manufacturing Approach

We have recently purchased a 124,700 sq ft facility located in Tunica, Mississippi. This property will be the site for both advanced manufacturing engineering center and vehicle production. This location will allow the development team to prove out our flexible manufacturing technologies and product design capability (e.g., strategic use of off-the-shelf components combined with in house developed critical components and software), while affording us the opportunity to customize and innovate our manufacturing processes and optimize our product design with simultaneous engineering efforts, thereby serving as Mullen’s Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Center (“AMEC”).

In support of the speed-to-market strategy, building a full-scale production facility is a significant milestone for our vehicle development and manufacturing teams. Building a production facility includes expansion of the existing 124,700 sq ft by an additional 1.2M sq ft; designing assembly lines (Body, Paint, General, and Offline); and preparing for the complexities of the manufacturing processes, while ensuring flexibility for critical changes. This plan includes utilizing existing assets that are currently in place for initial validation, and in parallel, begin efforts to design, develop, build, and equip the facility to support our planned production for Mullen FIVE and all other upcoming vehicles. We are currently in negotiations with several manufacturing integration companies that will assist in all aspects of design and development of the facility with completion by Q1 of 2024. The final constructed facility will be the location for testing functional vehicle prototypes as well a high-volume production assembly plant.

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Marketing and Brand Awareness

We plan to hire several key agencies to draw, solidify and execute our marketing plan, coexisting and succeeding across different consumer verticals: Social, Influencer, Search, Online, Podcast, TV, Print and Radio.

We will also utilize strategic regional and national tradeshows, sporting and automotive events to showcase our vehicles in person and generate further interest, reservations and vehicle orders.

We also intend to increase our online focus in 2023 to include online vehicle ordering, allowing customers full online vehicle purchase, with trade-in quote, financing and insurance options. Customer delivery is planned to be scheduled for “Mullen At Home” delivery or delivered to closest Mullen Lounge Point location, as described below.

Extended Warranty and Insurance

We intend to use a combination of third-party extended warranty, insurance and self-warranty and self-insurance mechanisms, potentially including (if financially feasible and in compliance with regulatory requirements) a wholly owned captive insurance subsidiary to provide for the insurance against certain risks, including auto liability and physical damage, general liability and products liability.

We are also planning to offer both financing and insurance of our vehicles. We believe we can reduce the total cost of ownership (“TCO”) for our customers and potentially generate additional sources of revenue by providing both financing and insurance for our vehicles.

We plan to keep introducing new customer programs and services to further define the Mullen customer experience. As described elsewhere in this Annual Report, we also plan to keep our lean sales, lease, and service model in order to be able to continue to offer great value to our customers regardless of the segment Mullen enters.

Direct Sales and Service

We are planning on launching with a direct sales model where we are the direct seller and servicer of our vehicles to consumers. This model is planned to be applied in states where direct sales models are legal and not challenged by typical franchise laws written for automotive franchise dealers.

Mullen Lounge Point

Lounge Point is expected to be the retail center experience for our retail sales network in North America and is planned to feature full vehicle sales interaction: including test drives, reservations, orders, trade-in, finance, insurance and delivery.

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Our approach is planned to be focused on superior consumer experience, in an easily accessible retail environment with a no pressure sales approach.

Our focus will be on delivering a premium vehicle experience while fitting nicely into everyday consumer life. Overall, the intention is to build vehicle sales opportunities upon awareness and involvement in customer communities.

It is expected that our initial set of retail Lounge Points will be established in high foot traffic centers where consumers visit daily and not off on a distance dealer row. This could be Main Street, outdoor based malls, entertainment complexes, commuter hubs and weekend leisure destinations.

Mullen Service Point and Mobile Service

It’s envisioned that Mullen Service Points will be established in close proximity to our planned retail sales Lounge Points, but not directly in the same location. Our sales and service locations are expected to serve different customer opportunities, and require drastically different layouts and square footage requirements. Establishing Service Points away from sales lowers our square footage cost and is expected to allow us to focus entirely on the customer in front of us.

It is expected that Mullen Service Points will be outfitted with the latest tools and repair service technology to efficiently service our vehicles. We also envisions offering vehicle collision repair and detailing services.

We also envision operating a mobile fleet of service vehicles that will be available on demand for offsite vehicle repair and service. It is expected that our mobile service technicians will be able to address and resolve most vehicle repairs while at the customer home or place of work.

It is expected that over-the-air (“OTA”) software updates and repairs will be made available to our vehicles via Wi-Fi or cellular connection. We believe we will be able to address specific vehicle alerts, allowing us to diagnosis and possibly fix the vehicle remotely, depending on the problem. It is also expected that general software updates will be conducted OTA as well. In general, OTA repairs and updates require less service visits for customers and better overall customer experience.

Research and Development

As an emerging automaker, we will rely heavily on research and development to establish and strengthen our market position. We will primarily conduct our research and development activities at our headquarters in Brea, California, and at our partners’ facilities with the majority of the activities focused on the research and development of our EVs and software technology platforms. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, we incurred research and development

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expense of $3.0 million, which includes the development of 2 Mullen Five show cars that were debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2021. We will strive to undertake significant testing and validation of our products in order to ensure that we meet the demands of our customers.

Intellectual Property

Our success depends in part upon our ability to protect our core technology and intellectual property. We attempt to protect our intellectual property rights, both in the United States and abroad, through a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as nondisclosure and invention assignment agreements with our consultants and employees, and we seek to control access to and distribution of our proprietary information through non-disclosure agreements with our vendors and business partners.

Trademarks

We have developed and use trademarks in our business, particularly relating to our corporate and product names. We own 7 trademarks that are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, plus 42 trademarks registered across the foreign jurisdictions of China, the EU, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, and Singapore.

We plan to file additional applications for the registration of our trademarks in foreign jurisdictions as our business expands under current and planned distribution arrangements. Protection of registered trademarks in some jurisdictions may not be as extensive as the protection provided by registration in the United States.

The following tables summarize information regarding our patents and patent applications. There are no assurances given that the pending applications will be granted or that they will, if granted, contain all of the claims currently included in the applications.

Patents.

We have 5 patents issued in the United States, and 7 patents pending. At foreign patent offices, we have 7 patents issued and 117 patents pending.

Trade Secrets. We own certain intellectual property, including trade secrets, which we seek to protect, in part, through confidentiality agreements with employees and other parties. Even where these agreements exist, there can be no assurance that these agreements will not be breached, that we would have adequate remedies for any breach, or that our trade secrets will not otherwise become known to or independently developed by competitors.

We intend to protect our legal rights concerning intellectual property by all appropriate legal action. Consequently, we may become involved from time to time in litigation to determine the enforceability, scope, and validity of any of the foregoing proprietary rights. Any patent litigation could result in substantial cost and divert the efforts of management and technical personnel.

Government Regulation and Credits

We operate in an industry that is subject to extensive environmental regulation, which has become more stringent over time. The laws and regulations to which we are subject govern, among others, water use; air emissions; use of recycled materials; energy sources; the storage, handling, treatment, transportation and disposal of hazardous materials; the protection of the environment, natural resources and endangered species; and the remediation of environmental contamination. Compliance with such laws and regulations at an international, regional, national, provincial and local level is an important aspect of our ability to continue our operations.

Environmental standards applicable to us are established by the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate, including standards adopted by regulatory agencies as well as the permits and licenses required by such agencies. Each of these sources is subject to periodic modifications and we anticipate increasingly stringent requirements. Violations of these laws, regulations or permits and licenses may result in substantial civil and criminal fines, penalties, and possibly orders

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to cease the violating operations or to conduct or pay for corrective works. In some instances, violations may also result in the suspension or revocation of permits and licenses.

Emissions

In the Unites States, Europe and China, there are vehicle emissions performance standards that may provide an opportunity for us to sell emissions credits.

United States

California has greenhouse gas emissions standards that closely follow the standards of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA"). The registration and sale of Zero Emission Vehicles (“ZEVs”) in California will earn us ZEV credits that we can sell to other OEMs. Other states within the United States have adopted similar standards including Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. We intend to take advantage of these regimes by registering and selling ZEVs in these other states.

ZEV credits in California are calculated under the ZEV Regulation and are paid in relation to ZEVs sold and registered in California including Battery Electric Vehicles (“BEVs”) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (“FCEVs”).

The ZEV program assigns ZEV credits to each vehicle manufacturer. Vehicle manufacturers are required to maintain ZEV credits equal to a set percentage of non-electric vehicles sold and registered in California.

Each vehicle sold and registered in California earns a number of credits based on the drivetrain type and the all-electric range (“AER”) of the vehicle under the Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule Test Cycle. Plug-in hybrid vehicles (“PHEVs”) receive between 0.4 and 1.3 credits per vehicle sold and registered in California. Battery electric and fuel cell vehicles receive between one and four credits per vehicle sold in California, based on range.

The credit requirement was 7% in 2019 which required about 3% of sales to be ZEVs. The credit requirement will rise to 22% in 2025, which will require about 8% of sales to be ZEVs.

If a vehicle manufacturer does not produce enough EVs to meet our quota, it can choose to buy credits from other manufacturers who do, or pay a $5,000 fine for each credit such manufacturer is short. This should provide an opportunity for us to sell credits to other manufacturers that may not have met their quota.

EPA Emissions and Certificate of Conformity

The United States Clean Air Act requires that we obtain a Certificate of Conformity issued by the EPA and a California Executive Order issued by the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) concerning emissions for our vehicles. A Certificate of Conformity is required for vehicles sold in states covered by the Clean Air Act’s standards and an Executive Order is required for vehicles sold in states that have sought and received a waiver from the EPA to utilize California standards. CARB sets the California standards for emissions control for certain regulated pollutants for new vehicles and engines sold in California. States that have adopted the California standards as approved by EPA also recognize the Executive Order for sales of vehicles. There are currently four states which have adopted the California standard for heavy-duty vehicles.

The Greenhouse Gas Rule was incorporated into the Clean Air Act on August 9, 2011. Even though Mullen’s vehicles have zero-emissions, Mullen is still required to seek an EPA Certificate of Conformity for the Greenhouse Gas Rule and a CARB Executive Order for the CARB Greenhouse Gas Rule.

Vehicle Safety and Testing

Our vehicles will be subject to, and will be required to comply with, numerous regulatory requirements established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), including applicable United States federal motor vehicle safety standards (“FMVSS”). We intend that the Mullen FIVE will fully comply with all applicable FMVSSs without the

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need for any exemptions and expect our future vehicles to either fully comply or comply with limited exemptions related to new technologies. Additionally, there are regulatory changes being considered for several FMVSS, and while we anticipate compliance, there is no assurance until final regulation changes are enacted.

As a manufacturer, we must self-certify that our vehicles meet all applicable FMVSSs, as well as the NHTSA bumper standard, or otherwise are exempt, before the vehicles can be imported or sold in the U.S. Numerous FMVSSs will apply to our vehicles, such as crash-worthiness requirements, crash avoidance requirements and EV requirements. We will also be required to comply with other federal laws administered by the NHTSA, including the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (“CAFE") standards, Theft Prevention Act requirements, consumer information labeling requirements, Early Warning Reporting requirements regarding warranty claims, field reports, death and injury reports and foreign recalls and owner’s manual requirements.

The Automobile Information and Disclosure Act requires manufacturers of motor vehicles to disclose certain information regarding the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, optional equipment and pricing. In addition, this law allows inclusion of city and highway fuel economy ratings, as determined by the EPA, as well as crash test ratings as determined by the NHTSA if such tests are conducted.

Our vehicles that may be sold outside of the United States are subject to similar foreign safety, environmental and other regulations. Many of those regulations are different from those applicable in the United States and may require redesign and/or retesting. The European Union has established new rules regarding additional compliance oversight that were scheduled to commence in 2020, and there is also regulatory uncertainty related to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. These changes could impact the rollout of new vehicle features in Europe.

In addition to the various territorial legal requirements Mullen is obligated to meet, we plan to engineer the Mullen 5 to deliver 5-star performance in the two main voluntary vehicle safety performance assessment programs, United States New Car Assessment Program (“NCAP”) and Euro NCAP. Five-star is the maximum attainable score. These independent organizations have introduced a number of additional safety related tests aimed at improving the safety of passenger vehicles, both for occupants and pedestrians involved in collisions with vehicles. Some of these tests are derived from the legal tests, such as side impact, but have higher performance requirements. Others are unique to the program. Areas covered by these tests in 2020 include:

We intend that the Mullen FIVE will also be equipped with certain advanced driving assistance features which may allow us to garner further Euro NCAP awards for features which are not yet a formal part of the 5 Star rating. This will help promote the advanced societal benefits of the Mullen FIVE.

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Exercise of Warrants by ESOUSA Holdings, LLC

As previously reported, on December 29, 2017, the Company entered into, and consummated the transactions contemplated by a Unit Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with ESOUSA Holdings, LLC, a New York limited liability company (“ESOUSA”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, on December 29, 2017, the Company sold to ESOUSA, among other securities, 404,676 five-year warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock (the “Purchase Warrants”) at a purchase price of $0.125 per share and exercise price of $11.12 per share.

On November 3, 2021, the Company and ESOUSA agreed to reduce the exercise price of the Purchase Warrants from $11.12 to $6.796 per share (the “Reduced Exercise Price”) in consideration for the exercise in full of all, but not less than all, Purchase Warrants by ESOUSA to acquire shares of the Company’s Common stock. The Company entered into an exercise price reduction offer letter agreement (the “Letter Agreement”) with ESOUSA to purchase a total of 404,676 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, ESOUSA and the Company agreed that ESOUSA would exercise its Purchase Warrants with respect to all of the shares of the Company Common Stock underlying such Purchase Warrants for the Reduced Exercise Price. The Company expects to receive aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $2,750,178 from the exercise of the Purchase Warrants by ESOUSA. After the full exercise of the Purchase Warrants by ESOUSA, no Purchase Warrants will be outstanding.

Entry into Master Exchange Agreement with ESOUSA Holdings, LLC

On July 9, 2021, the Company entered into a new Master Exchange Agreement, (the “New ESOUSA Agreement”) with ESOUSA. Prior to entering into the New ESOUSA Agreement, ESOUSA agreed to acquire the existing promissory notes that had been previously issued by the Company, of up to $15,000,000 in principal amount outstanding plus interest due to RBL Capital Group, LLC ("RBL"). Pursuant to the New ESOUSA Agreement, the Company has the right, at any time prior to July 8, 2022, to request ESOUSA, and ESOUSA agreed upon each such request, to exchange such promissory notes in tranches on the dates when the Company instructs ESOUSA, for such number of shares of Common Stock as determined under the New ESOUSA Agreement based upon the number of shares of Common Stock (already in ESOUSA’s possession) that ESOUSA sold in order to finance its purchase of such tranche of the promissory note from RBL. ESOUSA will purchase each tranche of the promissory note equal to 88% of the gross proceeds from the shares of Common Stock sold by ESOUSA to finance the purchase of such exchange amount from RBL, with each such tranche to be in an amount equal to $100,000 unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Company and ESOUSA.

The Merger and Related Transactions

On August 4, 2020, the Company, as Net Element, Inc., entered into the Merger Agreement with Mullen Technologies, Merger Sub, and Mullen Automotive-California, providing for the Merger, with Mullen Automotive-California surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

On November 3, 2021, the Company filed an amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State, pursuant to which the Company’s name was changed from “Net Element, Inc.” to “Mullen Automotive Inc.”  In connection with the Name Change, The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (“Nasdaq Capital Market”) ticker symbol for the Company’s Common Stock changed from “NETE” to “MULN.”

On November 5, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Company closed the Merger whereby Merger Sub merged with and into the Mullen Automotive-California, with Mullen Automotive-California surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and changed its name to “Ottava Automotive Inc.” At the effective time of the Merger, each share of Mullen Automotive-California common stock, Mullen Automotive-California Series A Preferred Stock, Mullen Automotive-California Series B Preferred Stock and Mullen Automotive-California Series C Preferred Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Merger, other than dissenting shares, were canceled and converted automatically into the right to receive a number of shares of Company Common Stock, Company Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 ("Series A Preferred"), Series B Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 ("Series B Preferred"), and Series C Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 ("Series C Preferred"), as the case may be, determined in accordance with the Merger Agreement and as provided in Schedule A to the Merger Agreement. As a result, the Company issued an aggregate of 15,647,321 shares of Common Stock, 15,367 shares of Series A Preferred (which converts into

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1,536,692 shares of Common Stock), 5,567,319 shares of Series B Preferred, and 4,973,093 shares of Series C Preferred. Pursuant to the Merger, an aggregate of 43,971,895 shares, which represented 85% of the combined company, were allocated to holders of Common Stock, Preferred Stock and reserved for issuance under outstanding warrants.

On the Closing Date, the board of directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) approved a change in the Company’s fiscal year end from December 31 to September 30, the fiscal year end of Mullen Automotive-California.

Also on the Closing Date, the Company filed a Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”) with the Delaware Secretary of State of the State to effectuate the following changes, which were approved at a special meeting of the Company’s stockholders held on August 26, 2021 (the “Special Meeting”):

Also on the Closing Date, and as contemplated by the terms of the Merger Agreement, Oleg Firer, John Roland, Jon Najarian, and Todd Raarup each resigned as a director of the Company (including any committee of the Board of Directors) and Jeffrey Ginsberg, Andrey Krotov, Vlad Sadovskiy, and Steven Wolberg resigned as officers of the Company. At such time, as approved at the Special Meeting, David Michery, Jerry Alban, Mary Winter, Kent Puckett, Mark Betor, William Miltner and Jonathan New became directors of the Company to serve until the annual meeting of the year designated to their respective Director Class and until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified. Furthermore, David Michery was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Kerri Sadler was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, Jerry Alban was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of the Company, and Mary Winter was appointed as Secretary of the Company.

The foregoing description of the Merger and related transactions does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Merger Agreement dated July 20, 2021, as amended August 18, 2021, copies of which are filed as Exhibits to the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 21, 2021 and August 19, 2021.

Human Capital Resources

Talent Attraction and Capability Assessment

In an environment where many employees are no longer bound to physical locations, where and how we source our talent is evolving. From a capability perspective, we are leveraging best practices in assessments and talent management to current capabilities and future pipeline while reinforcing a culture of belonging, empowerment, and innovation.

Diversity and Inclusion

We strive to attract a pool of diverse and exceptional candidates and support their career growth once they become employees. In addition, we seek to hire based on talent rather than solely on educational pedigree. We also believe that

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our ability to retain our workforce is dependent on our ability to foster an environment that is sustainably safe, respectful, fair, and inclusive of everyone and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside of our business.

Our Employees

As of September 30, 2021, we employed 44 full-time employees based primarily in our headquarters and engineering offices, in Brea and Anaheim, California, respectively. A majority of our employees are engaged in automotive, finance, and engineering related functions. To date, we have not experienced any work stoppages and consider our relationship with our employees to be in good standing. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or subject to a collective bargaining agreement.

Available Information

We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") and file or furnish reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports, also are available free of charge on the investors section of our website at www.mullenusa.com when such reports are available on the SEC’s website. Further corporate governance information, including our certificate of incorporation, bylaws, governance guidelines, board committee charters, and code of business conduct and ethics, is also available on the investors section of our website.

The contents of the websites referred to above are not incorporated into this filing or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to these websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Report, including “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, as well as the preceding “Business” section of this Report, before engaging in any transaction in our securities. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or prospects, and cause the value of our securities to decline, which could cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

Summary

Risks Related to Mullen’s Capital Requirements and Financial Condition

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Risks Related to Mullen’s Business and Operations

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Risk Factors

Risks Related to our Capital Requirements and Financial Condition

We have incurred significant losses since inception and we expect that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, which makes it difficult to assess our future viability.

We have not been profitable since operations commenced, and we may never achieve or sustain profitability. In addition, we have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully overcome many of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in new and rapidly evolving fields such as the electric vehicle (“EV”) industry. Development and deployment of EV technology and vehicles is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. We have not yet commercialized any of our proposed EV products or generated any revenue from sales of such products. We have devoted significant resources to research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations.

We will require significant additional capital to continue operations and to execute on our current business strategy. Mullen cannot estimate with reasonable certainty the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our proposed products and there is no certainty that we will be able to raise the necessary capital on reasonable terms or at all.

We will require substantial additional financing to effectuate our business plan, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development efforts or other operations.

For the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, we incurred net losses of $44.2 million and $30.2 million, respectively, and net cash used in operating activities was $17.5 million and $10.8 million, respectively. At September 30, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $150.4 million and a working capital deficit of $64.4 million. We will need significant capital to, among other things, conduct research and development, increase our production capacity and expand our sales and service network. We expect to continue to incur substantial operating losses for the next several years as we advance our product development and commercialization efforts. No substantial revenue from operations will likely be available until, and unless, such efforts are successful.

We expect our capital expenditures to continue to be significant in the foreseeable future as we expand our business, and that once our cars are in production our level of capital expenditures will be significantly affected by user demand for our products and services. The fact that we have a limited operating history means we have limited historical data on the demand for our products and services. As a result, our future capital requirements may be uncertain and actual capital requirements may be different from those we currently anticipate. We will likely need to seek equity or debt financing to finance a portion of our capital expenditures. Such financing might not be available to us in a timely manner, or on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all.

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Our ability to obtain the necessary financing to carry out our business plan is subject to a number of factors, including general market conditions and investor acceptance of our business plan. These factors may make the timing, amount, terms and conditions of such financing unattractive or unavailable to us. In particular, recent disruptions in the financial markets and volatile economic conditions could affect our ability to raise capital. If we raise additional capital through marketing and distribution arrangements or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish certain valuable rights to our product candidates, technologies, future revenue streams or research programs or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable. If we raise additional capital through public or private equity offerings, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of any new equity securities may have preferential rights over our Common Stock and further may restrict our ability to obtain additional financing even if needed to continue operations. Further, the ability to fund our needs through equity issuances, warrants or convertible debt is or may be limited by covenants in certain of our existing and future funding or other agreements. If we raise additional capital through debt financing, we would have increased debt service obligations and may be subject to covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt or making capital expenditures, or subject to specified financial ratios, any of which could restrict our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates or operate as a business.

Additional capital may not be available when we need it, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available to us on a timely basis, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our establishment of sales and marketing, manufacturing or distribution capabilities, development activities or other activities that may be necessary to commercialize our proposed products or other development activities. We might not be able to obtain any funding, and we might not have sufficient resources to conduct our business as projected, both of which could mean that we would be forced to curtail or discontinue our operations.

We have not yet manufactured or sold any production vehicles to customers and may never develop or manufacture any vehicles.

We have no experience as an organization in high volume manufacturing of the planned electric vehicles and we cannot assure you that us or our partners will be able to develop efficient, automated, cost-efficient manufacturing capability and processes, and reliable sources of component supplies that will enable us to meet the quality, price, engineering, design and production standards, as well as the production volumes, required to successfully mass market our EVs. Even if we are able to successfully develop and sell or lease our vehicles, there can be no assurance that we will be commercially successful and achieve or sustain profitability. As a new entrant into our industry, we will face significant risks and challenges to our business and prospects, including, among other things, with respect to our ability to:

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If we fails to adequately address any or all of these risks and challenges, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

Our limited operating history makes it difficult for us to evaluate our future business prospects.

As we attempt to transition from research and development activities to commercial production and sales, it is difficult, if not impossible, to forecast our future results, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. The estimated costs and timelines that we have developed to reach full scale commercial production are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties involved in the transition from a start-up company focused on research and development activities to the large-scale manufacture and sale of vehicles. There can be no assurance that our estimates related to the costs and timing necessary to complete design and engineering of our EVs and to tool our facilities will prove accurate. These are complex processes that may be subject to delays, cost overruns and other unforeseen issues. For example, the tooling required within our facilities may be more expensive to produce than predicted, or have a shorter lifespan, resulting in additional replacement and maintenance costs, which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Similarly, we may experience higher raw material waste in the composite process than we expect, resulting in higher operating costs and hampering our ability to be profitable.

In addition, market conditions, many of which are outside of our control and subject to change, including general economic conditions, the availability and terms of financing, the impacts and ongoing uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic, fuel and energy prices, regulatory requirements and incentives, competition and the pace and extent of vehicle electrification generally, will impact demand for our electric vehicles, and ultimately our success.

Our auditor has expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

The audit report on our financial statements for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 includes an explanatory paragraph related to our recurring losses from operations and dependence on additional financing to continue as a going concern. In view of these matters, our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise additional debt or equity financings or enter into strategic partnerships. Since our inception, we have financed our operations through convertible debt financings. We intend to continue to finance our operations through debt or equity financing and/or strategic partnerships. The failure to obtain sufficient financing or strategic partnerships could adversely affect our ability to achieve our business objectives and continue as a going concern.

Our senior lender has a security interest on all our assets and the Internal Revenue Service has liens on our assets, and if these lienholders foreclose, that would be detrimental to our business, our financial condition and our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our senior lender has a security interest on all of our assets. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has liens of $3.8 million on our assets. We are in default on such loan. Should either our senior lender or the IRS foreclose, each could secure judgments against our assets. This would be materially detrimental to our business, our financial condition and our ability to operate as a going concern.

We have not paid cash dividends on our Common Stock in the past and do not expect to pay dividends on our Common Stock in the future. Any return on investment may be limited to the value of our Common Stock.

We have never paid cash dividends on our Common Stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the near future. The payment of dividends on our Common Stock will depend on earnings, financial condition and other business and

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economic factors affecting us at such time as the Board of Directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay dividends, our Common Stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates.

We have a substantial amount of debt which is considered significant for a company of our size and which could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to react to changes in our business.

As of September 30, 2021, we had an aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding of approximately $39.5 million. We believe that this is a substantial amount of indebtedness, which is considered significant for a company of our size and current level of operations. Our substantial debt could have important consequences to us. For example, it could:

Any of the foregoing impacts of our substantial indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our debt or refinance our obligations and we may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under such indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on our indebtedness or to refinance our obligations under our debt agreements, will depend on our financial and operating performance, which, in turn, will be subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to the financial and business risk factors we face as described in this section, many of which may be beyond our control. We may not be able to achieve or maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures or planned growth objectives, seek to obtain additional equity capital or restructure our indebtedness. In the future, our cash flows and capital resources may not be sufficient for payments of interest on and principal of our debt, and such alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the recent worldwide credit crisis could make it more difficult for us to refinance our indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all. In the absence of such operating results and resources, we may be required to dispose of material assets to meet our debt service obligations. We may not be able to consummate those sales, or, if we do, we will not control the timing of the sales or whether the proceeds that we realizes will be adequate to meet debt service obligations when due.

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Risks Related to our Business and Operations

We may be unable to develop, manufacture and obtain required regulatory approvals for a car of sufficient quality to appeal to customers on schedule or at all, or may be unable to do so on a large scale.

Our business depends in large part on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell or lease our EVs. Our ability to effectively compete in the EV market will depend in large part on our entry into the ESUV market through the offering of competitively priced vehicles to a wider variety of potential buyers.

We initially plan to manufacture vehicles in collaboration with one or more automotive component and engineering services suppliers, including large OEMs or tier-one automotive suppliers. We have not yet executed definitive supply or manufacturing agreements with any OEM or tier-one automotive supplier for the supply of parts for production of our initial proposed ESUVs or any of our other future vehicle offerings. If we are unable to negotiate and finalize such supply and manufacturing agreements with an OEM or a tier-one automotive supplier, we will not be able to produce any ESUVs and will not be able to generate significant revenue, or the vehicles may become more expensive to deliver with a higher bill of materials, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

The continued development and the ability to start manufacturing our vehicles are and will be subject to risks, including with respect to:

Our ability to develop, manufacture and obtain required regulatory approvals for a vehicle of sufficient quality to appeal to customers on schedule and on a large scale is unproven, and the business plan is still evolving. We may be required to introduce new vehicle models and enhanced versions of existing models. To date, we have limited experience, as a company, designing, testing, manufacturing, marketing and selling or leasing our electric vehicles and therefore cannot assure you that we will be able to meet customer expectations. Any failure to develop such manufacturing processes and capabilities within our projected costs and timelines would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

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Our vehicles will make use of lithium-ion battery cells, which have been observed to catch fire or vent smoke and flame, and, if such results occur, bodily injury or death could result and could subject us to lawsuit, product recalls, or redesign efforts.

The battery packs within our proposed vehicles will make use of lithium-ion cells. On rare occasions, lithium-ion cells can rapidly release the energy they contain by venting smoke and flames in a manner that can ignite nearby materials as well as other lithium-ion cells. While the battery pack is designed to contain any single cell’s release of energy without spreading to neighboring cells, once our vehicles are commercially available, a field or testing failure of battery packs in our vehicles could occur, which could result in bodily injury or death and could subject us to lawsuit, product recalls, or redesign efforts, all of which would be time consuming and expensive and could harm our brand image. Also, negative public perceptions regarding the suitability of lithium-ion cells for automotive applications, the social and environmental impacts of cobalt mining, or any future incident involving lithium-ion cells, such as a vehicle or other fire, could seriously harm our business and reputation.

The efficiency of a battery’s use over time when driving electric vehicles will decline over time, which may negatively influence potential customers’ decisions whether to purchase an electric vehicle.

The cells used in EV battery modules degrade over time, influenced primarily by the age of the cells and the total energy throughput over the life of the EV. This cell degradation results in a corresponding reduction in the vehicle’s range. Although common to all EVs, cell degradation, and the related decrease in range, may negatively influence potential customer’s EV purchase decisions.

We are substantially reliant on our relationships with OEMs, suppliers and service providers for the parts and components in our vehicles, as well as for the manufacture of our initial vehicles. If any of these OEMs, suppliers or service partners choose to not do business with us, then we would have significant difficulty in procuring and producing our vehicles and our business prospects would be significantly harmed.

Collaboration with third parties for the manufacturing of vehicles is subject to risks with respect to operations that are outside our control. We could experience delays to the extent our current or future partners do not continue doing business with us or fail to meet agreed upon timelines, experience capacity constraints or otherwise are unable to deliver components or manufacture vehicles as expected. There is risk of potential disputes with partners, and we could be affected by adverse publicity related to our partners whether or not such publicity is related to their collaboration with us. In addition, although we intend to be involved in material decisions in the supply chain process, given that we also rely on our partners to meet our quality standards, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain high quality standards.

We may in the future enter into strategic alliances, including joint ventures or minority equity investments, with various third parties to further our business purpose. These alliances could subject us to a number of risks, including risks associated with sharing proprietary information, non-performance by the third party, and increased expenses in establishing new strategic alliances, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business.

We will rely on complex machinery for our operations and production involves a significant degree of risk and uncertainty in terms of operational performance and costs.

We will rely heavily on complex machinery for our operations and our production will involve a significant degree of uncertainty and risk in terms of operational performance and costs. It is expected that our manufacturing plant will consist of large-scale machinery combining many components. The manufacturing plant components are likely to suffer unexpected malfunctions from time to time and will depend on repairs and spare parts to resume operations, which may not be available when needed. Unexpected malfunctions of the manufacturing plant components may significantly affect the intended operational efficiency. Operational performance and costs can be difficult to predict and are often influenced by factors outside of our control, such as, but not limited to, scarcity of natural resources, environmental hazards and remediation, costs associated with decommissioning of machines, labor disputes and strikes, difficulty or delays in obtaining governmental permits, damages or defects in electronic systems, industrial accidents, fire, and seismic activity and natural disasters. Should operational risks materialize, they may result in the personal injury to or death of workers, the loss of production equipment, damage to manufacturing facilities, monetary losses, delays and unanticipated

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fluctuations in production, environmental damage, administrative fines, increased insurance costs and potential legal liabilities, all which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition or prospects.

There are complex software and technology systems that need to be developed in coordination with vendors and suppliers in order to reach production for our EVs, and there can be no assurance such systems will be successfully developed.

Our vehicles will use a substantial amount of third-party and in-house software codes and complex hardware to operate. The development of such advanced technologies is inherently complex, and we will need to coordinate with our vendors and suppliers in order to reach production for our EVs. Defects and errors may be revealed over time and our control over the performance of third-party services and systems may be limited. Thus, our potential inability to develop the necessary software and technology systems may harm our competitive position.

We are relying on third-party suppliers to develop a number of emerging technologies for use in our products, including solid-state polymer battery technology. These technologies are not today, and may not ever be, commercially viable. There can be no assurances that our suppliers will be able to meet the technological requirements, production timing, and volume requirements to support our business plan. In addition, the technology may not comply with the cost, performance useful life and warranty characteristics we anticipate in our business plan. As a result, our business plan could be significantly impacted, and we may incur significant liabilities under warranty claims which could adversely affect our business, prospects, and results of operations.

We may experience significant delays in the design, manufacture, regulatory approval, launch and financing of our vehicles, which could harm our business and prospects.

Any delay in the financing, design, manufacture, regulatory approval or launch of our vehicles, including entering into agreements for platform sharing, supply of component parts, and manufacturing, could materially damage our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results and could cause liquidity constraints. Vehicle manufacturers often experience delays in the design, manufacture and commercial release of new products. To the extent we delay the launch of our vehicles, our growth prospects could be adversely affected as we may fail to establish or grow our market share. We rely on third-party suppliers for the provision and development of the key components and materials used in our vehicles. To the extent our suppliers experience any delays in providing us with or developing necessary components, we could experience delays in delivering on our timelines.

We will be dependent on our suppliers, a significant number of which are single or limited source suppliers, and the inability of these suppliers to deliver necessary components of our vehicles in a timely manner and at prices and volumes acceptable to us could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects and operating results.

While we plan to obtain components from multiple sources whenever possible, many of the components used in our vehicles will be purchased by us from a single source. While we believe that we may be able to establish alternate supply relationships and can obtain or engineer replacement components for our single source components, we may be unable to do so in the short term (or at all) at prices or quality levels that are acceptable to us. In addition, we could experience delays if our suppliers do not meet agreed upon timelines or experience capacity constraints.

Any disruption in the supply of components, whether or not from a single source supplier, could temporarily disrupt production of our vehicles until an alternative supplier is able to supply the required material. Changes in business conditions, unforeseen circumstances, governmental changes, and other factors beyond our control or which we do not presently anticipate, could also affect our suppliers’ ability to deliver components to us on a timely basis. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

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If any of our suppliers become economically distressed or goes bankrupt, we may be required to provide substantial financial support or take other measures to ensure supplies of components or materials, which could increase our costs, affect our liquidity or cause production disruptions.

We expect to purchase various types of equipment, raw materials and manufactured component parts from our suppliers. If these suppliers experience substantial financial difficulties, cease operations, or otherwise face business disruptions, we may be required to provide substantial financial support to ensure supply continuity or would have to take other measures to ensure components and materials remain available. Any disruption could affect’s our ability to deliver vehicles and could increase our costs and negatively affect our liquidity and financial performance.

We have a limited operating history and face significant challenges as a new entrant into the automotive industry, our vehicles are in development, and we do not expect our first vehicle to be produced until the second quarter of 2024, at the earliest, if at all.

We have a short operating history in the automobile industry, which is continuously evolving. We have no experience as an organization in high volume manufacturing of the planned EVs. We cannot assure you that us or our partners will be able to develop efficient, automated, cost-efficient manufacturing capability and processes, and reliable sources of component supplies that will enable us to meet the quality, price, engineering, design and production standards, as well as the production volumes, required to successfully mass-market future vehicles. You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and significant challenges we face as a new entrant into our industry, including, among other things, with respect to our ability to:

If we fail to adequately address any or all of these risks and challenges, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

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We are an early-stage company with a history of losses and expects to incur significant expenses and continuing losses for the foreseeable future. There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

We have incurred a net loss since our inception. We believe that we will continue to incur operating and net losses each quarter until at least the time we begin significant deliveries of our vehicles. Even if we are able to successfully develop, manufacture, and sell or lease our vehicles, there can be no assurance that they will be commercially successful.

We expect the rate at which we will incur losses to be significantly higher in future periods as we, among other things: design, develop and manufacture our vehicles; build up inventories of parts and components for our vehicles; increase our sales and marketing activities, including opening new Mullen Experience Centers; develop our distribution infrastructure; and, increase our general and administrative functions to support our growing operations. We may find that these efforts are more expensive than we currently anticipate or that these efforts may not result in revenues, which would further increase our losses.

Our independent registered public accounting firm has included an emphasis of matter paragraph regarding our ability to continue as a going concern in its opinion on our September 30, 2021 consolidated financial statements due to insufficient capital for us to fund our operations.

Our business model has yet to be tested and any failure to commercialize our strategic plans would have an adverse effect on our operating results and business, harm our reputation and could result in substantial liabilities that exceed our resources.

Investors should be aware of the difficulties normally encountered by a new enterprise, many of which are beyond our control, including substantial risks and expenses while establishing or entering new markets, setting up operations and undertaking marketing activities. The likelihood of our success must be considered in light of these risks, expenses, complications, delays, and the competitive environment in which we operate. There is, therefore, nothing at this time upon which to base an assumption that our business model will prove successful, and we may not be able to generate significant revenue, raise additional capital or operate profitably. We will continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by early commercial stage companies, including scaling up our infrastructure and headcount, and may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties or delays in connection with our growth. In addition, as a result of the capital-intensive nature of our business, we can be expected to continue to sustain substantial operating expenses without generating sufficient revenues to cover expenditures. Any investment in our company is therefore highly speculative and could result in the loss of your entire investment.

We may not be able to accurately estimate the supply and demand for our vehicles, which could result in a variety of inefficiencies in our business and hinder our ability to generate revenue. If we fail to accurately predict our manufacturing requirements, we could incur additional costs or experience delays.

It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we may have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. We will be required to provide forecasts of our demand to our suppliers several months prior to the scheduled delivery of products to our prospective customers. Currently, there is no historical basis for making judgments on the demand for our vehicles or our ability to develop, manufacture, and deliver vehicles, or our profitability in the future. If we overestimate our requirements, our suppliers may have excess inventory, which indirectly would increase our costs. If we underestimate our requirements, our suppliers may have inadequate inventory, which could interrupt manufacturing of our products and result in delays in shipments and revenues. In addition, lead times for materials and components that our suppliers order may vary significantly and depend on factors such as the specific supplier, contract terms and demand for each component at a given time. If we fail to order sufficient quantities of product components in a timely manner, the delivery of vehicles to our customers could be delayed, which would harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

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We could experience cost increases or disruptions in supply of raw materials or other components used in our vehicles. If we are unable to establish an arrangement for the sustainable supply of batteries for our vehicles, our business would be materially and adversely harmed.

We may be unable to adequately control the costs associated with our operations. We expect to incur significant costs related to procuring raw materials required to manufacture and assemble our vehicles. The prices for these raw materials fluctuate depending on factors beyond our control. Our business also depends on the continued supply of battery cells for our vehicles. We are exposed to multiple risks relating to availability and pricing of quality solid-state polymer battery cells and lithium-ion battery cells.

Furthermore, currency fluctuations, tariffs or shortages in petroleum and other economic or political conditions may result in significant increases in freight charges and raw material costs. Substantial increases in the prices for our raw materials or components would increase our operating costs and could reduce our margins. In addition, a growth in popularity of electric vehicles without a significant expansion in battery cell production capacity could result in shortages, which would result in increased costs in raw materials to us or impact our prospects.

If our vehicles fail to perform as expected, our ability to develop, market, and sell or lease our electric vehicles could be harmed.

Once production commences, our vehicles may contain defects in design and manufacture that may cause them not to perform as expected or that may require repair, recalls, and design changes. Our vehicles will use a substantial amount of software code to operate and software products are inherently complex and often contain defects and errors when first introduced. We have a limited frame of reference by which to evaluate the long-term performance of our systems and vehicles. There can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and fix any defects in the vehicles prior to their sale to consumers. If any of our vehicles fail to perform as expected, we may need to delay deliveries or initiate product recalls, which could adversely affect our brand in our target markets and could adversely affect our business, prospects, and results of operations.

Our services may not be generally accepted by our users. If we are unable to provide quality customer service, our business and reputation may be materially and adversely affected.

Our servicing may primarily be carried out through third parties certified by us. Although such servicing partners may have experience in servicing other vehicles, they will initially have limited experience in servicing our vehicles. There can be no assurance that our service arrangements will adequately address the service requirements of our customers to their satisfaction, or that us or any of our proposed service partners will have sufficient resources to meet these service requirements in a timely manner as the volume of vehicles we deliver increases.

The automotive market is highly competitive, and we may not be successful in competing in this industry.

Both the automobile industry generally, and the electric vehicle segment, in particular, is highly competitive, and we will be competing for sales with both internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles and other EVs. Many of our current and potential competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products, including their electric vehicles. We expect competition for electric vehicles to intensify due to increased demand and a regulatory push for alternative fuel vehicles, continuing globalization, and consolidation in the worldwide automotive industry. Factors affecting competition include product quality and features, innovation and development time, pricing, reliability, safety, fuel economy, customer service, and financing terms. Increased competition may lead to lower vehicle unit sales and increased inventory, which may result in downward price pressure and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects.

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The automotive industry and our technology are rapidly evolving and may be subject to unforeseen changes. Developments in alternative technologies, including but not limited to hydrogen, may adversely affect the demand for our electric vehicles.

We may be unable to keep up with changes in EV technology or alternatives to electricity as a fuel source and, as a result, our competitiveness may suffer. Developments in alternative technologies, such as advanced diesel, ethanol, fuel cells, or compressed natural gas, or improvements in the fuel economy of the ICE, may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects in ways we do not currently anticipate. Any failure by us to successfully react to changes in existing technologies could materially harm our competitive position and growth prospects.

We may be subject to risks associated with autonomous driving technology.

It is expected that our proposed vehicles will be designed with connectivity for future installation of an autonomous hardware suite and we plan to partner with a third-party software provider in the future to implement autonomous capabilities. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to identify a third party to provide the necessary hardware and software to enable autonomous capabilities in an acceptable timeframe, on terms satisfactory to us, or at all. Autonomous driving technologies are subject to risks and there have been accidents and fatalities associated with such technologies. The safety of such technologies depends in part on drive interactions, and drivers may not be accustomed to using or adapting to such technologies. To the extent accidents associated with our autonomous driving systems occur, we could be subject to liability, negative publicity, government scrutiny, and further regulation. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects.

Our distribution model is different from the predominant current distribution model for automobile manufacturers, which makes evaluating our business, operating results and future prospects difficult.

Our distribution model is different from the predominant current distribution model for automobile manufacturers, which makes evaluating our business, operating results and future prospects difficult. Our distribution model is not common in the automotive industry today. We plan to conduct vehicle sales directly to users rather than through dealerships. This model of vehicle distribution is relatively new and, with limited exceptions, unproven, and subjects us to substantial risk. For example, we will not be able to utilize long established sales channels developed through a franchise system to increase sales volume. Moreover, we will be competing with companies with well established distribution channels. Our success will depend in large part on our ability to effectively develop our own sales channels and marketing strategies. If we are unable to achieve this, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial results and results of operations.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in our failure to accurately or timely report our financial condition or results of operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Management is working to remediate our current material weaknesses and prevent potential future material weaknesses by hiring additional qualified accounting and financial reporting personnel, and further reviewing and enhancing our accounting processes. We may not be able to fully remediate any future material weaknesses until these steps have been completed and have been operating effectively for a sufficient period of time. If we are not able to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our financial statements and related disclosures may be inaccurate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our stock price.

Our future growth is dependent on the demand for, and upon consumers’ willingness to adopt, electric vehicles.

Our future growth is dependent on the demand for, and upon consumers’ willingness to adopt electric vehicles, and even if electric vehicles become more mainstream, consumers choosing us over other EV manufacturers. Demand for electric vehicles may be affected by factors directly impacting automobile prices or the cost of purchasing and operating automobiles such as sales and financing incentives, prices of raw materials and parts and components, cost of fuel and

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governmental regulations, including tariffs, import regulation and other taxes. Volatility in demand may lead to lower vehicle unit sales, which may result in downward price pressure and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

In addition, the demand for our vehicles and services will highly depend upon the adoption by consumers of new energy vehicles in general and electric vehicles in particular. The market for new energy vehicles is still rapidly evolving, characterized by rapidly changing technologies, competitive pricing and competitive factors, evolving government regulation and industry standards, and changing consumer demands and behaviors.

Other factors that may influence the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles, and specifically electric vehicles, include:

Any of the factors described above may cause current or potential customers not to purchase EVs in general, and our EVs in particular. If the market for EVs does not develop as we expect or develops more slowly than we expect, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be affected.

The unavailability, reduction or elimination of government and economic incentives could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Any reduction, elimination, or discriminatory application of government subsidies and economic incentives because of policy changes, or the reduced need for such subsidies and incentives due to the perceived success of the electric vehicle or for other reasons, may result in the diminished competitiveness of the alternative fuel and electric vehicle industry generally or our electric vehicles in particular. This could materially and adversely affect the growth of the alternative fuel automobile markets and our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

While certain tax credits and other incentives for alternative energy production, alternative fuel and electric vehicles have been available in the past, there is no guarantee these programs will be available in the future. If current tax incentives are not available in the future, our financial position could be harmed.

In addition, we may apply for federal and state grants, loans and tax incentives under government programs designed to stimulate the economy and support the production of alternative fuel and electric vehicles and related technologies, and our ability to obtain funds or incentives from government sources is subject to the availability of funds under applicable government programs and approval of our applications to participate in such programs. The application process for these funds and other incentives will likely be highly competitive. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in obtaining any of these additional grants, loans and other incentives. If we are not successful in obtaining any of these additional incentives and we are unable to find alternative sources of funding to meet our planned capital needs, our business and prospects could be materially adversely affected.

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If we fail to manage our future growth effectively, we may not be able to develop, manufacture, market and sell or lease our vehicles successfully.

We intend to expand our operations significantly, which will require hiring, retaining and training new personnel, controlling expenses, establishing facilities and experience centers, and implementing administrative infrastructure, systems and processes. In addition, because our electric vehicles are based on a different technology platform than traditional ICE vehicles, individuals with sufficient training in electric vehicles may not be available to be hired, and we will need to expend significant time and expense training employees we hire. We also require sufficient talent in additional areas such as software development. Furthermore, as we are a relatively young company, our ability to train and integrate new employees into our operations may not meet the growing demands of our business which may affect our ability to grow. Any failure to effectively manage our growth could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

For example, to manage the expected growth of our operations and increasing complexity, we will need to improve our operational and financial systems, procedures, and controls and continue to increase systems automation to reduce reliance on manual operations. Any inability to do so will affect our billing and reporting. Our current and planned systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our complex arrangements and the rules governing revenue and expense recognition for our future operations and expected growth. Delays or problems associated with any improvement or expansion of our operational and financial systems and controls could adversely affect our relationships with our customers, cause harm to our reputation and brand and could also result in errors in our financial and other reporting.

Insufficient warranty reserves to cover future warranty claims could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Once our cars are in production, we will need to maintain warranty reserves to cover warranty-related claims. If our warranty reserves are inadequate to cover future warranty claims on our vehicles, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected. We may become subject to significant and unexpected warranty expenses. There can be no assurances that then-existing warranty reserves will be sufficient to cover all claims.

We may not succeed in establishing, maintaining and strengthening the Mullen brand, which would materially and adversely affect customer acceptance of our vehicles and components and our business, revenues and prospects.

Once our cars are in production, our business and prospects will heavily depend on our ability to develop, maintain and strengthen the Mullen brand. If we are not able to establish, maintain and strengthen our brand, we may lose the opportunity to build a critical mass of customers. Our ability to develop, maintain and strengthen the Mullen brand will depend heavily on the success of our marketing efforts. The automobile industry is intensely competitive, and we may not be successful in building, maintaining and strengthening our brand. Many of our current and potential competitors, particularly automobile manufacturers headquartered in the United States, Japan, the European Union and China, have greater name recognition, broader customer relationships and substantially greater marketing resources than we do. If we do not develop and maintain a strong brand, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be materially and adversely impacted.

We will initially depend on revenue generated from a single model and in the foreseeable future will be significantly dependent on a limited number of models.

We will initially depend on revenue generated from a single vehicle model and in the foreseeable future will be significantly dependent on a limited number of models. Historically, automobile customers have come to expect a variety of vehicle models offered in a manufacturer’s fleet and new and improved vehicle models to be introduced frequently. Given that for the foreseeable future our business will depend on a single or limited number of models, to the extent a particular model is not well-received by the market, our sales volume, business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

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Doing business internationally creates operational and financial risks for our business.

Our business plan includes eventual expansion into other international markets. Conducting and launching operations on an international scale requires close coordination of activities across multiple jurisdictions and time zones and consumes significant management resources. If we fail to coordinate and manage these activities effectively, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. International sales entail a variety of risks, including currency exchange fluctuations, challenges in staffing and managing foreign operations, tariffs and other trade barriers, unexpected changes in legislative or regulatory requirements of foreign countries into which we sell our products and services, difficulties in obtaining export licenses or in overcoming other trade barriers, laws and business practices favoring local companies, political and economic instability, difficulties protecting or procuring intellectual property rights, and restrictions resulting in delivery delays and significant taxes or other burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws.

We are highly dependent on the services of David Michery, our Chief Executive Officer.

We are highly dependent on the services of David Michery, our founder and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Michery is the source of many, if not most, of the ideas and execution driving us. If Mr. Michery were to discontinue his service to us due to death, disability or any other reason, we would be significantly disadvantaged.

Our business may be adversely affected by labor and union activities.

Although none of our employees are currently represented by a labor union, it is common throughout the automobile industry generally for many employees at automobile companies to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and increased risk of work stoppages. We may also directly and indirectly depend upon other companies with unionized work forces, such as parts suppliers and trucking and freight companies, and work stoppages or strikes organized by such unions could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or operating results.

We face risks related to health epidemics, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We face various risks related to public health issues, including epidemics, pandemics, and other outbreaks, including the recent pandemic of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19. The impact of COVID-19, including changes in consumer and business behavior, pandemic fears and market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, has created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. The spread of COVID-19 has also created a disruption in the manufacturing, delivery and overall supply chain of vehicle manufacturers and suppliers and has led to a global decrease in vehicle sales in markets around the world.

The pandemic has resulted in government authorities implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders, and business shutdowns. These measures may adversely impact our employees and operations and the operations of our customers, suppliers, vendors and business partners, and may negatively impact our sales and marketing activities. In addition, various aspects of our business cannot be conducted remotely. These measures by government authorities may remain in place for a significant period of time and they are likely to continue to adversely affect our manufacturing plans, sales and marketing activities, business and results of operations.

The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices (including employee travel, recommending that all non-essential personnel work from home and cancellation or reduction of physical participation in sales activities, meetings, events and conferences), and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, suppliers, vendors and business partners. The reduction of economic activity also disrupted some contractual obligations due to work stoppage requirements. Some employees chose the option to work from home rather than come to the office. As a result, there were some reductions in employee productivity, employee layoffs and employee salaries.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, prospects and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the duration and spread of the

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pandemic, our severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat our impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating activities can resume. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, we may continue to experience an adverse impact to our business as a result of our global economic impact, including any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future.

Specifically, difficult macroeconomic conditions, such as decreases in per capita income and level of disposable income, increased and prolonged unemployment, or a decline in consumer confidence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on the demand for our vehicles. Under difficult economic conditions, potential customers may seek to reduce spending by forgoing our vehicles for other traditional options or may choose to keep their existing vehicles and cancel reservations.

There are no comparable recent events that may provide guidance as to the effect of the spread of COVID-19 and a pandemic, and, as a result, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar health epidemic is highly uncertain.

Reservations for our vehicles are cancellable.

The potentially long wait from the time a reservation is made until the time the vehicle is delivered, and any delays beyond expected wait times, could impact user decisions on whether to ultimately make a purchase. Any cancellations could harm our financial condition, business, prospects, and operating results.

We may face legal challenges in one or more states attempting to sell directly to customers which could materially adversely affect our costs.

Our business plan includes the direct sale of vehicles to business customers, and potentially, to individual customers. Most, if not all, states require a license to sell vehicles within the state. Many states prohibit manufacturers from directly selling vehicles to customers. In other states, manufacturers must operate a physical dealership within the state to deliver vehicles to customers. As a result, we may not be able to sell directly to customers in each state in the United States.

For customers residing in states in which we will not be allowed to sell or deliver vehicles, we may have to arrange alternate methods of delivery of vehicles. This could include delivering vehicles to adjacent or nearby states in which we are allowed to directly sell and ship vehicles and arranging for the customer to transport the vehicles to their home states. These workarounds could add significant complexity, and as a result, costs, to our business.

Failure of information security and privacy concerns could subject us to penalties, damage our reputation and brand, and harm our business and results of operations.

We expect to face significant challenges with respect to information security and privacy, including the storage, transmission and sharing of confidential information. We will transmit and store confidential and private information of our customers, such as personal information, including names, accounts, user IDs and passwords, and payment or transaction related information.

We have adopted information security policies and deployed measures to implement the policies, including, among others, encryption technologies, and plans to continue to deploy additional measurers as we grow. However, advances in technology, an increased level of sophistication and diversity of our products and services, an increased level of expertise of hackers, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other factors can still result in a compromise or breach of the measures that we use. If we are unable to protect our systems, and hence the information stored in our systems, from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction, such problems or security breaches could cause a loss, give rise to our liabilities to the owners of confidential information or even subject us to fines and penalties. In addition, complying with various laws and regulations could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices, including our data practices, in a manner adverse to our business.

In addition, we will need to comply with increasingly complex and rigorous regulatory standards enacted to protect business and personal data in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. For example, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which became effective on May 25, 2018 and the State of California

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adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). Both the GDPR and the CCPA impose additional obligations on companies regarding the handling of personal data and provides certain individual privacy rights to persons whose data is stored. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently enacted laws (including implementation of the privacy and process enhancements called for under the GDPR) and regulations can be costly; any failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us to legal and reputational risks.

Compliance with any additional laws and regulations could be expensive and may place restrictions on the conduct of our business and the manner in which we interact with our customers. Any failure to comply with applicable regulations could also result in regulatory enforcement actions against us, and misuse of or failure to secure personal information could also result in violation of data privacy laws and regulations, proceedings against us by governmental entities or others, and damage to our reputation and credibility, and could have a negative impact on revenues and profits.

Significant capital and other resources may be required to protect against information security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches or to comply with our privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations. The resources required may increase over time as the methods used by hackers and others engaged in online criminal activities are increasingly sophisticated and constantly evolving. Any failure or perceived failure by us to prevent information security breaches or to comply with privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other customer data, could cause our customers to lose trust in us and could expose us to legal claims. Any perception by the public that online transactions or the privacy of user information are becoming increasingly unsafe or vulnerable to attacks could inhibit the growth of online retail and other online services generally, which may reduce the number of orders we receive.

We may need to defend ourselves against patent or trademark infringement claims, and we may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which may be time-consuming and would cause us to incur substantial costs and harm our business and competitive position.

Companies, organizations, or individuals, including our competitors, may hold or obtain patents, trademarks or other proprietary rights that would prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use, develop, sell, lease or market our vehicles or components, which could make it more difficult for us to operate our business. From time to time, we may receive communications from holders of patents or trademarks regarding their proprietary rights. Companies holding patents or other intellectual property rights may bring suits alleging infringement of such rights or otherwise assert their rights and urge us to take licenses. Our applications and uses of trademarks relating to our design, software or artificial intelligence technologies could be found to infringe upon existing trademark ownership and rights. In addition, if we are determined to have infringed upon a third party’s intellectual property rights, we may be required to do one or more of the following:

In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us and our failure or inability to obtain a license to the infringed technology or other intellectual property right, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, any litigation or claims, whether or not valid, could result in substantial costs, negative publicity and diversion of resources and management attention.

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Further, we may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position. We rely or will rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets (including know-how), employee and third-party nondisclosure agreements, copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property licenses, and other contractual rights to establish and protect our rights in our technology. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, third parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property or seek court declarations that they do not infringe upon our intellectual property rights. Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly, and the steps we have taken or will take may not prevent misappropriation. From time to time, we may have to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources.

Patent, trademark, and trade secret laws vary significantly throughout the world. A number of foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. Therefore, our intellectual property rights may not be as strong or as easily enforced outside of the United States. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage and a decrease in our revenue which, would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Patent applications that we may file may not issue as patents and any patents that may be granted to us may expire and may not be extended, our rights may be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope, or our rights may not protect us effectively, all of which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from commercially exploiting products similar to theirs.

We cannot be certain that we are the first inventor of the subject matter to which we may file a particular patent application, or if we are the first party to file such a patent application. If another party has filed a patent application for the same subject matter as we have, we may not be entitled to the protection sought by the patent application. Further, the scope of protection of issued patent claims is often difficult to determine. As a result, we cannot be certain that the patent applications that we file will issue, or that our issued patents will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. In addition, our competitors may design around our issued patents, which may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results.

We cannot assure you that we will be granted patents pursuant to any applications that we may file. Even if we file patent applications and we are issued patents in accordance with them, it is still uncertain whether these patents will be contested, circumvented or invalidated in the future. In addition, the rights granted under any issued patents may not provide we with meaningful protection or competitive advantages. The claims under any patents that issue from our patent applications may not be broad enough to prevent others from developing technologies that are similar or that achieve results similar to ours. The intellectual property rights of others could also bar us from licensing and exploiting any patents that issue from our applications. Numerous patents and pending patent applications owned by others exist in the fields in which we have developed and is developing our technology. These patents and patent applications might have priority over our patent applications and could subject our patent applications to invalidation. Finally, in addition to those who may claim priority, any of our patents may also be challenged by others on the basis that they are otherwise invalid or unenforceable.

We may be subject to damages resulting from claims that we or our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of our employees’ former employers.

Many of our employees were previously employed by other automotive companies or by suppliers to automotive companies. We may be subject to claims that us or these employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our products, which could severely harm our business. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and demand on management resources.

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Our vehicles are subject to motor vehicle standards and substantial regulation, and the failure to satisfy such mandated safety standards or regulations, or unfavorable changes to such regulations, would have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

All vehicles sold must comply with international, federal, and state motor vehicle safety standards. In the United States, vehicles that meet or exceed all federally mandated safety standards are certified under the federal regulations. Rigorous testing and the use of approved materials and equipment are among the requirements for achieving federal certification. Failure by us to have our future model electric vehicle satisfy motor vehicle standards would have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Additionally, our electric vehicles, and the sale of motor vehicles in general, are subject to substantial regulation under international, federal, state, and local laws. We expect to incur significant costs in complying with these regulations. Regulations related to the electric vehicle industry and alternative energy are currently evolving and we face risks associated with changes to these regulations.

To the extent the laws change, our vehicles may not comply with applicable international, federal, state or local laws, which would have an adverse effect on our business. Compliance with changing regulations could be burdensome, time consuming, and expensive. To the extent compliance with new regulations is cost prohibitive, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results would be adversely affected.

Internationally, there may be laws in jurisdictions we have not yet entered or laws we are unaware of in jurisdictions we have entered that may restrict our sales or other business practices. Even for those jurisdictions we have analyzed, the laws in this area can be complex, difficult to interpret and may change over time. Continued regulatory limitations and other obstacles interfering with our ability to sell or lease vehicles directly to consumers could have a negative and material impact on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

We may become subject to product liability claims, which could harm our financial condition and liquidity if we are not able to successfully defend or insure against such claims.

We may become subject to product liability claims, even those without merit, which could harm our business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition. The automobile industry experiences significant product liability claims and we face inherent risk of exposure to claims in the event our vehicles do not perform as expected or malfunction resulting in personal injury or death. Our risks in this area are particularly pronounced given we have limited field experience for our vehicles. A successful product liability claim against us could require us to pay a substantial monetary award. Moreover, a product liability claim could generate substantial negative publicity about our vehicles and business and inhibit or prevent commercialization of other future vehicle candidates, which would have material adverse effect on our brand, business, prospects and operating results. Any insurance coverage might not be sufficient to cover all potential product liability claims. Any lawsuit seeking significant monetary damages either in excess of our coverage, or outside of our coverage, may have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business and financial condition. We may not be able to secure additional product liability insurance coverage on commercially acceptable terms or at reasonable costs when needed, particularly if we do face liability for our products and are forced to make a claim under our policy.

We are or will be subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws, and non-compliance with such laws can subject us to administrative, civil and criminal fines and penalties, collateral consequences, remedial measures and legal expenses, all of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

We are or will be subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws and regulations in various jurisdictions in which we conduct or in the future may conduct activities, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, and other anti-corruption laws and regulations. The FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 prohibit us and our officers, directors, employees and business partners acting on our behalf, including agents, from corruptly offering, promising, authorizing or providing anything of value to a “foreign official” for the purposes of influencing official decisions or obtaining or retaining business or otherwise obtaining favorable treatment. The FCPA also requires companies to make and keep books, records and accounts that

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accurately reflect transactions and dispositions of assets and to maintain a system of adequate internal accounting controls. The U.K. Bribery Act also prohibit non-governmental “commercial” bribery and soliciting or accepting bribes. A violation of these laws or regulations could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation. Our policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these regulations may not be sufficient and our directors, officers, employees, representatives, consultants, agents, and business partners could engage in improper conduct for which we may be held responsible.

Non-compliance with anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering or financial and economic sanctions laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, and severe administrative, civil and criminal sanctions, collateral consequences, remedial measures and legal expenses, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation. In addition, changes in economic sanctions laws in the future could adversely impact our business and investments in our shares.

Failure to improve our operational and financial systems to support our expected growth, increasingly complex business arrangements and rules governing revenue and expense recognition and any inability to do so will adversely affect our billing and reporting.

To manage the expected growth and increasing complexity of our operations, we will need to improve our operational and financial systems, procedures, and controls and continue to increase systems automation to reduce reliance on manual operations. Any inability to do so will affect our billing and reporting. Our current and planned systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our complex arrangements and the rules governing revenue and expense reco0gntion for our future operations and expected growth. Delays or problems associated with any improvement or expansion of our operational and financial systems and controls could adversely affect our relationships with our customers, cause harm to our reputation and brand and could also result in errors in our financial and other reporting.

Failure to build our finance infrastructure and improve our accounting systems and controls could impair our ability to comply with the financial reporting and internal controls requirements for publicly traded companies.

As a public company, we will operate in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, which requires us to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), the regulations of the Nasdaq CM, the rules and regulations of the SEC, expanded disclosure requirements, accelerated reporting requirements and more complex accounting rules. Company responsibilities required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include establishing corporate oversight and adequate internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent financial fraud. Commencing with our fiscal year ending the year in which the Merger Agreement is completed, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Form 10-K filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Prior to the Closing, we have never been required to test our internal controls within a specified period and, as a result, we may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner.

We anticipate that the process of building our accounting and financial functions and infrastructure will require significant additional professional fees, internal costs and management efforts. We expect that we will need to implement a new internal system to combine and streamline the management of our financial, accounting, human resources and other functions. However, such a system would likely require us to complete many processes and procedures for the effective use of the system or to run our business using the system, which may result in substantial costs. Any disruptions or difficulties in implementing or using such a system could adversely affect our controls and harm our business. Moreover, such disruption or difficulties could result in unanticipated costs and diversion of management’s attention. In addition, we may discover additional weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.

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If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and results of operations could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the Nasdaq CM, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

Our management has limited experience in operating a public company.

Our executive officers have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Our management team may not successfully or effectively manage our transition to a public company that will be subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under federal securities laws. Their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that it is likely that an increasing amount of their time may be devoted to these activities which will result in less time being devoted to the management and growth of the combined company. We may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience, and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal controls over financial reporting required of public companies in the United States. The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for the combined company to achieve the level of accounting standards required of a public company in the United States may require costs greater than expected. It is possible that we will be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our operations, which will increase our operating costs in future periods.

The voting structure of our Preferred Stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with David Michery, our founder. Until the voting rights of the Series A Preferred Stock are reduced, this will limit or preclude stockholders’ ability to influence corporate matters, including the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.

Shares of our Series A Preferred currently have 1,000 votes per share and convert into our Common Stock on a 100-for-1 basis, while shares of our Series B and Series C Preferred and Common Stock have one vote per share. David Michery, our founder and Chief Executive Officer, holds substantially all of the issued and outstanding shares of our Series A Preferred and currently holds voting power over the Series B and Series C Preferred. Accordingly, Mr. Michery holds approximately 73% of the voting power of our capital stock. As such, Mr. Michery is able to control or exert significant influence over matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transactions. Mr. Michery may have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree, and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of our company, and might ultimately affect the market price of shares of our Common Stock.

All of our debt obligations and our senior equity securities will have priority over our Common Stock with respect to payment in the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding up, and our outstanding senior securities restrict our ability to pay dividends on our Common Stock.

If we were to liquidate, dissolve or wind up, our Common Stock would rank below all debt claims against us and claims of all of our outstanding shares of preferred stock. As a result, holders of Common Stock of the combined company will not be entitled to receive any payment or other distribution of assets upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the combined company until after all our obligations to our debt holders have been satisfied and holders of senior equity securities have received any payment or distribution due to them.

In addition, our Certificate of Incorporation currently requires us to pay substantial monthly dividends on our Series C Preferred in cash or in stock. Although we can pay such amount in shares of our Common Stock, the issuance of additional shares may dilute the company’s equity and adversely affect the trading price of shares of our Common Stock.

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If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our Common Stock will depend on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Currently, we do not have any analyst coverage and may not obtain analyst coverage in the future. In the event we obtain analyst coverage, we will not have any control over such analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or change their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

Our corporate headquarters is located in Brea, California, where we occupy facilities totaling approximately 24,730 rentable square feet under a sublease that expires in March 2026 with lease payments of $33,136 per month. We use these facilities primarily for our management, technology, product design, sales and marketing, finance, legal, human resources, general administrative and information technology teams.

We own a manufacturing facility located in Tunica, Mississippi, which was purchased in November 2021. Further manufacturing facilities must be acquired or developed in order to meet our anticipated manufacturing needs. It is currently anticipated that such facilities will also be located in Tunica, MS.

We believe that our current facilities are suitable and adequate for our present purposes, and we anticipate that we will be able to extend our existing leases on terms satisfactory to us or relocate to new facilities on acceptable terms.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

Mullen Technologies, Inc. v. Qiantu Motor (Suzhou) Ltd.

This claim was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California (Case No. 3:19-cv-01979-W-DEB) on October 11, 2019. This matter arises out of contract dispute between Mullen and Qiantu related to the engineering, design, support, and homologation of Qiantu’s K50 vehicle by Mullen. On July 1, 2020, the court ordered this matter to arbitration. It was submitted to the American Arbitration Association on February 9, 2020, for arbitration in Denver, Colorado. Mullen filed its Demand for Arbitration on February 16, 2021. Arbitration proceedings were then stayed for 90 days to accommodate settlement discussions. On November 3, 2021, Qiantu filed an Arbitration Answering Statement and Counterclaim or Joinder/Consolidation Request. Mullen is in the process of preparing a response. This matter is set for hearing on August 1, 2022.

4Wall Entertainment, Inc. v. Mullen Technologies, Inc.

This claim was filed in the Orange County Superior Court (Case No. 30-2021-01191251-CU-BC-CJC) on March 23, 2021. The matter arises out of the alleged breach of an equipment lease. Mullen filed its Answer to the Complaint on May 6, 2021. It is set for jury trial on October 11, 2022.

Mullen Technologies, Inc., et al. v. Scott LaRue, et al.

This claim was filed in the Orange County Superior Court (Case No. 30-2021-01200080-CU-MC-CJC) on May 5, 2021. The matter arises out of an alleged breached contract. This matter has been settled and is expected to be dismissed by the court shortly. There is a Case Management Conference and Order to Show Cause re: Dismissal hearing set for January 3, 2022.

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The GEM Group

This claim arises out an alleged breached Securities Purchase Agreement dated November 13, 2020. On November 9, 2021, the parties appointed an arbitrator. There are currently no future hearings or appearances scheduled for this matter.

IBM v. Mullen Technologies, Inc.

This claim was filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Westchester (Index No. 57306/2019) on May 7, 2019. The matter arises out of an alleged breach of contract and an account unstated. On September 24, 2019, IBM filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. The court granted IBM’s Motion for Summary Judgment as it relates to liability, but denied as to damages on April 21, 2020. The court conducted inquest proceedings on the issue of damages on April 21, 2021. The court entered its judgment on December 1, 2021. Mullen filed a Notice of Appeal on December 2, 2021. There are currently no future hearings or appearances scheduled for this matter.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

Market Information

Our Common Stock began trading on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “NETE” on October 3, 2012. In connection with the Name Change, the ticker symbol for the Company’s Common Stock changed from “NETE” to “MULN” at the opening of trading on November 5, 2021.

Holders

As of September 30, 2021, our Common Stock was held by 1,067 registered shareholders of record. The number of record holders was determined from the records of our transfer agent and does not include beneficial owners of Common Stock whose shares are held in the names of various securities brokers, dealers and registered clearing agencies. Our transfer agent is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

Dividends

We have not historically declared any dividends. We have no present intention of paying any cash dividends on our Common Stock in the foreseeable future, as any earnings will be used to help generate growth. The decision on the payment of dividends in the future rests within the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon, among other things, our earnings, capital requirements and financial condition, as well as other relevant factors. There are no restrictions in our certificate of incorporation or bylaws that restrict us from declaring dividends.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The information included under Item 12 of Part III of this Report is hereby incorporated by reference into this Item 5 of Part II of this Report.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

Sale of Unregistered Securities

Information required by Item 701 of Regulation S-K as to other unregistered equity securities we sold during the period covered by this Report that were not registered under the Securities Act has been previously reported in the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Commission, in addition to the following:

As previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021, in January 2021, we issued 200,000 shares of our Common Stock in exchange for a tranche of $1,960,000 aggregate amount, less any fees, of certain RBL promissory notes purchased by ESOUSA pursuant to the ESOUSA Agreement. Such shares of Common Stock were issued to ESOUSA under an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act in reliance upon Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act. See Note 8 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information.

On November 4, 2021, we received debt financing through MTI entering into an unsecured $1.1 million convertible note agreement with JADR Consulting Group PTY Limited. The convertible note is issued at OID of 10% ($0.1 million); carries an interest rate of 15% and has a maturity date of one year. The convertible note is unsecured and includes detached warrants to acquire up to 417,375 shares of MAI common stock.  The warrant exercise price is $8.84 per common share and expires five years from the date of issuance. The number of shares issuable upon conversion of the conversion amount (principal and accrued interest) is determined according to the formula:  Conversion Amount/Conversion Price ($8.83), subject to certain adjustments.  However, upon conversion, JADR Consulting Group PTY Limited (together with its affiliates) is limited to a 9.9% ownership cap in shares of MTI’s common stock then outstanding, after giving effect to the

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issuance of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants.   The convertible note and warrants were issued pursuant to and in accordance with the exemption from registration under the Securities Act under Section 4(a)(2) and/or Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act.

On November 4, 2021, the Company received debt financing through MTI entering into an unsecured $110K convertible note agreement with Michael Friedlander. The convertible note is issued with OID of 10% or $10K; carries an interest rate of 15% and has a maturity date of one year. The convertible note is unsecured and includes detached warrants to acquire up to 30,872 shares of MAI common stock.  The warrant exercise price is $8.84 per common share and expires five years from the date of issuance. The number of conversions shares issuable upon conversion of the conversion amount (principal and accrued interest) shall be determined according to the formula:  Conversion Amount/Conversion Price ($8.83), subject to certain adjustments. However, upon conversion, Michael Friedlander (together with his affiliates) is limited to a 9.9% ownership cap in shares of MTI’s common stock then outstanding after giving effect to the issuance of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants.  The convertible note and warrants were issued pursuant to and in accordance with the exemption from registration under the Securities Act under Section 4(a)(2) and/or Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

For the three months ended September 30, 2021, we did not repurchase any shares of our Common Stock.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

​

​

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our audited financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Report. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward- looking statements as a result of many factors, including but not limited to those under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Report. Certain amounts in this section may not foot due to rounding.

In connection with the Merger Agreement (as defined below), and as disclosed in our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 12, 2021, our fiscal year end has changed from December 31 to September 30, effective for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. As a result, and unless otherwise indicated, references to our fiscal year 2021 and prior years mean the fiscal year ended on September 30 of such year.

Basis of Presentation

As a pre-revenue company with no commercial operations, our activities to date have been limited and were conducted primarily in the United States and our historical results are reported under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP" or "U.S. GAAP") and in United States ("U.S.") dollars. Upon commencement of commercial operations, we expect to expand our operations substantially into the European Union ("E.U.") and, as a result, we expect our future results to be sensitive to foreign currency transaction and translation risks and other financial risks that are not reflected in our historical financial statements. As a result, we expect that the financial results our reports for periods after we begin commercial operations will not be comparable to the financial results included in this Annual Report.

Components of Results of Operations

We are an early-stage company, and our historical results may not be indicative of our future results for reasons that may be difficult to anticipate. Accordingly, the drivers of our future financial results, as well as the components of such results, may not be comparable to our historical or projected results of operations.

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Revenues

We have not begun commercial operations and do not currently generate any revenue. Once we commence production and commercialization of our vehicles, we expect that the significant majority of our revenue will be initially derived from direct sales of Sport Utility Vehicles ("SUVs") and, subsequently, from flexible leases of our electric vehicles ("EVs").

Cost of Goods Sold

To date, we have not recorded cost of goods sold, as we have not recorded commercial revenue. Once we commence the commercial production and sale of our EVs, we expect cost of goods sold to include mainly vehicle components and parts, including batteries, direct labor costs, amortized tooling costs, and reserves for estimated warranty expenses.

General and Administrative Expense

General and administrative (“G&A”) expenses include all non-production expenses incurred by us in any given period. This includes expenses such as professional fees, salaries, rent, repairs and maintenance, utilities and office expense, employee benefits, depreciation and amortization, advertising and marketing, settlements and penalties, taxes, licenses and other expenses. Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and are included in G&A expenses. We expense advertising costs as incurred in accordance with ASC 720-35, “Other Expenses – Advertising Cost.”

Research and Development Expense

To date, our research and development expenses have consisted primarily of external engineering services in connection with the design of our initial EV and development of the first prototype. As we ramp up for commercial operations, we anticipate that research and development expenses will increase for the foreseeable future as we expand our hiring of engineers and designers and continues to invest in new vehicle model design and development of technology.

Income Tax Expense / Benefit

Our income tax provision consists of an estimate for U.S. federal and state income taxes based on enacted rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions, uncertain tax positions, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, and changes in the tax law. We maintain a valuation allowance against the full value of our U.S. and state net deferred tax assets because we believe the recoverability of the tax assets is not more likely than not.

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Results of Operations

Comparison of the Year Ended September 30, 2021 to the Year Ended September 30, 2020

The following table sets forth our historical operating results for the periods indicated:

​

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses increased by $8.8 million or 84.8% from $10.4 million in the twelve months ended September 30, 2021 to $19.4 million in the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, primarily due to increases in professional services, marketing, and payroll related expenses with the growth of personnel and resources.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses increased by $1.3 million or 80.5% from $1.7 million through the twelve months ended September 30, 2020 to $3.0 million through the twelve months ended September 30, 2021. During the year, there was minimal activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research and Development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses primarily consist of the Mullen FIVE EV show car development and are primarily comprised of personnel-related costs for employees and consultants.

Interest Expense

Interest expense increased by $4.6 million or 25.6% from $18.1 million through the twelve months ended September 30, 2020 to $22.7 million through the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, primarily due to an increase in convertible debt.

Gain on extinguishment of debt

During November 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) approved the CARES Act loan forgiveness amount of $875,426 in principal and accrued interest on November 20, 2020.

Net Loss

Net loss was $44.2 million for the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, an increase of $14 million or 46.2% from $30.2 million in the twelve months ended September 30, 2020, mainly for the reasons discussed above.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of the date of this Annual Report, we have yet to generate any revenue from our business operations. To date, we have funded our capital expenditure and working capital requirements through equity and debt capital, as further discussed below. Our ability to successfully commence commercial operations and expand our business will depend on many factors, including our working capital needs, the availability of equity or debt financing and, over time, our ability to generate cash flows from operations.

As of September 30, 2021, our cash and cash equivalents amounted to $0.04 million and our total debt amounted to $39.5 million, of which $3.8 million is owed to the IRS and other tax jurisdictions related to payroll taxes and sales and use taxes.

We agreed to sell $20 million of Series C Preferred with warrants to an unaffiliated investor immediately prior to the Effective Time of the Merger at a per share exercise price of $0.6877, subject to adjustment in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement. Mullen and the investor are negotiating an amendment to such agreement whereby such amount may be increased to an aggregate of $60 million by mutual agreement of Mullen and the investor. In addition, we entered into an agreement with ESOUSA to provide us with a $30.0 million equity line of credit on September 1, 2021 and a $15 million note receivable with CEOcast, Inc. on October 8, 2021.

We received $7.4 million in net proceeds from the Net Element merger transaction. We also received an additional $10.6 million in convertible notes from TDR Capital and JADR Consulting Group Pty Limited.

As part of our agreement with NASDAQ, the Company must complete a qualified offering within six months after regulatory approval. Additionally, the Company has committed to file a registration statement for the Series B and Series C shares, which are expected to result in the increase of common shares outstanding and enhance market capitalization.

We expect our capital expenditures and working capital requirements to increase substantially in the near term, as we seek to produce our initial EVs, develop our customer support and marketing infrastructure and expand our research and development efforts. We may need additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other developments, including unanticipated delays in negotiations with OEMs and tier-one automotive suppliers or other suppliers, supply chain challenges, disruptions due to COVID-19, competitive pressures, and regulatory developments, among other developments. To the extent that our current resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may need to seek additional equity or debt financing. If the financing is not available, or if the terms of financing are less desirable than we expect, we may be forced to decrease our level of investment in product development or scale back our operations, which could have an adverse impact on our business and financial prospects. See Note 1 to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Debt

To date, our current working capital and development needs have been primarily funded through the issuance of convertible indebtedness and Common Stock. Short-term debt comprises a significant component of our funding needs. Short-term debt is generally defined as debt with principal maturities of one-year or less. Long-term debt is defined as principal maturities of one year of more.

Short and Long-Term Debt

The short-term debt classification primarily is based upon loans due within twelve-months from the balance sheet date, in addition to loans that have matured and remain unpaid. Management plans to renegotiate matured loans with creditors for favorable terms, such as reduce interest rate, extend maturities, or both; however, there is no guarantee favorable terms will be reached. Until negotiations with creditors are resolved, these matured loans remain outstanding and will be classified within short-term debt on the balance sheet. Interest and fees on loans are being accounted for within accrued interest. The loans are secured by substantially all the Company’s assets. Several principal shareholders have provided loans to and hold convertible debt of the Company and are related parties.

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The following is a summary of our debt as of September 30, 2021:

​

The following is a summary of our debt as of September 30, 2020:

​

Cash Flows

The following table provides a summary of Mullen’s cash flow data for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020:

​

Cash Flows used in Operating Activities

Our cash flow used in operating activities to date has been primarily comprised of costs related to research and development, payroll and other general and administrative activities. As we continue to ramp up hiring ahead of starting commercial operations, we expect our cash used in operating activities to increase significantly before we starts to generate any material cash flow from our business.

Net cash used in operating activities was $17.5 million in the twelve months ended September 30, 2021, an increase from $10.8 million net cash used in the twelve months ended September 30, 2020.

Cash Flows used in Investing Activities

Our cash flows used in investing activities, to date, have been comprised mainly of purchases of equipment and have not been material. We expect these costs to increase substantially in the near future as we ramp up activity ahead of commencing commercial operations.

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Net cash used in investing activities was $0.2 million in the year ended September 30, 2021, a decrease from $0.6 million used in investing activities the year ended September 30, 2020.

Cash Flows provided by Financing Activities

Through September 30, 2021, we have financed our operations primarily through the issuance of convertible notes and equity securities.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $17.7 million for the year ended September 30, 2021 primarily due to issuance of notes payable, as compared to $9.2 million net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended September 30, 2020, which included (i) $12.8 million net proceeds from issuance of notes payable; (ii) $4.8 million in net proceeds from issuance of Common Stock which was partially offset by $.6 million of payments of notes payable; (iii) $.7 million in proceeds to issue preferred C shares.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

The following tables summarizes our contractual obligations and other commitments for cash expenditures as of September 30, 2021, and the years in which these obligations are due:

Operating Lease Commitments

​

We currently lease our headquarters space in the Los Angeles area under a single lease classified as an operating lease expiring in March 2026. We have not executed any binding agreement for leases beyond 2026.

Scheduled Debt Maturities

The following are scheduled debt maturities as of September 30, 2021:

​

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We are not a party to any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined under SEC rules.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In the preparation of these financial statements, our managemnet is required to use judgment in making estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported expenses incurred during the reporting periods. Management considers an accounting judgment, estimate or assumption to be critical when (1) the estimate or assumption is complex in nature or requires a high

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degree of judgment and (2) the use of different judgments, estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 3 to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Because we are a pre-revenue company without commercial operations, management believes it does not currently have any critical accounting policies or estimates. Management believes that the accounting policies most likely to become critical in the near future are those described below.

Stock-Based Compensation and Common Stock Valuation

We recognize the cost of share-based awards granted to employees and directors based on the estimated grant-date fair value of the awards. Cost is recognized on a straight-line basis over the service period, which is generally the vesting period of the award. Our management reverses previously recognized costs for unvested options in the period that forfeitures occur. Mullen determines the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which is impacted by the following assumptions:

Common Stock Valuations

The grant date fair value of our Common Stock (pre-merger with Net Element) was typically be determined by our board of directors with the assistance of management and a third-party valuation specialist. Given our pre-revenue stage of development, management believed that an Option Pricing Model (“OPM”) was the most appropriate method for allocating enterprise value to determine the estimated fair value of our Common Stock. Application of the OPM involved the use of estimates, judgment, and assumptions that are highly complex and subjective, such as those regarding our expected future revenue, expenses, and cash flows, discount rates, market multiples, the selection of comparable companies, and the probability of future events. Once Mullen’s stock became publicly traded, the Board of Directors elected to determine the fair value of our post-merger Common Stock based on the closing market price the day before the date of grant.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-04, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt – Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40). The ASU will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, (December 15, 2023 for smaller reporting companies). We have issued debt and equity instruments, the accounting for which could be impacted by this update. Company management is evaluating the impact this guidance on our financial condition and results of operations.

In July 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-05, Lessors – Certain Leases with Variable Lease Payments (Topic 842). The amendments in this update affect lessors with lease contracts that have (1) have variable lease payments that do not depend on a reference index or a rate, and (2) would have resulted in the recognition of a selling loss at lease commencement if classified a sales-type or direct financing. The ASU will be effective for fiscal years beginning after

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December 15, 2021. Company management is evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Not Applicable.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

The consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and the reports of the independent registered public accounting firm are filed as part of this Report and incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Management has designed disclosure controls and procedures that reasonably enable the management including the CEO and CFO to deliberate and take timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As required by the SEC Rules 13a-15(b) and 15d-15(b), we are obligated to carry out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Management has not been in a position to make its assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting due to the circumstances described in detail below. Accordingly, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm as we determined that the Company is currently similarly situated to a newly public company due to the relatively recent closing of the Merger, which was accounted for as a reverse merger transaction, in which Mullen Automotive-California is treated as the acquirer for financial accounting purposes. In making this determination, we have considered the timing and effects of the Merger, which closed on November 5, 2021, and after which, there was a complete change in the business, operations, accounting, board of directors and executive management of the Company and all of the business of the Company was that of Mullen Automotive-California. As a result, the internal controls and related material weaknesses previously reported related to the Company’s prior business and no longer exist with respect to the Company’s current business. Management was not in a position to conduct an assessment because of the impending reverse merger transaction which was at an advanced stage at year end. We plan to file our first assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending September 30, 2022.

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Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than what has been described above, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the year ended September 30, 2021, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations of Disclosure Controls and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Because of their inherent limitations, our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent material errors or fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. The effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting is subject to risks, including that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with our policies or procedures may deteriorate.

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

On July 23, 2021, we entered into a First Amendment to Agreement for Purchase and Sale of Real Property and Joint Escrow Instructions dated March 9, 2021 and to Lease dated April 28, 2021 with Saleen Motors International, LLC  (collectively, the Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, we agreed to purchase an EV car manufacturing facility in Tunica, Mississippi for a purchase price of $12.0 million. The purchase of the manufacturing facility closed on November 12, 2021.

On September 17, 2021, we entered into a one-year Consulting Agreement with Preferred Management Partners Inc. (“PMP”) pursuant to which PMP has agreed to resume negotiations with Quiantu Motor Cars to enable us to procure the complete intellectual property ownership rights related to the K-50 automobile. As compensation for these services, we agreed to issue 750,000 shares of Common Stock to PMP, with a conditional issuance of an additional 750,000 shares of Common Stock if PMP is successful in our obtaining the intellectual property rights.

ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS

Not applicable.

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

The directors and executive officers of the Company and their respective ages, and positions with the Company and certain business experience as of the date of this Report are set forth below. There are no family relationships among any of the directors or executive officers.

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There are no material legal proceedings to which any director or executive officer of the Company, or any associate of any director or executive officer of the Company, is a party adverse to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or has a material interest adverse to the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

​

On November 5, 2021, upon the filing of the Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Company’s Board of Directors was classified into three classes with staggered three-year terms (with the exception of the expiration of the initial terms of the Class I and Class II directors). Pursuant to this amendment to our Charter, our Board is now classified into three classes with staggered three-year terms (with the exception of the initial Class I and Class II directors), designated as follows:

At each annual meeting of stockholders to be held after the initial classification, the successors to directors whose terms expire will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual meeting following their election and until the successors are duly elected and qualified. This classification of the Board may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in Mullen’s control of management. These directors may be removed for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds (2/3) of Mullen’s voting stock.

David Michery has served as the Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since the closing of the Merger and held those same positions at Mullen Technologies since its inception in 2018. His automotive experience began with the acquisition of Mullen Motor Company in 2012. Mr. Michery brings over 25 years within executive management, marketing, distressed assets, and business restructuring. He acquired the assets of Coda Automotive, formerly an independent EV manufacturer, through bankruptcy as an entryway into the EV business. We believe that Mr. Michery is qualified to serve as a director because of his operational and historical expertise gained from serving as our Chief Executive Officer, and his experience within various businesses, including automotive.

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Kerri Sadler was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Mullen Technologies Inc. in October 2021.  Previously, she served as the internal consultant and interim CFO while leading the finance and accounting team through annual audits, financial reviews. Ms. Sadler has domestic and international experience, which spans commercial and investment banking, automotive, and trading/treasury activities.  From 2016 to present, she has worked with emerging growth companies in developing their finance and accounting departments, the list of clients include Apollo Global Management, Faraday Future, and Mullen Technologies.  Within middle and senior manager roles, Ms. Sadler has worked for KPMG Consulting, Credit Suisse, and Toyota Financial Services.  Her career began with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as a bank examiner/regulator.

Jerry Alban has served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Company since the closing of the Merger and held the same position at Mullen Technologies since June 2021. Prior to that position, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Mullen Technologies from April 2018 until November 2021. Mr. Alban also served as an internal consultant for the Company since January 2018. He brings 35 years of experience within private and public accounting, with the last 20 years serving in senior and executive management roles that spans controlling, processes, financial reporting and M&A activity. Mr. Alban has two undergraduate degrees, B.S. in Accounting from Central Washington University and B.S. in Forestry from Washington State University. We believe that Mr. Alban is qualified to serve as a director because of his experience gained from serving as Chief Financial Officer, and his finance and accounting expertise.

Calin Popa has served as President of the Automotive Electric Vehicles Division of Mullen Technologies since 2017. He has 34 years of experience within the automotive industry. Previously, Mr. Popa was Vice President of Manufacturing Engineering at Karma Automotive, LLC, f/k/a Fisker Automotive, from 2010 to 2017. Mr. Popa has held senior positions within product development, vehicle launch and manufacturing at well-known companies, including MAN, Ford, and Chrysler.

Mary Winter has served as director of the Company since the closing of the Merger and has been a director of Mullen Technologies since 2018. Ms. Winter has been an integral part of Mullen since inception. She currently serves as the Secretary of the Company and Board of Directors. Formerly, she was the Vice President of Operations for Mullen Technologies since 2014. We believe that Ms. Winter is qualified to serve as a director because of her business and operational knowledge of Mullen Technologies.

Kent Puckett has served on Mullen Technologies’ Board of Directors since 2018, serving as the Audit Committee Chair during that time. Previously, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Mullen Technologies from 2012 to 2018. Mr. Puckett has many years of experience as a CFO with a proven track record of establishing cross-functional partnerships to deliver stellar results. He has led many companies in their audit and disclosure requirements, creating operations, marketing, and sales division budgets of multi-million dollars, and being accountable for the allocation of resources to exceed profit and sales goals. Mr. Puckett has a B.S. in Business Administration from Pensacola Christian College, and Advanced Studies in Management, Finance, Compliance, Insurance, Financial Consulting, Taxation and Financial Reporting, with an emphasis on Public Companies reporting and audit requirements. We believe that Mr. Puckett is qualified to serve as a director because of his finance and accounting background and experience.

Mark Betor has served as a director of the Company since the closing of the Merger and a director of Mullen Technologies since 2018, serving on on the Compensation Committee. Mr. Betor is a retired businessman and law enforcement officer. Since retirement, he has been involved with real estate investments and private business. We believe that Mr. Betor is qualified to serve as a director because of his vast experience within investments and private businesses.

William Miltner has served as a director of the Company since the closing of the Merger. He has served as a litigation attorney for over 30 years. He is the co-founder of Miltner & Menck, APC, a full-service law firm, in San Diego, CA. Mr. Miltner successfully co-founded and co-managed the law firm of Perkins & Miltner, LLP, a respected San Diego litigation firm for 13 years. In 2006, when co-founder David Perkins left the practice of law, Miltner Law Group, APC, was founded. Mr. Miltner has represented many publicly traded and private companies including residential developers, construction contractors, title insurance companies and banking and lending institutions. His substantial experience includes representing and defending clients in complex real property, general business, construction, title insurance and lender litigation and transactional matters. Mr. Miltner is member of the American and San Diego County Bar Associations and American Business Trial Lawyers Association. He was admitted to The State Bar of California in 1988. We believe

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that Mr. Miltner is qualified to serve as a director because of his knowledge and experience within law practice areas and litigation matters.

Jonathan New has served as a director of the Company since the closing of the Merger. He has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Motorsport Games, Inc. since January 2020. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. New was Chief Financial Officer of Blink Charging Co (NASDAQ: BLNK) from July 2018 to January 2020. Prior to Blink Charging Co, Mr. New was Chief Financial Officer of Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) from 2008 to July 2018. Mr. New is an experienced, driven and creative chief financial officer with over 30 years of corporate finance and accounting experience. He has a career of leading rapidly growing businesses through levels of increasing success. Mr. New is a Florida Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. We believe that Mr. New is qualified to serve as a director because of his in-depth experience within finance, accounting, and public markets.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial and accounting officer. A copy of our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct has been posted to the "Investor Relations—Governance" section of our Internet website at http://www.mullensua.com. We will provide a copy of our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct to any person without charge, upon written request to our Secretary at 1405 Pioneer Street, Brea, California 92821, phone (714) 613-1900, e-mail address InvestorRelations@mullenusa.com.

Committees of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors currently has an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors consists of Kent Puckett and Jonathan New, Chair. The primary functions of the Audit Committee include, among other things:

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Each member of the Audit Committee satisfies the independence requirements under Nasdaq Capital Market listing standards and Rule 10A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act and is a person who the Board of Directors has determined has the requisite financial expertise required under the applicable requirements of Nasdaq Capital Market. In arriving at this determination, the Board of Directors examined each Audit Committee member’s scope of experience and the nature of their employment in the corporate finance sector. The Board of Directors has also determined that Jonathan New qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined in applicable SEC rules.

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors consists of Kent Puckett, Chair, Jonathan New, and Mark Betor. The functions of the Compensation Committee include, among other things:

The Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Compensation Committee is independent under Nasdaq Capital Market listing standards, a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act and an “outside director” as that term is defined in Section 162(m) of the Code.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors currently consists William Miltner, Chair, and Mark Betor. The functions of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee include, among other things, the following:

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The Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is independent under Nasdaq Capital Market listing standards.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider

Composition of the Compensation Committee for the combined company has been determined. Each member appointed to the Compensation Committee is an “outside” director as that term is defined in Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, a “non-employee” director within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 of the rules promulgated under the Exchange Act and independent within the meaning of the independent director guidelines of the Nasdaq Capital Market. None of the Company’s executive officers serve as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers who is serves on the Company’s Board of Directors or Compensation Committee following the merger.

Director Independence: Controlled Company Exemption

The Board determined that each of the directors on the Board other than the directors who are considered employees and/or insiders, qualify as independent directors, as defined under the listing rules of the Nasdaq, and the Board consists of a majority of “independent directors” as defined under the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq listing requirements. In addition, we are subject to the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq relating to the membership, qualifications, and operations of the audit, as discussed below.

David Michery controls a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. As a result, we are a “controlled company” under Nasdaq rules. As a controlled company, we are exempt from certain corporate governance requirements, including those that would otherwise require our Board of Directors to have a majority of independent directors and require that we either establish compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees, each comprised entirely of independent directors, or otherwise ensure that the compensation of our executive officers and nominees of directors are determined or recommended to the Board of Directors by independent members of the Board of Directors. While we do not currently intend to rely on any of these exemptions, we will be entitled to do so for as long as we are considered a “controlled company,” and to the extent we rely on one or more of these exemptions, holders of our capital stock will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth certain information about the compensation paid or accrued during the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 to our Chief Executive Officer and each of our two most highly compensated executive officers other than our Chief Executive Officer who were serving as executive officers at September 30, 2021, and whose

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annual compensation exceeded $100,000 during such year or would have exceeded $100,000 during such year if the executive officer were employed by the Company for the entire fiscal year (collectively the “named executive officers”).

The primary elements of compensation for the Company’s named executive officers are base salary, bonus and equity-based compensation awards. The named executive officers also participate in employee benefit plans and programs that we offer to our other full-time employees on the same basis.

Base Salary

The base salary payable to our named executive officers is intended to provide a fixed component of compensation that reflects the executive’s skill set, experience, role and responsibilities.

Bonus

Although we does not have a written bonus plan, the Board may, in its discretion, award bonuses to our executive officers on a case-by-case basis. These awards are structured to reward named executive officers for the successful performance of Mullen as a whole and of each participating named executive officer as an individual. The bonus amounts awarded in 2020 were on an entirely discretionary basis. In addition, as described under the heading “Employment and Severance Agreements,” each of the named executive officers is eligible under the terms of their respective employment agreements to receive set bonus amounts based on Mullen’s achievement of certain financial milestones.

Share-based Compensation

We do not have a formal policy with respect to the grant of equity incentive awards to our executive officers or any formal equity ownership guidelines applicable to them.

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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End 2021

The following table sets forth information with respect to outstanding equity awards at the end of the Company’s fiscal year 2021 for the “named executive officers”:

Employment and Severance Agreements

We have entered into employment agreements with each of our named executive officers described below.

Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive

Effective July 1, 2021, the Compensation Committee approved a new employment contract for David Michery. He will receive an annual salary of $750,000 plus incentive compensation and 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock each year. He is entitled to reimbursement compensation for all reasonable expenses up to $500,000 per year.

The agreement contains non-competition and non-solicitation covenants. For one year after voluntary separation from the Company, Mr. Michery cannot engage in competitive business activity within the Company territory; prevents him from participating in any transaction that occurred within 24-month period preceding from incident in questions; and prevents him from contacting employees for any business and employment opportunities.

No other employees have severance agreements with the Company. Employment agreements with other executive officers and key employees are standard terms (“employment at will”) offered to all employees.

Chief Financial Officer

On October 25, 2021, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Kerri Sadler for a term of two years with the option by the Company to renew for up to 60 months. Ms. Sadler will receive an annual salary of $350,000 and 300,000 restricted shares of Common Stock. The annual salary will increase by 3.5% per year. Ms. Sadler also received a one-time signing bonus of 100,000 shares of Common Stock.

If Ms. Sadler is terminated without cause, or if the Company subjects her to a diminution in her title(s), responsibilities, or her then-current annual compensation, fails to provide the compensation as set forth in the agreement, locates place of employment outside the United States, or engages in any material and intentional breach of the Company’s principal obligations under the agreement which is not remedied within 15 business days,  then the Company will pay Ms. Sadler an amount equal to her annual compensation at the time of such termination. If Ms. Sadler is terminated for cause, then the Company pays her annual compensation and any legal benefit up until the termination date. “Cause” means gross negligence in the performance of the material responsibilities, willful misconduct in the performance and discharge of the material duties or that is otherwise materially injurious to the Company’s business, conviction of or a plea of no contest to a felony or incapacity due to alcoholism or substance abuse, or a material and intentional breach of principal obligations that are not remedied within 15 business days. In the event of disability, the Company will pay for three months of salary from the date that the disability is certified plus any prorated amount of incentive compensation.

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Chief Operating Officer

Effective April 15, 2021, the Compensation Committee approved a new employment contract for Jerry Alban for a term of one year. He will receive an annual salary of $350,000 per year and a share-based compensation of 300,000 shares of Common Stock each year. Mr. Alban received a one-time signing bonus of 100,000 restricted shares of Common Stock. If Mr. Alban is terminated without cause, or if the Company subjects him to a diminution in his title(s), responsibilities, or his then-current annual compensation, fails to provide the compensation as set forth in the agreement, locates place of employment outside the United States, or engages in any material and intentional breach of the Company’s principal obligations under the agreement which is not remedied within 15 business days, then the Company will pay Mr. Alban an amount equal to her annual compensation at the time of such termination multiplied by a number of years equal to five and an amount equal to 1 % of the Company’s market capitalization at such time. If Mr. Alban is terminated for cause, then the Company pays his annual compensation and any legal benefit up until the termination date. The meaning of “cause” is the same as described above for Ms. Sadler’s employment agreement. In the event of disability, the Company will pay for one year of salary from the date that the disability is certified plus any prorated amount of incentive compensation.

Upon a change of control of the Company, which includes receipt of a tender offer, a reorganization, such as a merger or stock acquisition, and sale of all or substantially all of the company’s assets, Mr. Alban may terminate his employment and receive payments as though it is a termination without cause by the Company (as described above)

Consulting Agreement

On October 26, 2021, the Company and Mary Winter entered into a Consulting Agreement whereby the Company has agreed to pay Ms. Winter $60,000 for the period from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 for her services as corporate secretary and director.

Potential Payments Upon Termination of Employment or Change in Control

Upon termination from the Company other than for cause, Mr. Michery is entitled to severance from the Company as follows:

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Non-Employee Director Compensation

Beginning in November 2021, in connection with the closing of the Merger, our non-employee directors receive compensation for service on our board of directors and committees of our board of directors as follows:

Our non-employee directors are entitled to reimbursement of ordinary, necessary and reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses incurred in connection with attending in-person meetings of our board of directors or committees thereof. In the event our non-employee directors are required to attend greater than four in-person meetings or 12 telephonic meetings during any fiscal year, such non-employee directors will be entitled to additional compensation in the amount of $500 for each additional telephonic meeting beyond the 12 telephonic meeting threshold, and $1,000 for each additional in-person meeting beyond the four in-person meeting threshold.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

The table below contains information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Common Stock as of December 27, 2021 by (i) each person who is known to us to beneficially own more than 5% of our Common Stock, (ii) each of our directors, (iii) each of our named executive officers and (iv) all of our directors and executive officers as a group.

Each stockholder’s percentage of ownership in the following table is based upon, as applicable, 23,383,202 shares of Common Stock, 15,367 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, 5,567,319 shares of Series B Preferred Stock, and 4,973,093 shares of Series C Preferred Stock outstanding as of December 27, 2021. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock converts into 100 shares of Common Stock. The Series B Preferred Stock and the Series C Preferred are convertible at any time by the holder into shares of Common Stock on a share-for-share basis.  Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with SEC rules and regulations. In computing the number of shares of our Common Stock beneficially owned by a person and the percentage of beneficial ownership of that person, shares of Common Stock underlying notes, options or shares of Series A Preferred Stock, Series B Preferred Stock and Series C Preferred Stock held by that person that are convertible or exercisable, as the case may be, within 60 days of December 27, 2021 are included. Those shares, however, are not deemed outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person

To our knowledge, except as otherwise noted below and subject to applicable community property laws, each person or entity named in the following table has the sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares that he, she or it

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beneficially owns. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each beneficial owner listed below is c/o Mullen Automotive Inc. 1405 Pioneer Street, Brea, CA 92821.

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Equity Compensation Plan Table

The following table summarizes our equity compensation plan information as of September 30, 2021. Information is included for equity compensation plans approved by our stockholders and equity compensation plans not approved by our stockholders