Boosted Boards is defunct.
Back in early March I made a video about what I thought were some of the reasons for the death of Boosted.
Well, it looks like the final nails are being placed into the coffin. On April 16th, one of Boosted Boards founders and former CEO Sanjay Dastoor posted a message to the Boosted subreddit. Even though Sanjay Dastoor left the company more than a year ago, he is still a supporter and fan of the product.
While he is not speaking on behalf of the company, he does have insights and knowledge that most do not. I have put in bold some of the information that I find most interesting from his recent Reddit post:
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An (unofficial) update and AMA
Hi everyone,
I’m posting here unofficially as a member of the public, not as part of Boosted. My last formal role with the company ended when I left the Board of Directors 18 months ago, at which point I remained a small shareholder and an ongoing supporter like other former members of the Boosted team. Over the last few months, I’ve learned about what’s going on in the same way as everyone else, and I thought it would be helpful to post what I know in the hopes that it will answer some questions and help riders with outstanding issues like boards sent in for service.
First, the company is actually closed. From a corporate structure perspective it’s likely going to enter some form of bankruptcy protection at some point, but it won’t formally dissolve for a while. While there was some hope of a sale or future funding when the last blog post was published, that appears to be gone.
Second, Lime has purchased all the assets and IP of the company. As far as I can tell, this includes design files, software and code, diagnostics, parts, and test equipment. I’m not sure if this includes the responsibility for warranty coverage for boards and scooters sold before. I do know that a handful of former engineers at Boosted, most senior is Michael Hillman who joined as VP Engineering last year, are now at Lime and may be able to help. Regardless of how this is structured, if we want our products to continue being supported, including parts for boards or any software diagnostic tests and debugging, their cooperation and help will be needed.
Third, Lime also appears to be in possession of everything at Boosted’s headquarters in Mountain View, including access to the building. I know that some Boosted team members have been trying unsuccessfully to service and send boards back to customers for weeks. I’m not a lawyer, but I suspect that those boards should rightfully get back to their owners and should be safe to ride, and I’m trying to find a way to help with this. In the meantime, I’d recommend folks who are looking to get in touch more urgently should reach out to Lime directly.
Fourth, there seems to be a healthy movement to keep supporting Boosted products with aftermarket parts and service via the Discord channel, some retail partners, and some individuals. I don’t know much about this topic yet, but I’m personally interested because even I want to keep riding my boards as long as possible.
That’s all I’m aware of for now. Feel free to ask questions below, and I’ll answer as much as I’m able to. I will also post new information as much as possible that’s helpful.
-Sanjay
PS. Boosted had a hell of a run. And that is entirely thanks to you. While I’m heartbroken like many of you, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this community and this sub for the past 7 years. We tried very hard at Boosted to take care of each of you, but what was surprising and wonderful was how much you took care of each other. Keep it up, thank you for everything, and ride safe.
See the complete discussion on Reddit.
My thoughts:
It’s sad to see a pioneer in the field of electric rideables rise so fast only to fall and die just as quickly. By the number of positive and encouraging comments on the Reddit thread, it seems like the community is still very active, supportive and engaged.
There are still a number of questions, especially for folks with new boards still under warranty needing service or repairs. While Lime has taken over much of the ownership and remnants of Boosted, the status of the warranties is still unclear.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Lime does with the corpse of Boosted. There are so many other great scooter and electric skateboard options, it seems like outside the hardcore Boosted fans, the company did not have much to offer to the e-skate community.
The e-skate competition such as Exway had moved on in technology and advancements, often at a more affordable price.