Electric boat builders X-Shore raised an additional $50 million in funding this week, which is being used to help rapidly ramp up production of the Eelex 8000 e-boat.
The first X-Shore prototypes were launched in January of 2019, following a successful crowdfunding of 1.5 million Euros, followed by another 5 million Euro investment from Swedish business leaders and venture capitalists and a later $17 million raise. This $50 million hit, however, is its biggest yet, and serves as a vote of extreme confidence in the startup boat builder that Forbes calls, “the Tesla of the Sea.”
“We’re trying to drive the transformation that you’ve seen in the automotive industry from combustion engine cars to electric cars,” X-Shore CEO Jenny Keisu told the TechFirst podcast last April. “We’re trying to drive that in the marine segment, and we believe that in order for people to change, the product needs to be better. It needs to be a better user experience. We won’t change just because it’s more environmentally friendly.”
It’s worth noting here that production of the X-Shore Eelex 8000 was already underway prior to the $50M raise. The boat features a lot of “standard” EV features like automation, digital touchscreen interfaces, an app that connects it to your smartphone for all manner of monitoring and diagnostics, over-the-air (OTA) software updates, and— of course— rocket-like acceleration from the electric motor’s massive, instant torque.
You can get a better sense of what this electric boat is all about in the company’s official product video, “The Full X-Shore Eelex 8000 Experience,” below, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and let us know what you think of the Eelex 8000 and the future of electric boating, in the comments.
The Full X-Shore Eelex 8000 Experience
SOURCE | IMAGES: X-SHORE.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. Learn more.
