Canoo is the latest electric vehicle startup in the United States to go public, with its shares starting to trade on the Nasdaq on Tuesday under ticker symbol “GOEV.”

The shares opened at a price of $22.82 and at the time of writing were trading at $20.36. Canoo is thought to have received approximately $600 million from the deal.

For its listing, Canoo followed in the footsteps of fellow EV startups Nikola, Lordstown Motors, and Fisker by entering a so-called “reverse merger” with a special purpose acquisition company whose shares are already publicly traded, in this case Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. Another EV startup, Mullen Technologies, also plans to go public via a reverse merger.

Canoo MPDV electric van

Canoo MPDV electric van

Canoo was established in 2018 by several former Faraday Future executives. The company is based in Los Angeles and already has close to 300 staff.

Canoo has developed a modular EV platform that will initially be used in a small but spacious minivan also called Canoo. The minivan is expected to launch in late 2021 and be followed by a last-mile delivery van in 2022. A sporty coupe is also in the company's plans.

What will set Canoo apart from other EV startups is a subscription business model. Customers will pay a set monthly fee that covers all costs, including registration, maintenance, insurance, and charging. Those subscribers won't own their vehicles, but they will also be able to give those vehicles back whenever they want.