Floodlight, a nonprofit journalistic organization that looks at the forces impeding climate action, is the source of this report. Get the Floodlight newsletter by subscribing here.
They brought with them promises of change, including a presence in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle sector, thousands of employment, and rising incomes.
Officials in small, struggling communities in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Arkansas were presented with a daring idea by Imola Automotive USA, a firm based in Boca Raton, Florida. In addition to creating 45,000 jobs, the business intended to construct six EV facilities and assist these underprivileged towns in securing a position in America’s green future.
However, the business hasn’t started construction on any sites more than 18 months later. Additionally, its chief executive, who has experience in athletic shoes and television rather than auto manufacture, has stopped speaking.
Imola has sought free land, municipal finance, and other incentives for its shifting projects in Fort Valley, Georgia; Langston, Oklahoma; and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, but a Floodlight investigation found no evidence of lost government money in these areas.
The instance, however, shows how the rush to secure electric car jobs can leave economically disadvantaged cities exposed to hollow promises, according to a watchdog on economic growth.
Rodney Henry, the CEO of Imola, turned down requests for an interview. In a brief statement in response to Floodlight’s questions, he insisted that the business had not abandoned its objectives, which included a collaboration with an Italian producer of two-seat electric cars.
“Due to circumstances beyond our control, our schedule has been adjusted,” Henry stated in a statement. We are really committed to aligning our objectives. We are unable to provide specifics at this time due to proprietary considerations and NDA (nondisclosure) agreements.
That is a significant change from what the firm had previously promised. Henry stated in a January 2024 press release that the corporation has already acquired land in several states to construct six factories and generate tens of thousands of jobs.
Is it really possible for someone without any prior automotive production experience to deliver that?
Greg LeRoy, CEO of Good Jobs First, an organization that monitors and evaluates economic development initiatives, called it absurd.
“Building large auto plants requires a lot of money, a lot of management skill, and a lot of engineering and marketing chops,” he said. And it goes without saying that Tesla created those, but it took time, right?
The competition to recruit electric vehicle plants was not limited to Langston, Fort Valley, and Pine Bluff. Local authorities across rushed to secure well-paying industrial jobs and a piece of the expanding renewable energy industry, propelled by federal measures such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which opened up billions of dollars in private investment and increased government incentives.
More than 150 electric vehicle plants have been announced in the United States since the IRA was approved in 2022, according to E2, a nonpartisan organization of industry leaders that support environmentally friendly economic development.
However, that rush might be coming to a halt. The EV industry is already in disarray due to the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill, which eliminates numerous federal tax credits and incentives for electric vehicles. This could potentially halt or reduce the kinds of ambitious projects that communities like Langston, Fort Valley, and Pine Bluff were depending on. Plans for 14 EV-related plants have been canceled this year, according to E2.
Vibrant declarations followed by stillness
There is little more than confusion and no indication of building in three areas where Imola promised significant investment.
Imola’s intentions never materialized in Langston, a 1,600-person town where nearly 35% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Former Imola chief operating officer Eric Pettus wrote to the municipal council in 2023, stating that the corporation had encountered several challenges, including difficulties obtaining sufficient property.
We are asking the City of Langston to notify us of any and all unoccupied properties that are owned by the city so that we can proceed with the project. Pettus penned.
Magnus Scott, a member of the Langston City Council, stated that the business also requested that the town issue municipal bonds to finance the construction of their plant.
However, a corporate representative delivered the shocking news that the agreement had been terminated before any land was transferred or bonds were issued. Scott remarked, “I suppose they encountered financial difficulties.”
When contacted via phone, Pettus, who lives in south Florida, stated that he is now a consultant for Imola rather than an employee. He declined to talk on Imola’s plans, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
Early in 2024, Fort Valley endorsed Imola’s ambitious plan to construct an EV facility with 7,500 jobs.
When there was still no evidence of development on the factory a year later, the corporation returned to the Georgia town with a completely different idea. This time, they proposed a high-tech lighting system for the community rather of constructing an EV plant.
A member of the city council objected.
According to the minutes of the March 2025 meeting, council member Laronda Eason stated, “You want us to sign an agreement for 99 years before you bring us the car company.” It has the feel of a bait and switch.
Emails and texts asking for Eason’s opinion on the Imola idea went unanswered.
At first, city officials were all in for Pine Bluff, where the per capita income was slightly over $21,000 last year. In an August 2024 letter to Henry, then-Mayor Shirley Washington stated that the 39,000-person city was prepared to assist Imola’s ambition by issuing industrial revenue bonds, purchasing land, and constructing infrastructure.
We are confident that this investment will trigger a significant turning point in our town, with an expected employment base of over 8,000 jobs, Washington said.
However, the project has not progressed after a year. In a quick phone chat, Washington stated, “We never did get off the ground with that.”
Imola’s pitch, according to LeRoy, follows an unsettling pattern.
About the underprivileged neighborhoods that Imola courted, he remarked, “It strikes me as an example of how the craze among governors and mayors to get the next big thing has caused some sloppy vetting.”
He claimed that these places are easy targets. They are in a grave situation.In 2024, Dr. Isaac Crumbly of Fort Valley State University in Georgia signed a deal with Imola Automotive USA CEO Rodney Henry, left, to work together on workforce development and science education. It was a component of Imola’s plan to build a Fort Valley electric vehicle facility. But there hasn’t been any indication of construction since.Fort Valley State University is credited.
Big picture, lacking specifics
The inventor of the sports footwear company Prot g and a veteran TV executive producer, Henry hails from Florida.He claims on his IMDB profilethat Prot g donated a million pairs of shoes to African nations.
But his EV startup hasn’t made any real headway despite collaborations being announced and high-paying positions being promised.
Floodlight discovered that the Imola website, which is named after the Italian city where Tazzari EVs are manufactured, is no longer password-protected. There was no reference to plants in the US in the Tazzari website search. However, the Imola site’s 2024 edition notes the minuscule cars that would soon arrive in America.
Plans for a cooperation were jointly revealed in early 2024 by Imola Automotive USA and the Tazzari Group, an Italian company best known for producing electric two-seater micro vehicles.
The Italian-made EVs produced by Tazzari are not intended for use on highways. According to the company’s website, the top speed of the Opensky Sport model is around 56 mph, while the top speed of the Opensky Limited model is approximately 37 mph.
A Floodlight reporter emailed Tazzari, but Tazzari did not reply.
Henry said at that time that the company chose Langston and Fort Valley because of their universities.
Both of these locations are ideal, he said in the January 2024 news release, as their proximity to communities with institutions of higher learning, will allow residents and students career opportunities in the fast growing EV Technology and Innovation Industry.
Many local officials in Fort Valley, Langston and Pine Bluff did not respond to interview requests. Few documents were provided in response to Floodlight s public records requests.
But it s clear from available records that Imola s promises stirred hope.
Langston Mayor Michael Boyles called the proposal transformative in a January 2024 news release.
But some local leaders soon began to question the details.
Erica Johnson, a real estate agent and former member of Langston s economic development commission, said parts of the plan didn t add up. How, for instance, would the company house more than 1,000 workers in such a small town? And how were they going to build such a large plant on land without utilities or water?
Her doubts deepened when she learned that Imola wanted to lock down land agreements without putting up any earnest money.
My early feeling was that, Something is not quite okay with this, she said. But I think the hope for our community kind of outweighed the ability to just take things slow and look at them for where they are and what they are versus where you hope them to be.
Eventually, the promise fizzled.
It was disappointing, Johnson said. We could have had our energy and time focused on something that seemed more valid and more substantial.
Still waiting for the shovels
Some residents in Fort Valley are still holding out hope.
Mayor Jeffery Lundy said early last year that it was a priority for my administration to land a company like Imola Automotive USA. Local officials, he said, were looking forward to the economic boost the plant would bring.
At the time, Imola claimed it would break ground on a 195-acre site by the third quarter of 2024 and open the plant within 20 months, according to a report inthe Macon Telegraph.
During a February 2024 town hall meeting, Imola officials told residents that the plant would pay employees an average of $45 an hour,according to a Facebook post.Commenters buzzed with excitement, with one writing: Application me !!!!
Pettustold a local TV stationthat most jobs would require only a high school diploma.
In early 2024, Fort Valley rezoned land to accommodate the plant, and the city council signed off on the deal. But more than 15 months later, there s still no sign of construction.
Council members were told that Georgia Power couldn t provide sufficient power for the EV company, according to minutes of their March 2025 meeting. A spokesman for Georgia Power said that while the utility doesn t discuss economic development projects, We re prepared and ready to meet the energy needs of any new customer.
Makita Driver, one of the Facebook commenters who d voiced excitement about the proposed EV plant, said there s no doubt she would have applied for one of the jobs there had the facility ever been built.
The pay rate was really what got my attention, she said.
As a medical assistant, Driver said she earns far less than what Imola had promised. But she eventually concluded the promises were too good to be true.
Who really makes that kind of money starting out? she asked.
In a brief interview with Floodlight on July 11, Mayor Lundy said he s still in contact with Henry.
We are patiently waiting for that groundbreaking, Lundy said.
Floodlightis a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action.
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