This tiny electric vehicle manufacturer has surged 521% in June as hype builds around Tesla competitor Nikola Motor

• Workhorse has surged as much as 521% month-to-date, as investor hype around electric vehicle start-ups like Nikola Motor continues to build.
• Workhorse is a small-cap electric vehicle manufacturer that owns a 10% stake in its spinoff Lordstown Motors, which is developing an electric pickup truck poised to compete with Tesla's Cybertruck and Nikola Motor's Badger, among others.
• Workhorse is focused on developing electric delivery vans that would be utilized by shipping companies like UPS and FedEx.
• Workhorse surged as much as 56% on Monday after the company announced it would be added to the Russell 3000 index.
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Add Workhorse to the list of start-up electric vehicle companies that is seeing its stock bid up astronomically by retail investors.

So far in June, shares of Workhorse are up as much as 521% and Robinhood accounts that own the stock surged nearly 300%, according to data from Robintrack.net. Workhorse began June trading at $2.48, and hit as high as $15.41 Monday.

Workhorse develops electric delivery vans that are targeting delivery companies like UPS, FedEx, and DHL. The company also operates an aviation unit that makes delivery drones. Previously, the company developed an electric pickup truck but abandoned that project after it proved too costly for the company to develop.

In 2019, Workhorse licensed its electric pickup truck technology to its former CEO, Steve Burns. Burns formed Lordstown Motors and acquired an auto manufacturing facility from General Motors in Lordstown, Ohio.

Workhorse retains a 10% equity stake in Lordstown Motors and is set to receive a royalty fee for every Lordstown Endurance pickup truck that is sold.

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Workhorse spiked as much as 56% on Monday after the company announced that its stock has been added to the Russell 3000 index. Much of today's bounce can be attributed to the fact that passive ETFs and mutual funds that track the Russell 3000 index will be forced to purchase shares of Workhorse due to Monday's inclusion.

The investor hype surrounding electric vehicles has been inspired by Tesla's meteoric rise past $1,000, and spilled over to Nikola Motors, which began accepting a $5,000 reservation for its Badger electric pickup truck today. Investor hype was so strong that Nikola shares doubled in a single day after it went public via a reverse merger earlier this month.

Workhorse has seen its market capitalization skyrocket from $185 million at the start of June to $994 million today, according to data from YCharts.com.