Worksport Ltd: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023

Overview

Worksport Ltd., through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and manufactures innovative products for various markets including automotive accessories, consumer electronics, and both residential and commercial HVAC system markets. Worksport is able to monetize and protect its products through a large and growing intellectual property (“IP”) portfolio with patents and trademarks relating to, among other things, tonneau covers, solar integrated tonneau covers, portable power stations, NP (non-parasitic) hydrogen-based green energy systems, residential heating and cooling systems (heat pumps), and electric vehicle-charging stations. Worksport seeks to provide consumers with next-generation automotive accessories through the production of our innovative line of tonneau covers for light trucks while capitalizing on growing consumer interest in clean energy solutions and power grid independence through the launch of its forthcoming solar tonneau cover (Worksport SOLIS) and mobile battery generator system (Worksport COR). Worksport’s subsidiary, TerraVis Energy, is poised to revolutionize the local and global markets for efficient home and commercial heat pumps through its groundbreaking TerraVis Energy Aetherlux. This prototype heat pump, currently under rigorous development, showcases exceptional early test results that underscore its remarkable efficiency in heating and cooling across both extreme hot and cold climates.

Corporate History

The Company was incorporated in the State of Nevada on April 2, 2003 under the name Franchise Holdings International, Inc. (“FNHI”). In December 2014, FNHI acquired 100% of the outstanding equity of Worksport Ltd., an Ontario corporation formed in 2011 (“Worksport Ontario”), pursuant to which Worksport Ontario became a wholly-owned subsidiary of FNHI. In May 2020, FNHI changed its name to Worksport Ltd.

On May 21, 2021, the Board of Directors (“Board”) authorized the submission of a Certificate of Change/Amendment to the Nevada Secretary of State in which the Company sought to affect a reverse split of its common stock at the rate of 1-for-20 for the purpose of increasing the per share price for the Company’s stock in an effort to meet the minimum listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”). The Certificate of Change was submitted to the Nevada Secretary of State on May 21, 2021, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) corporate action was announced on August 3, 2021. FINRA declared the 1-for-20 reverse stock split effective on August 4, 2021.

Terravis Energy Inc. (“Terravis”) was incorporated in the State of Colorado on May 24, 2021. On August 20, 2021, the Company was issued 100 shares of common stock at par value of $0.0001 per share. On January 20, 2022, Terravis issued an additional 9,999,900 shares of Common Stock to Worksport Ltd. at a par value of $0.0001. On November 4, 2022, Steven Rossi was issued 1,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock of Terravis at par value of $0.0001, representing 100% of the authorized Series A Preferred Stock, in consideration for services rendered. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock vote together with the common stock of Terravis, unless prohibited by law, and have 51% voting power, regardless of how many shares of Series A Preferred Stock are outstanding.

Worksport USA Operations Corporation was incorporated in the State of Colorado on March 23, 2022. On March 23, 2022, the Company was issued 1,000 shares of common stock at par value of $0.0001 per share, representing 100% of the outstanding equity of Worksport USA Operations Corporation.

Worksport New York Operations Corporation was incorporated in the State of New York on March 31, 2022. On April 1, 2022, the Company was issued 10,000 shares of common stock at par value of $0.0001 per share, representing 100% of the outstanding equity of Worksport New York Operations Corporation.

Worksport Acquisition Corporation was incorporated in the State of Delaware on December 28, 2021. On January 1, 2022, the Company was issued 1,000 shares of common stock at par value of $0.0001 per share, representing 100% of the outstanding equity of Worksport Acquisition Corporation. On August 8, 2023, this corporation was dissolved due to lack of operations and activity.

Worksport USA Holding Corporation was incorporated in the State of Colorado on March 11, 2022. On March 11, 2022, the Company was issued 1,000 shares of common stock at par value of $0.0001 per share, representing 100% of the outstanding equity of Worksport USA Holding Corporation. On May 25, 2023, this corporation was dissolved due to lack of operations and activity.

April 2021 Public Offering; Nasdaq Uplisting

On August 6, 2021, we consummated a firm commitment underwritten public offering (the “Public Offering”) of an aggregate of 3,272,727 units pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1, as amended (File No. 333-256142), and related registration statement on Form S-1 filed pursuant Rule 462(b) (File No: 333-258429) under the Securities Act. The Public Offering price was $5.50 per unit, and each unit consisted of one share of common stock and one warrant (“Public Warrant”) to purchase one share of common stock for $6.05 per share (110% of the unit offering price) from the date of issuance until the third anniversary of the issuance date. We received gross proceeds of approximately $18.0 million from the Public Offering, and after deducting the underwriting commissions, discounts, and offering expenses payable by us, we received net proceeds of approximately $16.1 million. We used the net proceeds for working capital, research & development, marketing, and equipment.

In connection with the Public Offering, our common stock and Public Warrant commenced trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “WKSP” and “WKSPW,” respectively, since August 4, 2021. Prior to the uplisting, our common stock was quoted on the OTCQB Marketplace under the symbol “WKSP.”

September 2022 At-The-Market Sales Agreement

On September 30, 2022, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, which was declared effective by the SEC on October 13, 2022 (“Form S-3 Registration Statement”), allowing the Company to issue up to $30,000,000 of common stock and prospectus supplement covering the offering, issuance and sale of up to $13,000,000 of common stock that may be issued and sold under an At The Market Offering Agreement dated September 30, 2022 (“ATM Agreement”), with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, as the sales agent (“HCW”). Pursuant to the ATM Agreement, HCW is entitled to a commission equal to 3.0% of the gross sales price of the shares of common stock sold. As of December 30, 2023, the Company has sold and issued 604,048 shares of common stock in consideration for net proceeds of $812,551 under the ATM Agreement.

November 2023 Registered Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Offering

On November 2, 2023, we raised roughly $4.7 million from a registered direct offering and concurrent private placement before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The registered direct offering entailed the sale of 3,500,000 shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of common stock in lieu thereof) to a single institutional investor. The concurrent private placement entailed the issuance and sale of warrants to purchase up to 7,000,000 shares of common stock to the same institutional investor. The combined effective offering price for each share of common stock (or pre-funded warrant in lieu thereof) and accompanying warrant was $1.34. The warrants will become exercisable six months from issuance, expire five and a half years from the issuance date and have an exercise price of $1.34 per share. The shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) were offered by the Company pursuant to the Company’s Form S-3 Registration Statement. The warrants issued in the concurrent private placement and the shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants were offered in a private placement under Section 4(a)(2) and/or Rule 506 of Regulation D. The 7,000,000 shares of common stock underlying the warrants were registered for resale by the institutional investor on a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-276241) filed with the SEC on December 22, 2023 and declared effective by the SEC on December 29, 2023. If at time, there is no effective registration statement available for the shares of common stock underlying the warrants, the warrants may be exercised via a “cashless exercise.” We will not receive any proceeds from any warrants exercised by a “cashless exercise.”

March 2024 Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Offering

On March 18, 2024, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with a certain institutional investor (the “Purchaser”) pursuant to which we sold, in a registered direct offering, an aggregate of (i) 2,372,240 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock and (ii) 1,477,892 pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 1,477,892 shares of Common Stock (the “Pre-funded Warrant Shares”). The offering price per Share was $0.74 and the offering price per Pre-funded Warrant was $0.7399.

The Shares, Pre-funded Warrants and Pre-funded Warrants Shares were offered pursuant to our Form S-3 Registration as supplemented by a prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus dated March 18, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 19, 2024 pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) promulgated under the Securities Act. The registered direct offering closed on March 20, 2024.

The Company received net proceeds of approximately $2.59 million from the offering, after deducting the estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, including the tail fees payable to Maxim Group LLC. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital.

In a concurrent private placement, we issued the Purchaser warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,700,264 shares of common stock for $0.74 per share. Under the warrants, we are obligated to register the shares underlying the warrants on a registration statement on Form S-3 (or other applicable form). If at time, there is no effective registration statement available for the shares of common stock underlying the warrants, the warrants may be exercised via a “cashless exercise.” We will not receive any proceeds from any warrants exercised by a “cashless exercise.”

Business Developments

The following highlights recent material developments in our business:

• In August 2023, we announced the successful dispatch of our first shipment of hard-folding tonneau covers, which are made in the U.S. with domestic and imported components. This major development follows our initiating manufacturing earlier that month and aligns with recent sizable orders, notably a $700,000 order for soft-folding covers and a staggering $1,600,000 order for hard-folding covers, both from a national U.S. customer and reseller of automotive aftermarket accessories.
• In September 2023, we announced that we had found a top-tier solar panel provider for our highly anticipated SOLIS Solar Tonneau Cover. We believe that this provider, renowned for its state-of-the-art solar panels and underlying technology, will help us set a new standard in renewable energy tech for vehicles and provide the most durable and highest quality flexible solar panels.
• In September 2023, we announced significant strides in the development of our groundbreaking COR battery system, designed to complement the launch of the SOLIS solar cover. This cutting-edge duo is poised to empower remote power supply and extend the driving range of electric pickup trucks, thereby underscoring our commitment to sustainability and innovation as a cleantech company.
• On September 19, 2023, we announced that we had secured a long-term supply agreement with an established, leading automotive aftermarket reseller in the United States.
• On January 3, 2024, we announced our strategic arrangement with NeuronicWorks Inc., a Toronto-based high-tech custom electronic product development and manufacturing company, to manufacture and assemble our COR battery system in preparation for the system’s anticipated Alpha release.
• On February 7, 2024, we announced a collaboration with Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) pursuant to which we will use Infineon’s GaN power semiconductors GS-065-060-5-B-A in the converters for our portable power stations to increase efficiency and power density.
• On February 23, 2024, we announced a new arrangement with Dix Performance North, Canada’s leading wholesaler of aftermarket car and truck products, for Dix would include our tonneau covers in their catalog. This strategic alliance is expected to make Worksport’s range of covers widely available throughout Canada, accelerate our growth, and contribute to significant sales and revenue increases.

Products

We have developed a series of soft and hard folding tonneau covers as well as energy products.

Soft Tonneau Covers

Our soft tonneau cover offering consists of vinyl wrapped tri- and quad-fold tonneau covers manufactured overseas in Meizhou, China and Foshan, China. Enhanced versions of our vinyl tri- and quad-fold soft tonneau covers are now available for purchase and marketed under a “Pro” designation. These upgraded versions include our patented quick latch system, which allows the operator to open the cover by simply pulling a release cable – enabling single-sided operation. Each soft cover is fitted with a powder-coated, lightweight aluminum frame and rear cam latches as well as ultra-violet (UV) protected, vinyl tri-layer material that seals around the truck bed with a rubber gasket designed to protect cargo from moisture and debris.

Tri-fold soft covers are a lower cost option when compared to quad-fold tonneau covers which have the additional benefit of enabling full truck bed access by being foldable upwards toward the rear window of the truck. As the market’s only soft vinyl flip up cover that can be either folded against the truck’s rear window or secured like a traditional cover to avoid obstruction of the rear window, Worksport’s full bed access quad-fold soft cover when folded parallel to the back window of the truck while avoiding obstruction of the rear brake light on most truck models.

Our soft tonneau cover line includes:

• Developed
• The Worksport SC3 – soft tri-fold introduced in 2011, first Worksport Ltd. product;
• The Worksport SC3 PRO –soft tri-fold with Quick Latch system introduced in 2012;
• The Worksport SC4 – soft quad-fold introduced in 2022; and
• The Worksport SC4 PRO –soft quad-fold with Quick Latch system to be introduced in 2023.
• In Development
• The Worksport SCX – soft tri-fold with extendable frame.

Hard Tonneau Covers

Our hard line of tonneau covers includes tri- and quad-fold, aluminum covers. Our entire line of hard folding tonneau covers is manufactured in the USA and include our Quick Latch technology to allow single-sided operation. Our hard covers’ panels are made with ultra-thick, formed aluminum that provides superior dent resistance compared to those of other hard covers, and we protect those panels with a proprietary ceramic paint technology that’s scratch- and dent-resistant. Designed to auto index (center) in the truck bed and be only 7.5mm above the truck bed, the cover provides a low profile, sleek look and yet is easy to install. Our Tough Cover (TC) line will be purchasable with or without a rail system add-on, which provides enhanced utility and enhanced weather-resistance/sealing.

Our hard tonneau cover line, all of which is in development, includes:

• The Worksport TC3 – premium top-mounted hard tri-fold;
• The Worksport TC4 – premium top-mounted hard fold with full truck bed access;
• The Worksport AL3 – top-mounted hard tri-fold;
• The Worksport AL4 –top-mounted hard fold with full truck bed access

Energy Products

We are researching and developing various energy-based products, two of which are standalone items - the Worksport SOLIS tonneau cover (“SOLIS”) and the Worksport COR energy storage system (“COR”) - which can be sold together along with a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) system. This kit will be available for both end-consumers and Original Vehicle Manufactures alike. This kit integrates tonneau cover, solar energy capture, and portable energy storage technologies to convert pickup trucks to mobile microgrid power stations – allowing Worksport to compete within niche markets in each the automotive aftermarket accessory, solar energy, and portable power station markets. The MPPT within this kit may be sold alongside the SOLIS as a paired offering, as we have designed a version of our MPPT with a lower voltage input to be used with generic solar panels with lower voltage ratings than our COR energy storage system.

Worksport SOLIS

The SOLIS, a tonneau cover with integrated solar panels, is a unique, folding tonneau cover design founded on our top-mounted tough cover design but with the addition of cutting edge, monocrystalline, semi-flexible solar panels and wiring system. These solar panels are secured to aluminum alloy panels both mechanically and using specialized adhesives, which ensure the covers are extremely strong, durable, and secure. The SOLIS cover is intended to be sold as an Original Equipment Manufacturer product, as it can be integrated into the design of leading electric pickup trucks; consequently, we have and will continue to forge and develop relationships with electric pickup truck manufacturers, including but not limited to Workhorse, Rivian, and Tesla as well as Toyota, Stellantis, General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Fisker, and Honda.

The solar panels that we plan to integrate into the SOLIS cover are capable of generating 170-180 watts per square meter. For example, as tested outdoors, the SOLIS cover is capable of generating approximately 460 watts of power on a RAM 6’5” truck bed. When integrated into the design of an electric pickup truck, this power generation can be converted to additional vehicle mileage. The specific added mileage is dependent on many factors including but not limited to the region of the world in which the vehicle is driven, weather conditions, season, temperature, hours of sun light per day, and average irradiance. For example, assuming a solar power density of 170 W/m2, battery capacity of 98 kWh, mileage range of 300 miles, average hours of sun per day of 6 hours, average irradiance per day of 700 W/m2, and surface area of 2.7 m2, the SOLIS cover is estimated to provide 5.6 additional miles of range to an electric pickup truck per day.

Worksport COR

The COR or COR ESS (energy storage system) is a modular, portable power station uniquely designed to mount to the inside of a pickup truck bed and enable battery swapping without an immediate drop in power output. The COR built-in inverter with an output voltage of 120V AC (frequency of 60Hz) is capable of powering loads up to 3000W. Combined with its modular 48V batteries, it can store up to 6kWh of energy on the go. Each additional modular battery adds 1.5kWh of energy storage. The COR main battery, a Lithium battery, boasts a capacity of 1534Wh while its Hot Swap Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) battery has a capacity of around 200Wh. The system allows Bluetooth connection for monitoring and controlling the COR system and its external batteries.

Not only does the COR system allow users to swap a depleted battery for a fully charged one, but it does so without a drop in power output for up to 15 seconds with a load of 3000W. This unique feature allows the COR system to be used in a variety of applications, including but not limited to sporting and outdoor activities, disaster relief and general emergencies, and vocational activities ranging from contractor to drone operator. While the COR system is designed to nicely complement the SOLIS tonneau cover, it will be purchasable as a standalone product – allowing consumers to utilize stored energy, whether captured via grid or grid-independent energy sources, anywhere. As Worksport’s first step into the energy storage market, the COR system is Worksport’s pioneer product within its future COR platform.

Manufacturing

As of December 31, 2023, all Worksport soft tonneau covers were manufactured in a facility located in Meizhou, China according to Worksport’s specifications, schematics and blueprints. We also began exploring and setting up production capabilities for additional soft covers at a second outsourced manufacturing facility located in Foshan, China. The newer facility in Foshan, China will have an output capacity two times greater than that of the manufacturing facility in Meizhou, China. We believe we will be able to scale production at this newer facility without sacrificing quality or craftsmanship.

We have purchased many production tools including injection molds, die cast molds, extrusion dies, and stamping dies – many of which are residing among foreign suppliers who are currently utilizing said tooling to produce needed components for manufacturing or assembly within the USA. We are concurrently diversifying this list of raw material suppliers who can use our production tools to continue producing our tonneau cover components in order to lower the risk that trade with any particular or preferred raw material supplier become more expensive or difficult.

In May of 2022, we purchased a 152,847 square foot production facility for domestic production, storage, and distribution, located in West Seneca, New York. We have received, installed, and tested all manufacturing equipment as well as trained all personnel necessary for phase one production. Management believes that having manufacturing capability in North America will increase quality control and production efficiency, as well as lower landed costs and geopolitical risks.

In August of 2023, we began early production of our first hard folding tonneau cover, the Worksport AL3 Pro. We have continued to develop, improve, and evolve our production methods and standards. As of March 2024, we have begun consistent production of the AL3 Pro with high repeatably and stable production quality. The AL3 Pro tonneau cover model is in active production for most major makes and models of light trucks in North America.

Our manufacturing engineering team is continuing to develop rigs and fixtures to increase the efficiency of our manufacturing process in order to scale existing manufacturing lines before investing in additional lines and personnel, and we will continue to allocate resources towards improving manufacturing efficiency and product quality on an on-going basis.

Intellectual Property

We currently hold a broad collection of intellectual property rights relating to certain aspects of our parts and accessories and services. This includes patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Although we believe the ownership of such intellectual property rights is an important factor in our business and that our success does depend in part on such ownership, we rely primarily on the innovative skills, technical competence and marketing abilities of our personnel.

Patents

As of December 31, 2023, our patent portfolio consists of ten (10) issued U.S. utility patents, three (3) issued Canadian utility patents, and thirty-two (32) pending utility patent applications in various jurisdictions worldwide. Our portfolio further includes seven (7) design registrations in Europe and China, along with forty-five (45) pending design applications in various jurisdictions worldwide. We are also in the process of preparing and filing several other utility and design patent applications across relevant countries and jurisdictions.

Granted U.S. utility patents will expire between 2032 and 2040, excluding any patent term adjustment that might be available following the grant of the patent. If issued, pending utility patent applications would expire 20 years from the filing date of each application, excluding the filing date of any provisional applications and excluding any patent term adjustment that might be available following the grant of the patent.

Trademarks

As of December 31, 2023, the Company has 36 trademark registrations and 18 pending trademark applications in various jurisdictions worldwide.

The Market

We primarily compete in the Automotive Aftermarket Accessories and New Energy industries with a focus on the Tonneau Cover and the Portable Power Station Markets.

Tonneau Cover Market

There are various forms of tonneau covers, each with their advantages and disadvantages, available for consumption through direct-to-consumer and retailer and dealer sales channels. Some forms of tonneau cover include but are not limited to:

• Solid One Piece Caps and Lids;
• Retractable Covers;
• Soft Folding & Roll-Up Covers; and
• Hard Folding & Standing Covers

Solid one piece covers and retractable covers tend to have limited functionality and tend to be priced higher when compared to other types of tonneau covers. Soft and hard folding/rolling tonneau covers, in contrast, tend to be priced more competitively and, as such, are a popular choice among tonneau cover consumers. Given these factors and our belief that we can develop less cumbersome, high functioning, and low cost soft and hard folding covers, we focus primarily on developing soft and hard folding covers.

Our tonneau cover revenue stream is largely proportional to sales of pickup trucks. As of late 2022, there were 284.9 million vehicles in operation in the USA1, roughly 21%, or 59.5 million, of which were pickup trucks.2 However, as a result of recent supply chain shortages, heightened interest rates, high prices, and slowing sales, it may take until 2025 for new-vehicle sales to return to pre-pandemic levels.1 While new vehicle sales have decreased, we are well-positioned to capitalize on new vehicle sales; we offer tonneau covers for each of the 10 most popular makes/models by projected 2022-2029 sales (including, for example, the Ford F-Series, RAM Pickups, and Chevrolet Silverado), as well as the top 10 most accessorized pickup truck makes/models projected in 2022-2029.2 Within North America, the pickup truck market is expected to grow from $120 billion in 2022 to $160 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% in 2023-2030.3 Within this market, pickup trucks are most popular within the southern region of the United States2, and the two largest state markets for pickup trucks are by far Texas and California.2 Globally, the pickup truck market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.01% between 2023 and 2028, representing a $102.91 billion increase.4

Electric pickup trucks are projected to gain a larger portion of the U.S. pickup truck market share each year through 2035.1 In fact, the electric pickup truck submarket within North America is estimated to grow from $16.66 billion in 2024 to $64.65 billion in 2029, representing a compound annual growth rate of 31.15%.5 However, a large headwind acting against this trend is that pickup trucks tend to be more popular in areas with less-developed charging infrastructure2 – a headwind that the SOLIS cover directly addresses and positions us favorably for possible partnerships and deals with electric pickup truck manufacturers.

The Specialty Equipment Aftermarket provides more specific insight into how often and for what reasons vehicle owners or renters are purchasing accessories for their vehicles. Despite crossover utility vehicles being the most common vehicle type on the road in the USA1, pickup trucks are the largest market by sales within the USA for specialty equipment – constituting 31% of this market2, which translated to $16 billion in sales during 2021.2 This market is expected to grow from $51.80 billion in 2022 to $58.28 billion by 2026.6 Within this pickup truck accessory market, 34% of accessories are truck bed & utility modifications2, which is the submarket in which we operate. Truck bed covers are among the top product categories for aftermarket accessory purchases in 20212, and the size of the tonneau cover market within the USA is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.6% from $3 billion in 2021 to $5 billion in 2027.7

As discretionary consumer goods, the specialty automotive part market is subject to consumer spending trends. Per capita disposable income fell 7.8% during 2022 as government stimulus ended, though it has since increased by 4.6%.8 Further, the Bureau of Labor has reported an increased unemployment rate in February 2024 relative to prior months9, and the Federal Reserve has projected unemployment rates may increase in 2024 and 2025.10 Together, these factors suggest consumer disposable income and unemployment will need to be carefully monitored in order to accurately forecast the automotive aftermarket accessories’ market potential year-to-year.

Consumers purchase automotive aftermarket accessories, as well as tonneau covers, specifically, for various reasons. According to recent reports, 97%, 92%, 80%, and 62% of pickup truck owners use their trucks for utility/work, travel/vacation, outdoor recreation, and off-road uses, respectively.2 Of those pickup truck owners who have purchased accessories for their trucks, 93%, 86%, 68%, and 43% of them use their pickup trucks for day trips, carrying tools/gear, light off-roading, and car camping, respectively.2 Pickup truck owners who use their vehicles for outdoor recreation, work, or off-roading are much more likely to purchase accessories when compared to those who use their vehicles for other purposes.2 Worksport’s tonneau covers largely benefit truck owners using their vehicles for any of these aforementioned purposes, and the SOLIS cover provides additional utility for those utilizing their trucks for utility/work, outdoor recreation, and car camping, in particular.

Sales of truck bed covers occur across several channels, among those including but not limited to part manufacturers, specialty retailers and online retailers. For physical location sales, the most popular sales channels for truck bed covers include New Vehicle Dealerships and Specialty Retailers/Installers, which constituted 17% and 14% of physical location sales, respectively, in 2023.6 For online sales, the most popular sales channels for truck bed covers include Online Only General Retailer, Specialty Retailers/Installers, and Direct from Parts Manufacturers, which constituted 22%, 19%, and 8% of online sales, respectively, in 2023.6 In the Fall of 2022, it was reported that more than half of manufacturers within the specialty-equipment industry were realizing increasing sales through their Direct Sales to Consumers online sales channel over the prior twelve months – a proportion greater than that of any other online sales channel for specialty-equipment including Online Specialty Retailers, Online-Only Retailers, and Auto Parts Chains.11 Worksport has begun selling in this sales channel and plans to invest further into doing so in the future.

1. SEMA. Future Trends Report. 2023. Retrieved from www.sema.org (http://www.sema.org)

2. SEMA. Pickup Accessorization Report. 2022. Retrieved from www.sema.org (http://www.sema.org)

3. Skyquest Technology. Global Pickup Truck Market Size, Share, Growth Analysis, By Truck Type (Small Size Pickup Truck, Mid-Size Pickup Truck), By Propulsion Type (Diesel Pickup Truck, Gasoline Pickup Truck) - Industry Forecast 2023-2030. 2024. Retrieved from https://www.skyquestt.com/report/pickup-truck-market

4. GlobalNewswire. Global Pickup Truck Market Poised for Growth, Set to Expand by USD 102.91 Billion with CAGR of 5.01% from 2023-2028. 2024. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2024/01/26/2818014/28124/en/Global-Pickup-Truck-Market-Poised-for-Growth-Set-to-Expand-by-USD-102-91-Billion-with-CAGR-of-5-01-from-2023-2028.html

5. Mordor Intelligence. North America Electric Truck Market Size & Share Analysis – Growth Trends & Forecasts up to 2029. 2024. Retrieved from https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/north-america-electric-truck-market

6. SEMA. SEMA Market Report. 2023. Retrieved from www.sema.org (http://www.sema.org)

7. Arizton. U.S. Tonneau Covers Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027. 2022. Retrieved from https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/us-tonneau-covers-market

8. IBIS World. Per Capita Disposable Income. 2023. Retrieved from https://www.ibisworld.com/us/bed/per-capita-disposable-income/33/#:~:text=Following%20the%20ending%20of%20government,when%20it%20may%20potentially%20hit.

9. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Employment Situation – February 2024. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

10. Federal Reserve Board. Summary of Economic Projections. 2023. Retrieved from https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcprojtabl20231213.pdf.

11. SEMA. State of the Industry Report 2022 Fall. 2022. Retrieved from www.sema.org (http://www.sema.org)

Portable Power Station Market

Compared to the Tonneau Cover Market, the Portable Power Station Market is much younger and globalized. Gas and diesel generators have long been used by consumers to generate electricity when they could not rely on the grid, whether it be due to grid damage or the lack of grid in remote areas. Unlike such generators, portable power stations do not generate electricity themselves, but they too can be used to provide electricity during times of grid unreliability. These portable power stations are often charged by the grid via home outlets or independent of the grid via consumers’ vehicles or solar panels.

The Portable Power Station Market is large and growing. At a compound annual growth rate of 3.90% between 2023 and 2032, the global Portable Power Station market size is currently valued at $4.49 billion and is expected to grow to $6.13 billion by 2032.1 Within this global market, the largest regional market is the North American market with the USA alone constituting $1.28 billion of the current market share and having a compound annual growth rate of 3.8%.1 The segments within the North American market with the largest market share and highest compound annual growth rates are power stations utilizing lithium-ion batteries and those used for off-grid power applications,2 which matches the COR system’s battery type as well as intended usage. Power stations with capacities equal to or greater than 1500 Wh trail slightly behind batteries with capacities equal to or less than 500 Wh in both market size and compound annual growth rate.2

When paired with the SOLIS cover, the COR energy storage system will be a market outlier in that it can be charged safely while mobile whereas competing portable power stations are intended to be stationary during charging.

1. Precedence Research. Portable Power Station Market. Retrieved from https://www.precedenceresearch.com/portable-power-station-market

2. Market Research Future. Global Portable Power Station Market Research Report. 2023.

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Distribution

We distribute our tonneau covers in Canada and the United States through an expanding network of wholesalers, private labels, distributors, and online retail channels, including eBay, Amazon, Walmart, and our own e-commerce platform hosted on Shopify. Distribution via each aforementioned channel is expected to increase during 2024. We have pursued and will continue to pursue relationships with Original Equipment Manufacturers with the intention of distributing through them as well.

The specialty equipment aftermarket consists of three major types of customers, which include master warehouse distributors and big box stores, dealers and wholesalers, and retail end consumers. Master warehouse distributors and big box stores stock and distribute products to their customers, which are usually local dealers and wholesalers. Dealers and wholesalers are local stores which sell products to some businesses and retail consumers in their area and online. Dealers purchase most of their products from their local distributor who delivers to them regularly. Retail end consumers are the end users of the products.

Competition

Tonneau Cover Competitors

The Tonneau Cover market is relatively consolidated with one industry leader, Real Truck (formerly Truck Hero), having the largest market share. Real Truck has acquired upwards of 16 independent tonneau cover brands in North America, allowing it to concurrently target many different niche markets but also potentially causing it to cannibalize its own sales. We compete directly with Real Truck. Other competitors in this space include Truck Accessories Group (Primarily Leer), Agricover (primarily Access), Truck Covers USA, and Paragon.

We believe that being independent, innovative, operationally lean, and competitively priced will enable us to acquire a larger portion of the existing market share. In order to execute on this, we have a small and effective sales team to forge strong business-to-business relationships as well as a small and effective customer support team to service both business-to-business and direct-to-consumer sales. Selling above MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) and enforcing this policy will allow business customers to sell without competing with us and, in return, support the growth of the distribution base. Our innovative covers are designed to serve purposes that no other tonneau cover is currently capable of, some of which are specifically geared towards improving margins for distributors. Further, the SOLIS cover’s inclusion of solar panels may be particularly attractive to electric pickup truck original equipment manufacturers, paving the path towards an original equipment manufacturer relationship that may be lucrative beyond standard tonneau cover partnerships.

Portable Power Station Competitors

The Portable Power Station market is global and highly fragmented and includes many competitors from across the world including but not limited to Alpha ESS Co., Ltd., Anker Technology, Bluetti, Chilwee Group Co., Ltd, Duracell, GES Group Limited Company, Jackery Inc., Lion Energy, Milwaukee Tool, and Mitsubishi Corporation. Some of these competitors offer a line of Portable Power Stations, each with different power capacities, sizes, and price points, while others specialize in a few or even one Portable Power Station as to target a specific or niche submarket.

We intend to be competitive in this space by focusing on one Portable Power Station while selling additional modular batteries to allow consumers not only to determine for themselves their ideal stored energy capacity and price point but also to upgrade their COR system overtime based on their evolving needs.

Supply of Components

Production of our soft and hard cover product lines requires components including but not limited to injection molded plastics, rubber hinges, rubber seals, foam corners, aluminum coils, aluminum extrusions, and metal brackets. We believe that we can source materials needed for soft and hard tonneau cover production from other suppliers without major delay should any preferred supplier no longer be suitable.

For our domestically assembled products, we have developed an extensive network of suppliers based in a diverse range of countries, including but not limited to the USA, China, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and Canada. We are further diversifying our supply chain of tonneau cover components by developing relationships with suppliers based in countries, including but not limited to Malaysia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Thailand, Poland, Finland, Italy, and Lithuania. For our COR and SOLIS components, we are establishing relationships with suppliers based in countries, including but not limited to the USA, Canada, China, Germany, Romania, Turkey, Philippines, and India. We actively seek to lower reliance on any country deemed a potential geo-political supply chain risk.

Research and Development

We invest in research and development activities on an ongoing basis. We are actively acquiring new engineering and design assets, both in-house and third-party. Our design engineers are based in both Canada and the United States, and they have developed and are further developing unique tonneau cover designs with enhanced user experience, cost-effective and sustainable materials, and automatable manufacturing potential. Our electrical engineers are based in Canada and work heavily on sourcing solar panels with features suitable for the Company’s SOLIS cover, as determined through deep product research and testing. Concurrently, the electrical engineering department continues to research and develop more size- and cost-effective methods of portable energy storage in order to offer the market a competitive portable energy storage system with distinguishable and unique product features.

Our subsidiary, Terravis Energy, Inc., researches green energy solutions for home and community power as well as Electric Vehicle DC charging and heat-pump technology.

Governmental Programs, Incentives and Regulations

Globally, both the operation of our business and the ownership of our products by our customers are impacted by various government programs, incentives, and other arrangements. Our business and products are also subject to numerous governmental regulations that vary among jurisdictions.

Programs and Incentives

We have applied for and been granted tax, mortgage, wage, and energy cost relief in New York in addition to wage cost and R&D cost relief in Ontario. These programs are provided by several agencies including the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, Empire State Development, NY Power Authority, and The Canada Revenue Agency. Each of these incentive programs includes its own set of guidelines and requirements, including but not limited to timely eligibility reporting, environmental regulation compliance, and headcount projection realization – each of which we have agreed to and must abide by in order to continue realizing said incentives.

We continue to seek additional incentives and grants in order to lower our operational costs as well as commit less capital to new product initiatives.

Regulations

Our COR portable power station is subject to various U.S. and international regulations that govern transport of “dangerous goods,” defined to include lithium-ion batteries, which may present a risk in transportation. We plan to conduct testing to demonstrate our compliance with such regulations.

We use lithium-ion cells in our energy storage products. The use, storage, and disposal of our battery packs are regulated under existing laws and are the subject of ongoing regulatory changes that may add additional requirements in the future.

Environmental Compliance

We are committed to high environmental standards and carry out our activities and operations in compliance with all relevant and applicable environmental regulations and best industry practices. Costs of environmental regulatory compliance are not expected to be significant.

Human Capital

We employ twenty full-time employees and two part-time employees in Canada and further employ fifty full-time employees in the USA. We intend to hire additional employees as operations grow – particularly within our West Seneca, NY manufacturing facility. We rely on few independent contractors for additional labor and are very selective in our use of consultants.

Practices and Policies

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusion and diversity and to providing a workplace free of harassment or discrimination.

Compensation and Benefits

We believe that compensation should be competitive and equitable and should enable employees to share in our success. We recognize our employees are most likely to thrive when they have resources and support to meet their needs and succeed in their professional and personal lives. In support of this, we offer a variety of benefits for employees, such as group insurance, HRAs, supplemental insurance, paid time off, and 401k benefits, and we invest in tools and resources that are designed to support employees’ growth and development.

Inclusion and Diversity

We remain committed to our vision to build and sustain a more inclusive workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. We continue to work to increase diverse representation, foster an inclusive culture, and support equitable pay and access to opportunity for all employees.

Engagement

We believe that open and honest communication among team members, managers, and leaders helps create an open, collaborative work environment, where everyone can contribute, grow and succeed. Team members are encouraged to come to their managers with questions, feedback or concerns.

Health and Safety

We are committed to protecting our team members everywhere we operate and, as such, support employees with general safety trainings. We have also taken additional health and safety measures during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Available Information

Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Such reports and other information filed by us with the SEC are available free of charge at investors.worksport.com/stock-information when such reports are available on the SEC’s website. We periodically provide certain information for investors on our corporate website, worksport.com, and our investor relations website, investors.worksport.com. This includes press releases and other information about financial performance, information on environmental, social and governance matters, and details related to our annual meeting of shareholders. The information contained on the websites referenced in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is not incorporated by reference into this filing. Further, our references to website URLs are intended to be inactive textual references only.

Executive Offices

Our principal corporate office and manufacturing, storage, and distribution facility is located at 2500 N. America Dr., West Seneca, NY 14224, USA while our secondary business address and Canadian research and development (“R&D”) facility is located at 55G East Beaver Creek Rd., Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 1E5, Canada. We additionally have a US-based R&D facility located at 5232 N. 23rd St. Ozark, MO 65721.

Our main telephone number is (888) 554-8789. Our main website is www.worksport.com (http://www.worksport.com). The contents of our website are not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our business is subject to many risks and uncertainties, which may affect our future financial performance. If any of the events or circumstances described below occur, our business and financial performance could be adversely affected, our actual results could differ materially from our expectations, and the price of our stock could decline. The risks and uncertainties discussed below are not the only ones we face. There may be additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material that may adversely affect our business and financial performance. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all other information included in this report including our financial statements and related notes, before making an investment decision. The statements contained in this report that are not historic facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and investors in our securities may lose all or part of their investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

Going Concern Risk Factor

The Company has incurred significant losses since its inception, including a net loss of $14,928,958 for the year ended December 31, 2023, and has an accumulated deficit of $48,313,177 as of December 31, 2023. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company’s continuation as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to generate positive cash flows from operations and to secure additional sources of equity and/or debt financing. Despite the Company’s intent to fund operations through equity and debt financing arrangements, there is no assurance that such financing will be available on terms acceptable to the Company, if at all.

Our independent auditors have included an explanatory paragraph in their audit report regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. This going concern risk may materially limit our ability to raise additional funds through the issuance of new debt or equity or may adversely affect the terms upon which such capital may be available. The inability to obtain sufficient financing on acceptable terms could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and business prospects.

The Company is actively pursuing strategies to mitigate these risks, focusing on transitioning towards revenue generation from its existing product offerings and expanding its customer base. However, there can be no assurance that these efforts will prove successful or that the Company will achieve its intended financial stability. The failure to successfully address these going concern risks may materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. Investors should consider the substantial risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s business before investing in the Company’s securities.

Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely impacted by resurgences of the global COVID-19 pandemic or other pandemics.

A significant outbreak, epidemic or pandemic of contagious diseases in any geographic area in which we operate or plan to operate could result in a health crisis adversely affecting the economies and financial markets in which we operate as well as the overall demand for our products. In addition, any preventative or protective actions that governments implement or that we take in response to a health crisis, such as travel restrictions, quarantines, or site closures, may interfere with the ability of our employees, suppliers and customers to perform their responsibilities. Such results could have a materially adverse effect on our business.

The continued global COVID-19 pandemic created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. To date, this pandemic has affected nearly all regions around the world. In the United States, businesses as well as federal, state and local governments implemented significant actions to mitigate this public health crisis. We cannot predict the occurrence, duration, or scope of future COVID-19 resurgences or other pandemics, and we know from the COVID-19 pandemic that such events can have material impacts on supply networks, in-person labor availability, and global financial markets volatility.

To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar public health threat has an impact on our business, it is likely to also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section.

We are a growth stage company with a history of losses and expect to incur significant expenses and continuing losses for the foreseeable future.

We have incurred net losses since our inception. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we incurred operating losses of $14,928,958 and $12,534,414, respectively, and as of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $48,313,177. We believe net operating losses will decrease or become net income in the near future as we ramp up sales of our soft covers and AL3 tonneau covers, although we do intend to concurrently invest further into research and development of our AL4 tonneau cover, SOLIS cover, and COR energy storage systems; the market releases for these additional product lines may occur later than we expect or not at all. We are unsure whether we will be profitable in the near future while we continue to ramp up our product offerings, bolster our sales channels, and increase output capacity, and we cannot assure you that we will ever achieve or be able to maintain profitability in the future. Even if we can successfully develop our additional products and attract customers, there can be no assurance that we will be financially successful. For example, as we expand our product portfolio, and expand internationally, we will need to manage costs effectively to sell those products at our expected margins. Failure to become profitable would materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. If we are ever to achieve profitability, it will be dependent upon the successful development and commercial introduction and acceptance of our consumer products, and our services, which may not occur.

We have only sold tonneau covers, the market size of which is limited. Our long-term results depend upon our ability to successfully introduce and market new products, which may expose us to new and increased challenges and risks.

To date, we have only sold tonneau covers, the market size of which is limited. Our growth strategy depends, in part, on our ability to successfully introduce and market new products, such as our SOLIS and COR, as well as develop new products. As we introduce new products or refine, improve or upgrade versions of existing products, we cannot predict the level of market acceptance or the amount of market share these products will achieve, if any. We cannot assure you that we will not experience material delays in the introduction of new products and services in the future. Consistent with our strategy of offering new products and product refinements, we expect to continue to use a substantial amount of capital for product refinement, research and development, and sales and marketing, which may not provide a return on investment in the event we fail to bring potential products to market. We will need additional capital for product development and refinement, and this capital may not be available on terms favorable to us, if at all, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. If we are unable to successfully introduce, integrate, and market new products and services, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected.

We may not succeed in establishing, maintaining and strengthening our brand, which would materially and adversely affect customer acceptance of our products and our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our business and prospects heavily depend on our ability to develop, maintain and strengthen the Worksport brand. If we are not able to establish, maintain and strengthen our brand, we may lose the opportunity to build a critical mass of customers. Our ability to develop, maintain and strengthen our brand will depend heavily on our ability to provide high quality products and engage with our customers as intended, as well as depend on the success of our customer development and marketing efforts. The automobile accessory and parts industry is intensely competitive, and we may not be successful in building, maintaining and strengthening the Worksport brand. Many of our current and potential competitors have greater name recognition, broader customer relationships and substantially greater marketing resources than we do. If we do not develop and maintain a strong brand, our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely impacted.

In addition, we could be subject to adverse publicity. In particular, given the popularity of social media, any negative publicity, whether true or not, could quickly proliferate and harm consumer perceptions and confidence in our brand. In addition, from time to time, our products may be evaluated and reviewed by third parties. Any negative reviews or reviews which compare us unfavorably to competitors could adversely affect consumer perception about our products.

Risk related to outstanding loan repayment and refinancing efforts.

Our mortgage loan with Northeast Bank matures on May 10th, 2024. Failure to refinance the mortgage may result in legal proceedings being brought by the lender, up to and including foreclosure. The company has received term sheets to refinance the property and is strategically evaluating next steps.

The US Central Bank has provided forward-looking guidance of high interest rates for the near future.

We may need to invest in additional machinery, equipment and land if demand for our products is higher than anticipated or if we secure a supplier deal with a major original equipment manufacturer (OEM). With high interest rates, it will be less financially attractive to finance such purchases, which may lead to an otherwise higher burn rate. High interest rates increase the amount that we must pay for our mortgage on our West Seneca, New York property. At the same time, it lowers the attractiveness of refinancing, despite the fact that our anticipated positive future cash flows would allow us to seek financing from a broader selection of lenders.

Continued uncertain economic conditions, including inflation and the risk of a global recession could impair our ability to forecast and may harm our business, operating results, including our revenue growth and profitability, financial condition and cash flows.

While U.S. inflation rates have come down from their 2022 highs, the U.S. economy is still experiencing higher than target inflation rates, and high levels of inflation persist in many countries around the world. Historically, we have not experienced significant inflation risk in our business. However, our ability to raise our product prices depends on market conditions, and there may be periods during which we are unable to fully recover increases in our costs. In addition, the global economy suffers from slowing growth and elevated interest rates, and many economists are still unsure whether a global recession may begin in the near future. If the global economy slows, our business would likely be adversely affected.

Also, a recession may result in job loss and lower discretionary funds among potential customers, lowering demand for automotive aftermarket accessories. Part of our consumer base for SOLIS includes workers, particularly those in manufacturing and construction environments, who may have lower job security in the event of a recession and, thus, have lower demand for the SOLIS. Commercial real estate values may also decrease, which would lower the value of our production facility in West Seneca, New York.

Our business and operations would suffer in the event of computer system failures, cyberattacks or a deficiency in our cybersecurity or a natural disaster.

There are growing risks related to the security, confidentiality and integrity of personal and corporate information stored and transmitted electronically due to increasingly diverse and sophisticated threats to networks, systems and data security. Potential attacks span a spectrum from attacks by criminal hackers, hacktivists, and nation state or state-sponsored actors, to employee malfeasance and human or technological error. Cyberattacks against companies have increased in frequency and potential harm over time, and the methods used to gain unauthorized access constantly evolve, making it increasingly difficult to anticipate, prevent, and/or detect incidents successfully in every instance.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of third parties on which we rely (including our vendors, contractors and other third-party partners who process information on our behalf or have access to our systems), are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, malware, ransomware, phishing attacks and other forms of social engineering, denial-of-service attacks, third party or employee theft or misuse and other negligent actions, natural disasters, terrorism, war, telecommunication and electrical failures, cyberattacks or cyber-intrusions over the internet, security incidents, disruptions, attachments to emails, persons inside our organization, or persons with access to systems inside our organization. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyberattacks or cyber intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. To the extent that any disruption or security breach was to result in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur material legal claims (including class claims) and liability, substantial remediation costs, regulatory enforcement, liability under data protection laws, additional reporting requirements and damage to our reputation, and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed.

The US is in a state of low unemployment, and many companies that provide wage-based jobs are having trouble filling open positions.

We need to fill certain positions that do not require specialized knowledge or experience, and we offer competitive pay and benefits in order to attract people as we compete with other local businesses for employment. Competing with local businesses may delay hiring time as well as production scaling timelines. Offering more competitive compensation packages also damages our profits and sets forward-looking compensation expectations.

We have demonstrated historical success in less capital-intensive manufacturing in China, but we have not demonstrated success in low-cost, domestic, highly capital-intensive manufacturing.

While we have begun manufacturing in our West Seneca production facility, we are still increasing manufacturing efficiencies by decreasing direct labor, overhead, materials, and scrap costs. Doing so currently demands manufacturing engineering resources, supply chain research, and purchasing negotiations. We may require the assistance of or rely on the availability of third parties to assist us in properly establishing improved processes due to a lack of in-house, capital-intensive domestic manufacturing experience. Lack of experience may create delays and cost inefficiencies in production scaling and difficulty identifying necessary process improvements.

We may not be able to accurately estimate the demand for our tonneau covers, which could result in inefficiencies in our production and hinder our ability to generate revenue.

If we fail to accurately predict our manufacturing requirements, we will incur the risk of having to pay for production capacities that we reserved but will not be able to use or that we will not be able to secure sufficient additional production capacities at reasonable costs in the event product demand exceeds expectations. A single contract with an OEM, private label or key distributor can significantly increase demand for our products, requiring investments in expanded operational capacity including personnel, equipment and potentially facilities.

Our future growth may be limited.

Our ability to achieve our expansion objectives and to manage our growth effectively depends upon a variety of factors, including our ability to internally develop products, to attract and retain skilled employees, to successfully position and market our products, to protect our existing intellectual property, to capitalize on the potential opportunities we are pursuing with third parties, and to acquire sufficient funding whether internally or externally. To accommodate growth and compete effectively, we will need working capital to maintain adequate inventory levels, develop additional procedures and controls and increase, train, motivate and manage our work force. There is no assurance that our personnel, systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support our potential future operations. There is no assurance that we will generate higher revenues from our prospective sales partners nor be able to capitalize on additional third-party manufacturers.

We rely on two suppliers for the production of our outsourced finished goods which may hinder our ability to grow.

We purchase all of our soft tonneau covers from two supplier sources in China. We carry significant strategic inventories of these finished goods to reduce the risk associated with this concentration of suppliers. Strategic inventories are managed based on demand. While we are now manufacturing hard covers in the United States, the loss of one or both of these suppliers or a delay in shipments could have a material adverse effect on our soft tonneau cover sales and business.

We rely on a small number of customers for the majority of our sales.

The loss of any significant customer could have an adverse effect on our business. A customer is considered to be significant if they account for greater than 10% of our annual sales. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company had one significant customer accounting for 93% of the Company’s revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2022, two customers made up approximately 50% (38% and 12% individually) of prior year revenue. The loss of any of these key customers could have an adverse effect on our business.

We will need additional financing in order to grow our business.

From time to time, in order to expand operations to meet customer demand, we will need to incur additional capital expenditures. These capital expenditures are intended to be funded from third party sources, including the incurring of debt and/or the sale of additional equity securities. In addition to requiring additional financing to fund capital expenditures, we may require additional financing to fund working capital, research and development, sales and marketing, general and administrative expenditures and operating losses. The incurrence of debt creates additional financial leverage and therefore an increase in the financial risk of our operations. The sale of additional equity securities will be dilutive to the interests of current equity holders. In addition, there can be no assurance that such additional financing, whether debt or equity, will be available to us or that it will be available on acceptable commercial terms. Any inability to secure such additional financing on appropriate terms could have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We rely on key personnel, especially Steven Rossi, our Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board.

Our success also will depend in large part on the continued service of our key operational and management personnel, including executive staff, research and development, engineering, marketing and sales staff. Most specifically, this includes Steven Rossi, our President and Chief Executive Officer, who oversees the implementation of new products, key customer acquisition and retention, and our overall management and future growth. Any failure on our part to hire, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified professionals could impair our business.

We depend on intellectual property rights that may be infringed upon, and we may infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to develop, maintain and protect proprietary products and technologies. As of December 31, 2023, we own thirteen utility patents, seven design registrations, and seventy-four pending utility and design patent applications. However, patents provide only limited protection of our intellectual property. The assertion of patent protection involves complex legal and factual determinations and is therefore uncertain and potentially expensive. We cannot provide assurance that patents will be granted with respect to our pending patent applications, that the scope of any patents we might obtain will be sufficiently broad to offer meaningful protection, or that we will develop additional proprietary products that are patentable. In fact, any patents which might issue from our patent applications pending with the United States Patent and Trademark Office could be successfully challenged, invalidated or circumvented. This could result in our pending patent rights failing to create an effective competitive barrier. Losing a significant patent or failing to get a patent issued from a pending patent application we consider significant could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world, which could negatively impact our business.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents covering our current and future product candidates and technology platforms in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we may obtain patent protection but where patent enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products in jurisdictions where we do not have any issued or licensed patents, and any future patent claims or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from so competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our intellectual property and proprietary rights, generally. Proceedings to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

Many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected.

Our patents might not protect our technology from competitors, in which case we may not have any exclusionary advantage over competitors in selling any products that we may develop.

Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtain additional patents and protect our existing patent position, as well as our ability to maintain adequate intellectual property protection for our technologies, product candidates, and any future products in the United States and other countries. If we do not adequately protect our technology, product candidates and future products, competitors may be able to use or practice them and erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could harm our business and ability to achieve profitability. The laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as U.S. laws, and we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our proprietary rights in these countries. We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our proprietary technologies, product candidates and any future products are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets.

Certain aspects of our technologies are protected by patents, patent applications, and trade secrets. In addition, we have a number of new patent applications pending. There is no assurance that the applications still pending or which may be filed in the future will result in the issuance of any patents. Furthermore, there is no assurance as to the breadth and degree of protection any issued patents might afford us. Disputes may arise between us and others as to the scope and validity of these or other patents. Any defense of the patents could prove costly and time-consuming, and there can be no assurance that we will be in a position, or deem it advisable, to carry on such a defense. A suit for patent infringement could result in increasing costs as well as delaying or halting development. Other private and public entities, including universities, may have filed applications for, may have been issued, or may obtain additional patents and other proprietary rights to technology potentially useful or necessary to us. We are not currently aware of any such patents, but the scope and validity of such patents, if any, and the cost and availability of such rights are impossible to predict.

Any trademarks we may obtain may be infringed or successfully challenged, resulting in harm to our business.

We expect to rely on trademarks as one means to distinguish our products from our competitors’ products. Once we select trademarks and apply to register them, our trademark applications may not be approved. Third parties may oppose our trademark applications or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which could result in a loss of brand recognition and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Our competitors may infringe on our trademarks, and we may not have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.

Much of our intellectual property is protected as trade secrets or confidential know-how.

We consider proprietary trade secrets to be important to our business. This type of information must be protected diligently by us to protect its disclosure to competitors, since legal protections after disclosure may be minimal or non-existent. Accordingly, much of the value of this intellectual property is dependent upon our ability to keep our trade secrets.

To protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by competitors, our policy is to require our employees, consultants, contractors and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements with us. However, current or former employees, consultants, contractors and advisers may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained, and is using, trade secrets is expensive, time-consuming and unpredictable. The enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive position. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and may even apply for patent protection in respect of the same. If successful in obtaining such patent protection, our competitors could limit our use of such trade secrets.

We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of our patents and other intellectual property.

We may also be subject to claims that former employees, suppliers, collaborators or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents or other intellectual property. We may be subject to ownership disputes in the future arising, for example, from conflicting obligations of suppliers, consultants or others who are involved in developing our products. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship or ownership. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and employees.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our business.

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protect our business. The following examples are illustrative:

• others may be able to develop technologies that are similar to our technology platforms but that are not covered by the claims of any patents, should they issue, that we own or license;
• we or our licensors might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by the issued patents or pending patent applications that we own or license;
• we or our licensors might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain aspects of our inventions;
• others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our intellectual property rights;
• it is possible that our pending patent applications will not lead to issued patents;
• issued patents that we own or license may not provide us with any competitive advantages, or may be held invalid or unenforceable as a result of legal challenges;
• our competitors might conduct research and development activities in the United States and other countries that provide a safe harbor from patent infringement claims for certain research and development activities, as well as in countries where we do not have patent rights, and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;
• we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable; and
• the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.

We may need to defend ourselves against patent or trademark infringement claims, which may be time-consuming and cause us to incur substantial costs.

Companies, organizations or individuals, including our competitors, may own or obtain patents, trademarks or other proprietary rights that would prevent or limit our ability to make, use, develop or sell our products or components, which could make it more difficult for us to operate our business. The automotive aftermarket has been characterized by significant litigation and other proceedings regarding patents, patent applications and other intellectual property rights. The situations in which we may become parties to such litigation or proceedings may include:

• litigation or other proceedings we may initiate against third parties to enforce our patent rights or other intellectual property rights;
• litigation or other proceedings we or our licensee(s) may initiate against third parties seeking to invalidate the patents held by such third parties or to obtain a judgment that our products do not infringe such third parties’ patents; and
• litigation or other proceedings third parties may initiate against us to seek to enforce their patents and/or invalidate our patents.

If third parties initiate litigation claiming that our products infringe their patent or other intellectual property rights, we will need to defend against such proceedings.

The costs of resolving any patent litigation or other intellectual property proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. Many of our potential competitors will be able to sustain the cost of such litigation and proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater resources. In some instances, competitors may proceed with litigation or other proceedings pertaining to infringement of their intellectual property as a means to hinder or devaluate the target defendant company, with no intention of the matter being resolved in their favor. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other intellectual property proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace. Patent litigation and other intellectual property proceedings may also consume significant management time and costs. Substantial additional costs may be evident in the event that litigation or other proceedings were initiated against us because we would have to seek legal defense or counsel in the province (Canada) or state (U.S.) where the litigation or legal proceedings were filed. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage, and a decrease in our revenue which would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent the disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

In order to protect our proprietary technology and processes, we also rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, outsourced manufacturers and other advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent the disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.

There are risks associated with outsourced production that may result in a decrease in our profit.

The possibility of delivery delays, product defects and other production-side risks stemming from our use of outsourced manufacturers and suppliers cannot be eliminated. In particular, inadequate production capacity among outsourced manufacturers could result in us being unable to supply enough product amid periods of high product demand, the opportunity costs of which could be substantial.

There are risks associated with domestic production that may result in slower or more expensive production.

Prior to August of 2023, we had no experience in the domestic manufacturing of tonneau covers. Domestic production entails far more detailed sourcing of raw materials as well as hiring and training of personnel. Domestic production increases our susceptibility to domestic low-wage labor shortages and subjects us to higher thresholds of compliance with local labor and business laws.

We may not be successful in our potential business combinations.

We may, in the future, pursue acquisitions of other complementary businesses and technology licensing arrangements. We have been approached by competitors to license one or more of our tonneau cover products. We may also pursue strategic alliances and joint ventures that leverage another company’s core products and industry experience to expand our product offerings and geographic presence. We have limited experience with respect to acquiring other companies and limited experience with respect to forming collaborations, strategic alliances and joint ventures. If we were to make any acquisitions, we may not be able to integrate these acquisitions successfully into our existing business and could assume unknown or contingent liabilities. Integrating an acquired company also may require management resources that otherwise would be available for the ongoing development of our existing business.

We have competition for our market share which could harm our sales.

We participate in the automotive aftermarket equipment industry which is highly competitive for a relatively limited customer base. Companies that compete in this market include Real Truck (formerly Truck Hero), Truck Accessories Group, and Agri-Cover, Inc., among others. Many of our current competitors are significantly better funded and have longer operating histories than we do.

In addition, some of our competitors sell their products at prices lower than ours, and we compete primarily on the basis of product quality, features, value, service, and customer relationships. Our competitive success also depends on our ability to maintain a strong brand and the belief that customers will need our products and services to meet their growth requirements. Alternatively, in the case of generic competition, competitors’ products may be of equal or better quality and sold at substantially lower prices than our products. At times, competitors may also release a generic or re-branded version of a current and successful product at a substantially reduced price in efforts to increase revenues or market share. As a result, if we fail to maintain our competitive position, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations, financial position and prospects.

We may not have sufficient product liability insurance to cover potential damages.

The existence of any defects, errors or failures in our products or the misuse of our products could also lead to product liability claims or lawsuits against us. While we had insurance coverage of $2,000,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023, we have no assurance that this insurance will be adequate to protect us from all material judgments and expenses related to potential future claims or that these levels of insurance will be available at economical prices, if at all. To that extent, product liability insurance is conditional and up for further investigation. A successful product liability claim could result in substantial costs for us. Even if we are fully insured as it relates to a claim, a claim could nevertheless diminish our brand and divert management’s attention and resources, which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may produce products of inferior quality which would cause us to lose customers.

Although we make an effort to ensure the high quality of our light truck tonneau cover products, they could from time to time contain defects, anomalies or malfunctions that are undetectable at the time of shipment. These defects, anomalies or malfunctions could be discovered after our products are shipped to customers, resulting in the return or exchange of our products, customers’ claims for compensatory damages or discontinuation of the use of our products, which could negatively impact our operating results. We do not presently have product recall (or similar function) insurance that protects a company against broad-scale product manufacturing defects, engineering defects and the costs related to a broad product recall such as shipping, replacement or repairs. Even if in place, there is no guarantee that the full costs of any reimbursements or claims, lawsuits or litigation would be covered by such insurance.

Geopolitical conditions, including direct or indirect acts of war or terrorism, could have an adverse effect on our operations and financial results.

Our operations could be disrupted by geopolitical conditions, political and social instability, acts of war, terrorist activity or other similar events. In February 2022, Russia initiated significant military action against Ukraine. In April 2023, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces within Sudan began fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces over tensions related to the paramilitary’s transition towards civilian rule. In October 2023, Hamas initiated an attack on Israel that has resulted in a war in Gaza, emboldened Houthi attacks against commercial cargo ships in the Red Sea, and waning or paused diplomatic progress between Israel and its neighboring countries. Tensions and wars persist in many other countries, including, but not limited to, Ethiopia and Myanmar.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and certain other countries imposed significant sanctions and export controls against Russia, Belarus and certain individuals and entities connected to Russian or Belarusian political, business, and financial organizations, and the U.S. and certain other countries could impose further sanctions, trade restrictions, and other retaliatory actions should the conflict continue or worsen. It is not possible to predict the broader consequences of this conflict nor those of other global conflicts, although such consequences can include related rising geopolitical tensions, rising regional instability, geopolitical shifts, cyberattacks or the disruption of energy exports for the parties involved, neighboring parties, or supporting parties of these conflicts or their resulting sanctions. Such consequences could materially adversely affect global trade, currency exchange rates, regional economies and the global economy. These situations remain uncertain, and while it is difficult to predict the impact of any of the foregoing, these conflicts and actions taken in response to these conflicts could increase our costs, disrupt our supply chain, reduce our sales and earnings, impair our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We currently, and may in the future, have assets held at financial institutions that may exceed the insurance coverage offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the loss of such assets would have a severe negative affect on our operations and liquidity.

We may maintain our cash assets at certain financial institutions in the U.S. in amounts that may be in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limit of $250,000. In the event of a failure of any financial institutions where we maintain our deposits or other assets, we may incur a loss to the extent such loss exceeds the FDIC insurance limitation, which could have a material adverse effect upon our liquidity, financial condition and our results of operations.

Risks Associated with Manufacturing in China

Evolving U.S. trade regulations and policies with China may in the future have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our soft tonneau covers and some raw materials are sourced from China. Any restrictions or tariffs imposed on products that we or our suppliers import for sale or production in the United States would adversely and directly impact our cost of goods sold. In addition, changes in U.S. trade regulations and policies could have an adverse impact on trade relations between the United States and certain foreign countries, which could materially and adversely affect our relationships with our international suppliers and reduce the supply of goods available to us. Further, we cannot predict the extent to which the United States will adopt changes to existing trade regulations and policies, which creates uncertainties in planning our sourcing strategies and forecasting our margins. If additional tariffs are imposed on our products, or other retaliatory trade measures are taken, our costs could increase, and we may be required to raise our prices, which could materially and adversely affect our results.

There are risks associated with outsourced production in China and their laws which may have a material adverse effect on our financial stability.

We purchase all our soft tonneau cover finished goods from two suppliers in China. Changes in Chinese laws and regulations, or their interpretation, or the imposition of confiscatory taxation or restrictions are matters over which we have no control. While the Chinese government has been pursuing economic reform policies that encourage private economic activity and greater economic decentralization, there is no assurance that the Chinese government will continue to pursue these policies, or that it will not significantly alter these policies from time to time without notice.

For example, the Chinese government has enacted some laws and regulations dealing with matters such as corporate organization and governance, foreign investment, commerce, taxation and trade. However, their experience in implementing, interpreting and enforcing these laws and regulations is limited and, in turn, our ability to enforce commercial claims or to resolve commercial disputes is unpredictable. If our business ventures with Chinese manufacturers and suppliers are unsuccessful, or other adverse circumstances arise from these transactions, we face the risk that the parties to these ventures may seek ways to terminate the transactions. The resolution of these matters may be subject to the exercise of considerable discretion by agencies of the Chinese government, and forces unrelated to the legal merits of a particular matter or dispute may influence their determination.

Any rights we may have to specific performance or to seek an injunction under Chinese law are severely limited, and, without a means of recourse by virtue of the Chinese legal system, we may be unable to prevent these situations from occurring. The occurrence of any such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations in such guises as currency conversion, imports and sources of supply, devaluations of currency or the nationalization or other expropriation of private enterprises.

In that context, we may have to evaluate the feasibility of acquiring alternative or fallback manufacturing capabilities to support the production of our existing and future soft tonneau cover products. Such a development could adversely affect our cost structure inasmuch as we would be required to support sales at an acceptable cost and might have relatively limited time to adapt. We have not manufactured our own soft tonneau covers in the past and are not planning to do so in the short term. That is because developing these technological capabilities and building or purchasing a facility will increase our expenses with no guarantee that we will be able to recover our investment in our manufacturing capabilities.

We engage in cross-border sales transactions which present tax risks among other obstacles.

Cross-border sales transactions carry a risk of changes in import tax and/or duties related to the import and export of our product, which can result in pricing changes, which will affect revenues and earnings. Cross-border sales transactions carry other risks including, but not limited to, changing regulations, wait times, customs inspection and lost or damaged product.

We are subject to foreign currency risk which may adversely affect our net profit.

We are subject to foreign exchange risk as we manufacture our products in China, market extensively in both Canadian and U.S. markets, and employee people residing in both the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, we report results of operations in U.S. Dollars (USD or US$). Since our Canadian customers pay in Canadian Dollars, we are subject to gains and losses due to fluctuations in the USD relative to the Canadian Dollar. While having our soft tonneau covers manufactured in China, our manufacturers are paid in USD to better avoid the relatively greater fluctuation of the Chinese Yuan (RMB). Any large fluctuations in the exchange between the RMB and USD may cause product costs to increase, therefore affecting revenues and profits, potentially adversely.

Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Securities

We have a large number of authorized but unissued shares of our common stock which will dilute existing ownership positions when issued.

At December 31, 2023, our authorized capital stock consists of 299,000,000 shares of common stock, of which approximately 278,679,497 remain available for issuance, including shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants. Our management will continue to have broad discretion to issue shares of our common stock in a range of transactions, including capital-raising transactions, mergers, acquisitions and other transactions, without obtaining stockholder approval, unless stockholder approval is required under law or the rules of Nasdaq or any other trading market on which our common stock may be listed. If our management determines it be appropriate to issue shares of our common stock from the large pool of authorized but unissued shares for any purpose in the future and is not required to obtain stockholder approval, your ownership position would be diluted without your further ability to vote on that transaction.

Our common stock or warrants may be affected by limited trading volume and price fluctuations, which could adversely impact the value of our common stock or warrants.

Our common stock has experienced, and is likely to experience in the future, significant price and volume fluctuations, which could adversely affect the market prices of our common stock or warrants without regard to our operating performance. In addition, we believe that factors such as quarterly fluctuations in our financial results and changes in the overall economy or the condition of the financial markets could cause the market prices of our common stock and warrants to fluctuate substantially. These fluctuations may also cause short sellers to periodically enter the market in the belief that we will have poor results in the future. We cannot predict the actions of market participants and, therefore, can offer no assurances that the market for our common stock and warrants will be stable or appreciate over time.

An investment in our securities is speculative, and there can be no assurance of any return on any such investment.

An investment in our securities is speculative, and there can be no assurance that investors will obtain any return on their investment. Investors may be subject to substantial risks involved in an investment in the Company, including the risk of losing their entire investment.

We may need, but be unable, to obtain additional funding on satisfactory terms, which could dilute our stockholders or impose burdensome financial restrictions on our business.

We have relied upon cash from financing activities, and, in the future, we hope to rely on revenues generated from operations to fund the cash requirements of our activities. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to generate any significant cash from our operating activities in the future. Future financing may not be available on a timely basis, in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Any debt financing or other financing of securities senior to the common stock will likely include financial and other covenants that will restrict our flexibility. Any failure to comply with these covenants would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations because we could lose our existing sources of funding, and our ability to secure new sources of funding could be impaired.

Our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Steven Rossi, has significant control over stockholder matters, and the minority stockholder will have little or no control over our affairs.

Steven Rossi currently owns 100% of our outstanding Series A Preferred Stock which entitles him to 51% of the voting power of our outstanding voting equity. Subject to any fiduciary duties owed to our other stockholders under Nevada law, Mr. Rossi is able to exercise significant influence over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, and will have some control over our management and policies. Mr. Rossi may have interests that are different from yours. For example, Mr. Rossi may support proposals and actions with which you may disagree. The concentration of ownership could delay or prevent a change in control of our Company or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of our Company, which in turn could reduce the price of our stock. In addition, Mr. Rossi could use his voting influence to maintain our existing management and directors in office, delay or prevent changes in control of our Company, or support or reject other management and Board proposals that are subject to stockholder approval, such as amendments to our employee stock plans and approvals of significant financing transactions.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Failure to maintain effective internal controls could cause our investors to lose confidence in us and adversely affect the market price of our common stock. If our internal controls are not effective, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, requires that we maintain internal control over financial reporting that meets applicable standards. We may err in the design or operation of our controls, and all internal control systems, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because there are inherent limitations in all control systems, there can be no assurance that all control issues have been or will be detected.

Included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we disclose that our management has assessed and identified several material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting (“ICFR”) and concluded that our IFCR was not effective as of December 31, 2023. The material weaknesses included our failure to design written policies and procedures at a sufficient level of precision to support the operating effectiveness of the controls to prevent and detect potential errors. We also did not maintain adequate documentation to evidence the operating effectiveness of certain control activities. Lastly, we did not maintain appropriate access to certain systems and did not maintain appropriate segregation of duties related to processes associated within those systems.

Although we have taken several steps to remediate the material weaknesses in our IFCR and continue to do so, there can be no assurances given that our actions will be effective. Any continued failure of our internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our stated results of operations and harm our reputation. If we are unable to implement these changes effectively or efficiently, it could harm our operations, financial reporting or financial results and could result in an adverse opinion on internal controls from our independent auditors. Furthermore, investor perceptions of our Company may suffer, and this could cause a decline in the market price of our common stock.

Additionally, the expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. These increased costs will require us to divert a significant amount of money that we could otherwise use to develop our business. If we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our results of operations.

As a public company in the United States, we face increased legal, accounting, administrative and other costs and expenses. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes Oxley-Act”). The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. For example, Section 404 requires that our management report on the effectiveness of our internal controls structure and procedures for financial reporting. Section 404 compliance may divert internal resources and will take a significant amount of time and effort to complete. If we fail to maintain compliance under Section 404, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities. Furthermore, investor perceptions of our Company may suffer, and this could cause a decline in the market price of our common stock. Any continued failure of our internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse effect on our stated results of operations and harm our reputation. If we are unable to implement these changes effectively or efficiently, it could harm our operations, financial reporting or financial results and could result in an adverse opinion on internal controls from our independent auditors. We may need to hire a number of additional employees with public accounting and disclosure experience in order to meet our ongoing obligations as a public company, particularly if we become fully subject to Section 404 and its auditor attestation requirements, which will increase costs, and evaluate the costs of our current service providers. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. A number of those requirements will require us to carry out activities we have not done previously. Our management team and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to new compliance initiatives and to meeting the obligations that are associated with being a public company, which may divert attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, the expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. These increased costs will require us to divert a significant amount of money that we could otherwise use to develop our business. If we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our common stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.

New laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure may create uncertainty for public companies, increase legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time consuming.

These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by the courts and other bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations, and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business may be adversely affected.

As a “smaller reporting company” under applicable law, we are subject to lessened disclosure requirements, which could leave our stockholders without information or rights available to stockholders of more mature companies.

For as long as we remain a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, we will elect to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “smaller reporting companies” including, but not limited to:

• being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements disclosure; and
• reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements.

We expect to take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer a “smaller reporting company.” Because of these lessened regulatory requirements, our stockholders are not provided with information or rights available to stockholders of more mature companies. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.

If research analysts do not publish research about our business, or if they issue unfavorable commentary or downgrade our common stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our securities may depend in part on the research and reports that research analysts publish about us and our business. If we do not maintain adequate research coverage, or if any of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our common stock and warrants could decline. If one or more of our research analysts ceases to cover our business or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our securities could decrease, which could cause the price of our common stock and warrants or trading volume to decline.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Nevada law could discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our Company and may affect the trading price of our common stock.

We are a Nevada corporation, and the anti-takeover provisions of the Nevada Control Shares Acquisition Act may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control by limiting the voting rights of control shares acquired in a control share acquisition. In addition, our amended and restated articles of incorporation, as amended (“Articles of Incorporation”), and amended and restated bylaws (“Bylaws”) may discourage, delay or prevent a change in our management or control over us that stockholders may consider favorable. Among other things, our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws:

• authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that could be issued by our Board in response to a takeover attempt;
• provide that vacancies on our Board, including newly created directorships, may be filled only by a majority vote of directors then in office, except a vacancy occurring by reason of the removal of a director without cause shall be filled by vote of the stockholders; and
• limit who may call special meetings of stockholders.

These provisions could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, whether or not it is desired by, or beneficial to, our stockholders.

We currently do not intend to declare dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future and, as a result, your returns on your investment may depend solely on the appreciation of our common stock.

We currently do not expect to declare any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Instead, we anticipate that all our earnings in the foreseeable future will be used to provide working capital to support our operations and to finance the growth and development of our business. Any decision to declare or pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board, subject to applicable laws and dependent upon several factors, including our earnings, capital requirements and overall financial conditions. In addition, terms of any future debt or preferred securities may further restrict our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment in our common stock may be if the market price of our common stock appreciates and you sell your shares at a profit. The market price for our common stock may never exceed, and may fall below, the price that you pay for such common stock. See Part II, Item 5 “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities—Dividend Policy.”

We acknowledge the increasing importance of cybersecurity in today’s digital and interconnected world. Cybersecurity threats pose significant risks to the integrity of our systems and data, potentially impacting our business operations, financial condition and reputation.

As a smaller reporting company, we currently do not have formalized cybersecurity measures, a dedicated cybersecurity team or specific protocols in place to manage cybersecurity risks. Our approach to cybersecurity is in the developmental stage, and we have not yet conducted comprehensive risk assessments, established an incident response plan or engaged with external cybersecurity consultants for assessments or services.

Given our current stage of cybersecurity development, we have not experienced any significant cybersecurity incidents to date. However, we recognize that the absence of a formalized cybersecurity framework may leave us vulnerable to cyberattacks, data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents. Such events could potentially lead to unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, sensitive information, disrupt our business operations, result in regulatory fines or litigation costs and negatively impact our reputation among customers and partners.

We are in the process of evaluating our cybersecurity needs and developing appropriate measures to enhance our cybersecurity posture. This includes considering the engagement of external cybersecurity experts to advise on best practices, conducting vulnerability assessments and developing an incident response strategy. Our goal is to establish a cybersecurity framework that is commensurate with our size, complexity and the nature of our operations, thereby reducing our exposure to cybersecurity risks.

In addition, the Board will oversee any cybersecurity risk management framework and a dedicated committee of the Board or an officer appointed by the Board will review and approve any cybersecurity policies, strategies and risk management practices.

Despite our efforts to improve our cybersecurity measures, there can be no assurance that our initiatives will fully mitigate the risks posed by cyber threats. The landscape of cybersecurity risks is constantly evolving, and we will continue to assess and update our cybersecurity measures in response to emerging threats.

For a discussion of potential cybersecurity risks affecting us, please refer to the “Risk Factors” section.

On May 4, 2022, we purchased an approximately 152,847 square foot facility located at 2500 N America Dr., West Seneca, NY 14224 to serve as our primary corporate office and manufacturing facility. This facility meets our OEM manufacturing needs both now and in future years, as the facility contains ample space in which to grow.

We lease approximately 20,296 square feet for our secondary corporate office and electrical R&D facility located at 55G East Beaver Creek Rd., Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 1E5, Canada pursuant to a five-year lease, dated June 1, 2022, for a variable rate averaging $27,934 CAD per month over the lifetime of the lease not inclusive of additional fees, which also vary and averaged $7,019 CAD per month in 2023.

We lease approximately 14,178 square feet, originally used for R&D space and additional offices, located at 7299 E Danbro Crescent, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 6P8, Canada pursuant to a three-year lease dated April 16, 2021, and terminating on May 31st of 2024 for $23,971 CAD per month.

We also lease approximately 3,200 square feet for our primary design engineering/R&D facility located at 5232 N. 23rd St. Ozark, MO 65721 pursuant to a twelve-month lease dated June 1, 2023, and terminating on the May 31st of 2024 for $3,250 USD per month. We have extended this lease for an additional twelve months such that it is to terminate on May 31st of 2025 for $3,350 USD per month.

From time to time, we are involved in lawsuits, claims, investigations, and proceedings, including pending opposition proceedings involving patents that arise in the ordinary course of business. We are not presently a party to any material pending or threatened legal proceedings, nor do we have any knowledge of any such pending claims.

Prospective investors should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this annual report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” This discussion should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

Worksport Ltd., through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and owns the Intellectual Property on a portfolio of tonneau cover, solar integration, portable power station, and NP (Non-Parasitic), Hydrogen-based green energy products and solutions for the automotive aftermarket accessories, power storage, residential heating, and electric vehicle-charging industries. We seek to provide consumers with next-generation automotive aftermarket accessories while capitalizing on growing consumer interest in clean energy solutions and power grid independence.

Rising Popularity of Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been exponentially increasing in consumer interest, whether that interest takes the form of vehicle pre-orders, sales, or investments. As we begin marketing our Worksport SOLIS and COR, we plan to market the SOLIS as a must-have accessory for electric light duty vehicle owners while simultaneously riding the coattails of EV popularity to promote our other products (COR and conventional tonneau covers) to the very large population of Americans that have an interest in EVs without the funds to purchase them. Further, participating in the EV space allows us to target consumers with an interest in cutting-edge technologies – a great market in which to promote our COR.

Regulatory Environment Favoring Electric Vehicles

The Build Back Better Bill was a strong indication of upcoming and favorable USA regulations. Many regulations that improve North America’s EV charging infrastructure or provide grants to businesses operating in the EV space will benefit us. While we are primarily focused on the light duty vehicle market, our energy products are particularly useful for electric light duty pickup trucks and, therefore, are positioned to benefit greatly from any bill that increases the prevalence of such vehicles.

Limited Competitive Landscape

Our conventional tonneau covers are engineered for enhanced user experience and resistance to wear-and-tear, making them strong and competitive products in an otherwise consolidated and saturated market. The Worksport COR, however, operates in a much wider yet unsaturated market. The global Portable Power Station market is quickly growing, and the competitive landscape is far from consolidated. The solar tonneau cover market is in its infancy, and it’s a market in which we have first-mover advantage. To ensure we do not fall behind future competitors, we are highly focused on protecting our intellectual property both domestically and abroad.

Business Developments

The following highlights recent material developments in our business:

• In August 2023, we announced the successful dispatch of our first shipment of hard-folding tonneau covers, which are made in the U.S. with domestic and imported components. This major development follows our initiating manufacturing earlier that month and aligns with recent sizable orders, notably a $700,000 order for soft-folding covers and a staggering $1,600,000 order for hard-folding covers, both from a national U.S. customer and reseller of automotive aftermarket accessories.
• In September 2023, we announced that we had found a top-tier solar panel provider for our highly anticipated SOLIS Solar Tonneau Cover. We believe that this provider, renowned for its state-of-the-art solar panels and underlying technology, will help us set a new standard in renewable energy tech for vehicles and provide the most durable and highest quality flexible solar panels.
• In September 2023, we announced significant strides in the development of our groundbreaking COR battery system, designed to complement the launch of the SOLIS solar cover. This cutting-edge duo is poised to empower remote power supply and extend the driving range of electric pickup trucks, thereby underscoring our commitment to sustainability and innovation as a cleantech company.
• On September 19, 2023, we announced that we had secured a long-term supply agreement with an established, leading automotive aftermarket reseller in the United States.

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• On January 3, 2024, we announced our strategic arrangement with NeuronicWorks Inc., a Toronto-based high-tech custom electronic product development and manufacturing company, to manufacture and assemble our COR battery system in preparation for the system’s anticipated Alpha release.
• On February 7, 2024, we announced a collaboration with Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) pursuant to which we will use Infineon’s GaN power semiconductors GS-065-060-5-B-A in the converters for our portable power stations to increase efficiency and power density.
• On February 23, 2024, we announced a new arrangement with Dix Performance North, Canada’s leading wholesaler of aftermarket car and truck products, for Dix would include our tonneau covers in their catalog. This strategic alliance is expected to make Worksport’s range of covers widely available throughout Canada, accelerate our growth, and contribute to significant sales and revenue increases.

Key Factors Affecting our Performance

As a result of a number of factors, our historical results of operations may not be comparable to our results of operations in future periods, and our results of operations may not be directly comparable from period to period. Set forth below is a brief discussion of the key factors impacting our results of operations.

COVID-19

The outbreak of the coronavirus, specifically identified as “COVID-19,” resulted in governments worldwide enacting emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus. These measures, which included the implementation of travel bans, self-imposed quarantine periods, and social distancing, have caused material disruption to businesses globally, resulting in an economic slowdown. Global equity markets experienced significant volatility and weakness. Governments and central banks have reacted with significant monetary and fiscal interventions designed to stabilize economic conditions – many of which have deeply impacted capital markets.

As a safety precaution, we created a policy such that any personnel exposed to an infectious disease or virus was not to report to the office until the completion of a variable length quarantine. While this resulted in fewer personnel working in our offices or labs on a given day, it likely prevented further contamination and sick leave. We do not believe this policy has impacted revenue nor timelines towards upcoming product launches; however, supply chain issues caused by COVID-19 did result in higher cost of goods sold during 2021 and 2022. While freight costs have since returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, 2021 freight costs were, in some cases, more than four times higher than those shortly before COVID-19.

The supply chain for certain raw materials has been disproportionately, negatively impacted when compared to supply chains of other raw materials. The supply chain for power electronics, specifically, is still facing supply chain issues as a result of COVID-19, for the globe faced a simultaneous supply shock and heightened demand for these goods – increasing the prices for such raw materials while simultaneously slowing suppliers’ order fulfillments. Further, due to such shortages, many suppliers of power electronics have focused their attention on large customers such as those more directly aligned within the electric vehicle supply chain as compared to companies on the outskirts of this supply chain such as Worksport. This particular result of COVID-19 primarily affects the sourcing of components for the Worksport COR. In order to mitigate these supply chain issues, we have invested more resources into sourcing power electronics in the interest of finding reliable suppliers with manageable lead times and competitive pricing.

The response of many governments to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in higher interest rates and destabilized equity markets – particularly among micro- or low-capitalization companies – effectively increasing the cost of and decreasing easy access to capital, which could negatively impact our short-term and long-term liquidity. These factors, combined with the consequences of possible future waves of the disease, could have a material impact on our liquidity, capital resources, operations, and business as well as those of the third parties on which we rely. The management and Board are constantly monitoring this situation to minimize potential losses.

Climate Change

Climate change threatens to cause many foreseeable as well as unforeseeable ramifications. In cautious preparation for those that are foreseeable, we have strategically begun domestic manufacturing operations in Western New York – an economically growing region not immediately threatened by climate change to the same extent as other regions and possibly one that may benefit from future population migrations within the United States of America. Further, we intend to lower our own carbon footprint by investing in energy-saving measures in our factory in West Seneca, NY. Considering climate change may also exacerbate geopolitical tensions, we are working to diversify our supply chain and lower our reliance on any particular region or country for raw materials in order to lower our exposure to climate change-induced economic or political instability.

We believe our Worksport SOLIS and Worksport COR products will be received positively by the public for their resilience to, and even increased utility as a result of, Climate Change. However, we acknowledge the potentially negative environmental impacts of poor battery recycling and increasing demand for precious metals. We are actively researching ways to lower such environmental impacts.

Inflation

Prices of certain commodity products, including raw materials, are historically volatile and are subject to fluctuations arising from changes in domestic and international supply and demand, labor costs, competition, market speculation, government regulations, trade restrictions and tariffs. Increasing prices of the component materials for parts of our goods may impact the availability, quality and price of our products as suppliers search for alternatives to existing materials and increase the prices they charge. Our suppliers may also fail to provide consistent quality of product as they may substitute lower cost materials to maintain pricing levels. Rapid and significant changes in commodity prices may negatively affect our profit margins, and it may be difficult to mitigate worsened margins through customer pricing actions and cost reduction initiatives.

Such an inflationary environment also increases our direct cost of raw goods or processed goods for our OEM manufacturing as well as indirect costs such as overhead and rent. Due to these present and forecasted price increases and the temporary increases in ocean freight and container handling costs faced during the majority of 2022 as a result of 2021 supply chain issues, we updated our product pricing in 2022.

Additionally, as central banks and the U.S. Federal Reserve increase interest rates to combat global inflation, the cost of debt financing increases. While we currently do not have material debt other than our $5.3 million mortgage on our West Seneca facility, our mortgage’s variable rate increases and decreases along with interest rates, which resulted in an increase of monthly premiums throughout 2022 and 2023. We are still susceptible to variable monthly mortgage interest costs as a result of changes in interest rates. We continue to explore debt financing options at reasonable interest rates in order to strengthen our cash position.

Rising interest rates have also resulted in a shift in institutional holdings away from micro-cap equities, which has negatively influenced our stock’s trading volume. We continue to forge relationships with institutional investors and analysts in order to maintain a healthy trading volume.

Gasoline Prices and Supply Chain Issues

We faced significantly higher ocean freight, trucking, and container handling costs as well as last mile delivery costs in 2021 and 2022 than we did in previous years – all of which have increased our products’ landed costs. Higher oil and gasoline prices further increased these costs, and while such prices have come down from their 2022 highs, we continue to closely monitor gasoline and shipping costs. While the Freight Rate Index has significantly increased since late 2023 as a result of Houthi attacks against cargo ships in the Red Sea and the concurrent decline in activity across the Panama Canal, the shipping routes used by Worksport have not faced dramatic price hikes. Regardless, Worksport is closely monitoring international shipping costs.

Our transition towards domestic manufacturing and assembly is anticipated to largely offset these higher costs, as we believe we will be less exposed to higher international shipping costs. We are also identifying North American suppliers of our products’ components and will prioritize transport by rail when possible to avoid high trucking costs.

Geopolitical Conditions

In February 2022, Russia initiated significant military action against Ukraine. In response, the U.S. and certain other countries imposed significant sanctions and export controls against Russia, Belarus and certain individuals and entities connected to Russian or Belarusian political, business, and financial organizations, and the U.S. and certain other countries could impose further sanctions, trade restrictions, and other retaliatory actions should the conflict continue or worsen. It is not possible to predict the broader consequences of these conflicts, including related geopolitical tensions, and the measures and retaliatory actions taken by the U.S. and other countries in respect thereof as well as whether any counter measures or retaliatory actions in response, including, for example, potential cyberattacks or the disruption of energy exports, are likely to cause regional instability and geopolitical shifts, which could materially adversely affect global trade, currency exchange rates, regional economies and the global economy. These situations remain uncertain, and while it is difficult to predict the impact of any of the foregoing, the conflicts and actions taken in response to these conflicts could increase our costs, reduce our sales and earnings, impair our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, while we do not have any direct operations or significant sales in the Middle East nor Africa, geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflicts in these regions, particularly in Gaza, northern Israel and southern Lebanon, the Red Sea, Sudan, and Ethiopia, may lead to further global economic instability and fluctuating energy prices that could materially affect our business. It is not possible to predict the broader consequences of these conflicts, including related geopolitical tensions, and the measures and actions taken by other countries in respect thereof, which could materially and adversely affect global trade, currency exchange rates, regional economies and the global economy. While it is difficult to predict the impact of any of the foregoing, these conflicts may increase our costs, disrupt our supply chain, reduce our sales and earnings, impair our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Foreign Currencies

We are subject to foreign exchange risk as we manufacture certain products and components in China, market extensively in both Canadian and U.S. markets, employ people residing in both the U.S. and Canada and, to date, have raised funds in Canadian Dollars. Meanwhile, we report results of operations in U.S. Dollars. Since our Canadian customers pay in Canadian Dollars, we are subject to gains and losses due to fluctuations in the USD relative to the Canadian Dollar. Our manufacturers in China are paid in USD to better avoid the relatively greater fluctuation of the Chinese Yuan. To the extent the U.S. dollar strengthens against any of these foreign currencies, the translation of these foreign currencies denominated transactions results in reduced revenue, operating expenses and net income for our operations.

Results of Operations

Revenue

For the year ended December 31, 2023, revenues from the entire line of our products were $1,529,632, as compared to $116,502 for the year ended December 31, 2022. Year-over-year sales increased by approximately 1,213%. For the year ended December 31, 2023, revenue generated in Canada was $6,811, as compared to $14,572 for the same period in 2022, a decrease of 53%. For the year ended December 31, 2023, revenue generated in the United States was $1,522,821, compared to $101,930 for the same period in 2022, an increase of 1,394%.

Revenue increased the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period the prior year due to increased sales of soft tonneau covers to a private label partner during the year ended December 31, 2023. Worksport continues to focus on establishing new business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales channels while strengthening the support of those channels to increase customer satisfaction and enable high product turnover. For business-to-consumer channels, we have configured our product offerings in a manner conducive with cost-effective marketing, allowing us to securely invest in marketing during 2024. For business-to-business channels, we have created all necessary marketing/sales materials and policies, and we are now actively presenting our product offerings to various dealers, jobbers, and retailers across the USA and Canada. We intend to gradually increase output capacity through refined production processes and increased personnel.

Sales from online retailers of our products increased from $101,930 in 2022 to $104,352 in 2023, an increase of 2%. Online retailers accounted for 7% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 87% for the year ended December 31, 2022. Distributor sales decreased for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared with the year ended December 31, 2022 with sales of $6,811 and $14,572, respectively. Private label sales accounted for 93% or $1,418,869 of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023. We expect to continue to grow our fields of business as we develop unique products with enhanced utility to offer to other prospective clients in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Currently, we work closely with two distributors in Canada, and we are close to setting up a distribution network within the USA. This does not include multiple independent online retailers. We currently support a network of dealers and distributors, and we will continue to expand our business and online sales channels in 2024.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales increased by 2,163%, from $56,967 for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $1,289,118 for the year ended December 31, 2023. Our cost of sales, as a percentage of sales, was approximately 84% and 49% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase in the cost of sales as a percentage of sales was primarily due to increased sales to private labels at a lower agreed upon sales price compared to online retail sales. We consistently secure a 20% gross margin on soft covers sold to private labels, as these soft covers are drop shipped from our Chinese suppliers at a fixed cost. However, our margins on domestically manufactured hard covers is dependent on the cost of raw materials, which fluctuates, as well as overhead, which is expected to decrease in future quarters as we realize manufacturing efficiencies and allocate more existing human capital and machinery resources away from design engineering and testing towards production. Our overhead per domestic unit was particularly high during the year ended December 31, 2023 due to this allocation of resources.

We provide our distributors and online retailers an “all-in” wholesale price. This includes any import duty charges, taxes, and shipping charges. Discounts are applied if the distributor or retailer chooses to use their own shipping process. Certain exceptions apply on rare occasions where product is shipped outside the contiguous United Sates or from the United States to Canada. Volume discounts are offered to certain high-volume customers, and we also offer a “dock price” or “pickup program” in which clients are able to pick up inventory directly from our stocking warehouse.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased for the year ended December 31, 2023 by $2,143,925, from $12,833,250 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 to $14,977,175 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, due to the following factors.

• General and administrative expense increased by $4,665,098 from $4,978,582 in 2022 to $9,643,680 in 2023. The increase was related to increased research and development activities, increased employment of production personnel including engineers, machine operators, and assembly people, and increases in wages and salaries as we seek to expand our operations and further develop our products.
• Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $963,212, from $2,446,266 for 2022 to $1,483,054 for 2023. The decrease in sales and marketing is primarily attributable to the completion of several marketing agreements and lower cost of in-house marketing campaigns to create brand and product awareness.
• Professional fees, which include accounting, legal, and consulting fees, decreased from $5,418,863 in 2022 to $3,853,134 in 2023. The decrease in professional fees was due to the completion of consulting engagements with various third-party consultants.
• We realized a gain on foreign exchange of $2,693 during 2023, compared to a gain on foreign exchange of $10,461 for the prior year due to conversions between CAD and USD.

\Other Income and Expenses

We reported other expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $192,297 compared to other income of $239,301 the prior year. The increase in other expenses can be attributed to higher interest expense in the current period compared to the prior period, offset by interest income and rental income.

Net Loss

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $14,928,958 compared to a net loss of $12,534,414 for the year ended December 31, 2022 – an increase of 19%. The increase in the net loss can be attributed to the increase in various operating expenses as we focus on expanding our operations, research and development, manufacturing, and supply chain.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2023, we had $3,365,778 in cash, restricted cash, and cash equivalents. We have generated only limited revenues and have relied primarily upon capital generated from public and private offerings of our securities. Since the Company’s acquisition of Worksport in fiscal year 2014, it has never generated a profit. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we had net losses of $14,928,958 (2022 - $12,534,414). As of December 31, 2023, the Company had working capital of $1,956,894 (2022 – $15,870,377) and had an accumulated deficit of $48,313,177 (2022 - $33,384,219).

In their audit report, our independent auditors expressed that there is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to generate cash flows from operations and obtain equity and/or debt financing. We intend to continue funding operations through equity and debt financing arrangements, which may be insufficient to fund our capital expenditures, working capital and other cash requirements in the long term. There can be no assurance that the steps our management is taking will be successful.

To date, our principal sources of liquidity consist of net proceeds from public and private securities offerings and cash exercises of outstanding warrants. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company received net proceeds of $4,475,869 from offerings. Management is focused on transitioning towards revenue as our principal source of liquidity by growing our existing product offerings and customer base. We cannot give assurance that we can increase our cash balances or limit our cash consumption and thus maintain sufficient cash balances for our planned operations or future business developments. Future business development and demands may lead to cash utilization at levels greater than recently experienced. We may need to raise additional capital in the future. However, we cannot ensure that we will be able to raise additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all. Subject to the foregoing, we believe our current cash balances coupled with anticipated cash flow from operating activities will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for at least one year from the date of issuance of the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

We have conducted the following public and private offerings since the beginning of the 2023 fiscal year:

Public Offering

On September 30, 2022, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-267696), which was declared effective by the SEC on October 13, 2022, containing a base prospectus covering the offering, issuance and sale by us of up to $30,000,000 of our common stock and prospectus supplement covering the offering, issuance and sale by us of up to $13,000,000 of our common stock that may be issued and sold under an At The Market Offering Agreement dated as of September 30, 2022. Pursuant to the ATM Agreement, H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC is entitled to a commission equal to 3.0% of the gross sales price of the shares of common stock sold. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has issued 99,127 shares for net proceeds of $214,238.

Public Underwritten Offering

On November 2, 2023, the Company closed a sale of 1,925,000 shares of common stock and 1,575,000 pre-funded warrants for a total net proceeds of $4,261,542. In association with the sale, the Company also issued 7,000,000 warrants convertible for 7,000,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.34. The warrants are exercisable six months after issuance and will expire five and a half years from the issuance date.

September 2022 At-The-Market Sales Agreement

On September 30, 2022, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, which was declared effective by the SEC on October 13, 2022 (“Form S-3 Registration Statement”), allowing the Company to issue up to $30,000,000 of common stock and prospectus supplement covering the offering, issuance and sale of up to $13,000,000 of common stock that may be issued and sold under an At The Market Offering Agreement dated September 30, 2022 (“ATM Agreement”), with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, as the sales agent (“HCW”). Pursuant to the ATM Agreement, HCW is entitled to a commission equal to 3.0% of the gross sales price of the shares of common stock sold. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has sold and issued 604,048 shares of common stock in consideration for net proceeds of $812,551 under the ATM Agreement.

November 2023 Registered Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Offering

On November 2, 2023, we raised roughly $4.7 million from a registered direct offering and concurrent private placement before deducting the placement agent’s fees and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The registered direct offering entailed the sale of 3,500,000 shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of common stock in lieu thereof) to a single institutional investor. The concurrent private placement entailed the issuance and sale of warrants to purchase up to 7,000,000 shares of common stock to the same institutional investor. The combined effective offering price for each share of common stock (or pre-funded warrant in lieu thereof) and accompanying warrant was $1.34. The warrants will become exercisable six months from issuance, expire five and a half years from the issuance date and have an exercise price of $1.34 per share. The shares of common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) were offered by the Company pursuant to the Company’s Form S-3 Registration Statement. The warrants issued in the concurrent private placement and the shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants were offered in a private placement under Section 4(a)(2) and/or Rule 506 of Regulation D. The 7,000,000 shares of common stock underlying the warrants were registered for resale by the institutional investor on a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-276241) filed with the SEC on December 22, 2023 and declared effective by the SEC on December 29, 2023. If at time, there is no effective registration statement available for the shares of common stock underlying the warrants, the warrants may be exercised via a “cashless exercise.” We will not receive any proceeds from any warrants exercised by a “cashless exercise.”

March 2024 Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Offering

On March 18, 2024, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with a certain institutional investor (the “Purchaser”) pursuant to which we sold, in a registered direct offering, an aggregate of (i) 2,372,240 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock and (ii) 1,477,892 pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 1,477,892 shares of Common Stock (the “Pre-funded Warrant Shares”). The offering price per Share was $0.74 and the offering price per Pre-funded Warrant was $0.7399. The Shares, Pre-funded Warrants and Pre-funded Warrants Shares were offered pursuant to our Form S-3 Registration as supplemented by a prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus dated March 18, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 19, 2024 pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5) promulgated under the Securities Act. The registered direct offering closed on March 20, 2024.

The Company received net proceeds of approximately $2.59 million from the offering, after deducting the estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, including the tail fees payable to Maxim Group LLC. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital.

In a concurrent private placement, we issued the Purchaser warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,700,264 shares of common stock for $0.74 per share. Under the warrants, we are obligated to register the shares underlying the warrants on a registration statement on Form S-3 (or other applicable form). If at the time of exercise of the Warrant there is no effective registration statement available for the shares of common stock underlying the warrants, the warrants may be exercised via a “cashless exercise.” We will not receive any proceeds from any warrants exercised by a “cashless exercise.”

Cash Flow Activities

Cash decreased from $14,620,757 at December 31, 2022 to $3,365,778 at December 31, 2023 – a decrease of $11,254,979 or 77%. The decrease was primarily due to the acquiring of assets for domestic production, such as industrial manufacturing equipment, as well as increasing spending on production personnel, and for raw materials in anticipation of domestic production, research and development, and overhead.

As of December 31, 2023, we had current assets of $9,123,506 (2022 - $18,332,107) and current liabilities of 7,166,612 (2022 – $2,461,730). As of December 31, 2023, we had working capital of $1,956,894 (2022 – $15,870,377) and an accumulated deficit of $48,313,177 (2022 - $33,384,219).

Operating Activities

Net cash used by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $11,930,580, compared to $7,977,960 in the prior year, driven by a larger net loss during the year ended December 31, 2023, and partially offset by the issuance of shares, options, and warrants for services.

Accounts receivable increased at December 31, 2023 by $400,525 and decreased by $83 in the prior year. The increase in accounts receivable was due to higher sales to private labels near the end of the year in 2023 compared to that of 2022.

Inventory increased at December 31, 2023 by $2,285,120 and at December 31, 2022 by $844,600 as a result of our stockpiling inventory in anticipation of the launch of our e-commerce platform and our purchasing of raw materials for domestic production. Prepaid expenses increased by $776,703 at December 31, 2023 and by $529,438 at December 31, 2022 due to deposits made by us for the purchase of manufacturing equipment and inventory.

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities decreased at December 31, 2023 by $577,124 and increased at December 31, 2022 by $995,340, respectively.

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $3,756,364 compared to $11,150,776 in the prior year. The decrease in investing activities was primarily due to the purchase of a manufacturing facility in 2022.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $4,431,965 compared to $5,182,160 in the prior year. During the year ended December 31, 2023 the Company received net proceeds of $4,475,869 from the sale of shares and pre-funded warrants. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we received a $5,300,000 loan for the purchase of a manufacturing facility.

Material Cash Requirements from Known Contractual and Other Obligations

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

We intend to fund our contractual obligations with working capital.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Critical Accounting Policies

Our discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses as well as related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis, including those related to provisions for uncollectible accounts receivable, inventories, valuation of intangible assets, and contingencies and litigation. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

These accounting policies conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and have been consistently applied in the preparation of the financial statements.

Cash and Cash Equivalents - Cash and cash equivalents includes cash on account and demand deposits with maturities of three months or less. Cash and cash equivalents in financial institutions may exceed insured limits at various times during the year and subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk. Cash and cash equivalents include restricted cash at December 31, 2023 and 2022 totaling $730,802 and $411,016, respectively.

Receivables - Trade accounts receivable are stated at the amount the Company expects to collect. Receivables are reviewed individually for collectability. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, adversely affecting their ability to make payments, allowances may be required.

The Company offers credit terms on the sale of the Company’s products to a significant majority of the Company’s customers and requires no collateral from these customers. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of customers’ financial condition and, if needed, maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts receivable based upon the Company’s historical experience, forecasted economic conditions, and a specific review of accounts receivable at the end of each period. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had no allowance for doubtful accounts.

Inventory - Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost being determined on a weighted average basis. Cost includes purchase price of materials, freight, and related costs required to bring the goods to Company warehouses.

Revenue Recognition – In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, sales are recognized when (1) products are shipped, with no right of return except for defective products, and the title and risk of loss has passed to customers; and (2) when they are delivered based on the terms of the sale, and there is an identifiable contract with a customer with defined performance obligations, the transaction price is determinable, and the entity has fulfilled its performance obligation. Revenue related to shipping and handling costs billed to customers is included in net sales, and the related shipping and handling costs are included in cost of goods sold.

Property and Equipment - Capital assets are recorded at cost and are depreciated using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives:

As a “smaller reporting company,” as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, we are not required to provide the information in this Item.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures designed to ensure that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Based on our management’s evaluation (with the participation of the individuals serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer) of our disclosure controls and procedures as required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, each of the individuals serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer has concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at the reasonable assurance level as of December 31, 2023, the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act). Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the individuals serving as our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework). Based on this assessment, our management concluded that, as of December 31, 2023, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective based on those criteria due to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting described below.

Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have not designed written policies and procedures at a sufficient level of precision to support the operating effectiveness of the controls to prevent and detect potential errors. We also did not maintain adequate documentation to evidence the operating effectiveness of certain control activities. Lastly, we did not maintain appropriate access to certain systems and did not maintain appropriate segregation of duties related to processes associated within those systems.

These control deficiencies resulted in several misstatements to the preliminary financial statements that were corrected and/or deemed immaterial in the aggregate prior to issuance of the financial statements. These control deficiencies create a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement to the financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis, and therefore we concluded that the deficiencies represent material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2023.

Remediation Plan

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we continued to enhance our internal control over financial reporting in an effort to remediate the material weaknesses described above. Measures taken in this remediation included investing in additional accounting personnel, establishing a clearer organizational structure, implementing additional enterprise resource planning system modules, and formalizing internal processes and procedures.

Our remediation process includes, but is not limited to:

• Investing in IT systems to enhance our operational and financial reporting and internal controls.
• Enhancing the organizational structure to support financial reporting processes and internal controls.
• Providing guidance, education and training to employees relating to our accounting policies and procedures.
• Further developing and documenting detailed policies and procedures regarding business processes for significant accounts, critical accounting policies and critical accounting estimates.
• Establishing effective general controls over IT systems to ensure that information produced can be relied upon by process level controls is relevant and reliable.

We expect to remediate these material weaknesses in 2024. However, we may discover additional material weaknesses that may require additional time and resources to remediate.

Attestation Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to the deferral allowed for smaller reporting companies.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than with respect to the remediation efforts discussed above, there was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fourth quarter of 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.