MegaBots Is Now Bankrupt and Selling Their Giant Battle Robot Online
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The days of giant fighting robots have come to a close. MegaBots filed for bankruptcy and are selling their 16-foot tall mega robot, Eagle Prime, on eBay. The bidding started at $1 and has increased to $50,000 as it currently stands.
There is still hope for a comeback if the highest bidder is someone keen on giant bots fighting each other.
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Eagle Prime robot is still in tip-top shape, with just a few battle scars to its name. Otherwise, it's fully functioning with weapon attachments, CAD files, and extra parts stored in an entire shipping container.
What happened?
As MegaBots co-founder, Matt Oehrlein explained in his video on YouTube that the mere upkeep costs were just too much.
Even just the costs for storage in a big warehouse were too steep in the end.
It cost MegaBots around $2.5 million to create the robot, funded primarily through crowdfunding. This means that the current highest bidder would be getting a bargain for the bot. That said, the estimated to cost to ship the bot in the U.S. alone is between $4,000 and $17,000.
As the company isn't able to make the interest payments on its loan from the bank, they have to call it a day. Through his personal, and candid video, Oehrlein went into detail about their cost issues.
Trying to run through different scenarios with his audience, Oehrlein was upfront about understanding that the potential buyer of Eagle Prime may not wish to continue the business as it is, and that is fine with the MegaBot co-founder.
Eagle prime is on eBay. This is not a joke. https://t.co/dOpqYd7y7g
— MegaBots Inc. (@MegaBots) September 24, 2019
He also answered a few questions posed by fans or followers, one of which was why they wouldn't use the mega bot at Burning Man, for example. Known for its inspirational and different creations, it could be an ideal location to showcase the bot.
Answering openly, Oehrlein said, "It doesn’t handle dirt that well. It runs great on hard surfaces, but when it’s on softer dirt, the treads tend to dig down into the dirt, instead of scrub across the top. It goes forward and backward no problem through softer terrain, but really only pivots well on paved surfaces."
He continued, "75% of people will ask, “are you taking this to burning man?” and you will have to explain this to them. Seriously it’s the most common question we get."
What will happen moving forward?
Ultimately, all Oehrlein hopes for at this stage is for Eagle Prime not to end up in a junkyard somewhere.
There's still hope for the robot, as bidding has risen steadily, and there's still time to go with the auction closing on 3 October.
Remaining positive throughout, Oehrlein pointed out that this was only the end of MegaBots in its "current form." He's "very happy" he had the chance to make this project happen.
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