Consumer model
MK-V
By Monarch Tractor · agriculture
- Price
- —
- Availability
- Discontinued.
- Maturity
- commercial
- Real-world use
- No verified deployments
Monarch Tractor (founded 2018, Livermore, California; CEO Praveen Penmetsa) built the MK-V, a fully battery-electric, driver-optional smart tractor with a WingspanAI fleet-management and remote-supervision layer. There is no consumer price, and the company is discontinued. The MK-V did reach a genuine historical peak: it shipped to paying commercial customers starting December 2022 (the first being Constellation Brands, which took six tractors for its To Kalon vineyard), and Monarch raised more than $220 million anchored by a $133M Series C in July 2024 (recorded at commercial maturity historically). But Monarch collapsed through 2025: its Foxconn manufacturing arrangement ended (the Ohio plant was sold to SoftBank in August 2025), with layoffs and a shutdown warning in November 2025, a pivot to roughly 70% licensing revenue, and finally an assignment for the benefit of creditors; its assets and IP (the software-defined vehicle platform and perception stack) were acquired by Caterpillar around April 14, 2026, in an asset-and-technology purchase, not a going-concern acquisition. On autonomy, marketing of a fully autonomous tractor overstated reality: full autonomy was confined to a narrow dairy feed-pushing use case, while general field work was driver-assist with an operator aboard, and an Idaho dealer sued in September 2025 alleging the tractors could not operate autonomously. It is the wound-down anchor of the agriculture cohort.
Readiness
MK-V is discontinued, no capability claims are on file, the model has no verified field deployments in the registry, and no incidents are on record.
- Availability
- discontinued
Discontinued.
- Price honesty
- no-price
No price points on file for MK-V.
- Capability honesty
- no-claims
No reviewed capability claims on file for MK-V.
- Real-world use
- commercial
Maturity: commercial. No verified deployments in the registry.
- Safety record
- no-incidents
No incidents on record. No verified deployments either.
What it claims to do
No reviewed capability claims on file.
Price
No reviewed price points on file.
Real-world use
No verified deployments on file for MK-V.
Safety record
No incidents on record. No verified deployments either, so the absence is uninformative.
Privacy
No privacy practices disclosed or on file for MK-V.
Specs
- notes
- [{"label":"Verified (historical peak)","value":"Monarch (founded 2018, Livermore CA; founder/CEO Praveen Penmetsa) genuinely shipped the MK-V battery-electric tractor to paying commercial customers starting Dec 2022 (first: Constellation Brands, six tractors at the To Kalon vineyard; earlier Wente pilot 2021). Raised ~$220M+ (some reports up to ~$251M), anchored by a $133M Series C (Jul 2024). Hence maturityStage=commercial (historical peak)."},{"label":"CORRECTION (cross-graph M&A; defunct)","value":"Contrary to the dispatch's framing of an active growing OEM, Monarch COLLAPSED: Foxconn manufacturing ended (Ohio plant sold to SoftBank, Aug 2025); layoffs + shutdown warning (Nov 2025); pivoted to ~70% licensing revenue; entered an assignment for the benefit of creditors and auctioned remaining tractors; its assets/IP (software-defined vehicle platform, perception stack, electrification) were acquired by CATERPILLAR (~Apr 14 2026, terms undisclosed, asset/tech purchase not going-concern). lifecycleState=discontinued."},{"label":"Verified-vs-claimed (autonomy)","value":"Marketing of a 'fully autonomous' tractor overstates reality: full autonomy was narrow (dairy feed-pushing in outdoor feed lanes); general field work was driver-assist (Row Follow) with an operator aboard plus WingspanAI remote supervision. An Idaho dealer (Burks Tractor) sued Sept 2025 alleging the MK-Vs 'were unable to operate autonomously,' with Monarch's sales team reportedly conceding the limits in writing."}]
- products
- MK-V: fully battery-electric, driver-optional smart tractor with WingspanAI fleet/remote layer; first shipped to commercial customers Dec 2022
- formFactor
- agriculture (battery-electric driver-optional smart tractor)
What's under the hood
No brain on file for MK-V.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the MK-V actually available for purchase?
- Discontinued. No longer available for purchase.Source: Monarch Tractor's collapse ends with an acquisition by Caterpillar (assets/IP, Apr 2026)
- What does the MK-V cost?
- Not announced.
- Where is the MK-V being used?
- No verified field deployments on record.
- Is the MK-V safe?
- No incidents on record, but with no verified field deployments either, the absence is uninformative.
- How does the MK-V handle privacy?
- No privacy practices disclosed or on file for MK-V.
- Who makes the MK-V?
- MK-V is made by Monarch Tractor, based in Livermore, California, USA.Source: Monarch Tractor's collapse ends with an acquisition by Caterpillar (assets/IP, Apr 2026)
Video
Monarch Tractor's launch of the MK-V electric tractor. Monarch frames the MK-V as 'driver-optional', keeping the farmer in control whether seated or operating autonomously; operator-supervised autonomy.
Manufacturer
Monarch Tractor (registry record: /companies/monarch-tractor)
Compared to
- FD20by FarmDroid · agriculture
Sources
- Monarch Tractor's collapse ends with an acquisition by Caterpillar (assets/IP, Apr 2026) · https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/15/monarch-tractors-collapse-ends-in-with-an-acquisition-by-caterpillar/
- Monarch preps layoffs, warns it may 'shut down' (Nov 2025; pivot to licensing) · https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/19/monarch-tractor-preps-for-layoffs-and-warns-employees-it-may-shut-down/
- Monarch tractors won't be built by Foxconn after Ohio factory sale (Aug 2025) · https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/13/monarch-tractors-wont-be-built-by-foxconn-after-ohio-factory-sale/
- Constellation Brands takes delivery of first Monarch MK-V tractors (Dec 2022; To Kalon vineyard) · https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221201005455/en/
- Monarch $133M Series C (Jul 2024; Astanor / HH-CTBC) · https://agfundernews.com/brief-monarch-tractor-bags-record-133m-eyes-global-expansion-for-its-all-electric-autonomous-machines
- Dealer lawsuit alleges MK-V 'unable to operate autonomously' (Sept 2025) · https://techbuzz.ai/articles/monarch-tractor-faces-lawsuit-over-non-autonomous-tractors
- Monarch Tractor official YouTube (@Monarchtractor), embedded under standard YouTube embed terms. oEmbed author_url verified 2026-06-04. · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WnAgUseIVM · 2026-06-04
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Canonical: https://deploy.report/models/monarch-mk-v