UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): December 8, 2020

QuantumScape Corporation

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

(408) 452-2000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company  ☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

On December 8, 2020, QuantumScape Corporation (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing new performance data demonstrating that its technology addresses issues holding back widespread adoption of high-energy density solid-state batteries, including charge time (current density), cycle life, safety, and operating temperature.

The Company’s solid-state battery is being designed to enable up to 80% longer range compared to today’s lithium-ion batteries. Data as of December 8, 2020 is as follows:

A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K. The presentation used to present the data is attached as Exhibit 99.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K..

The information furnished in this Item 7.01, including Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any other filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

This current report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and information based on management’s current expectations as of the date of this current report. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this current report, including statements regarding the Company’s future operating results, financial position, business strategy, addressable market, anticipated benefits of its technologies, projected factory economics, pro forma information, and plans and objectives for future operations and products are forward-looking statements. When used in this current report, the words “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “pro forma,” “expect,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “predict,” “target,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “continue,” “believe,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipates” the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, hopes, beliefs, intentions and strategies regarding future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events.

These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Many of these factors are outside the Company’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (i) the Company faces significant barriers in its attempts to produce a solid-state battery cell and may not be able to successfully develop its solid-state battery cell, which will negatively impact the business; (ii) if the Company’s batteries fail to perform as expected, the Company’s ability to develop, market and sell its batteries could be harmed; (iii) the Company may encounter substantial delays in the design, manufacture, regulatory approval, and launch of the Company’s solid-state battery cells, which could prevent the Company from commercializing any products it determines to develop on a timely basis, if at all; (iv) the Company has a relatively short operating history and operates in a rapidly evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate future prospects and may increase the risk that it will not continue to be successful; (v) the Company may be unable to adequately control the costs associated with its operations and the components necessary to build its solid-state battery cells; (vi) the Company may not be successful in competing in the battery market industry or establishing and maintaining confidence in its long-term business prospectus among current and future partners and customers and (vii) the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made.

2

Except as otherwise required by applicable law, the Company disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements. Should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and projections could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors that could materially affect the Company’s actual results can be found in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC. The Company’s SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

3

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

Dated: December 8, 2020

4