Latest news with #NikolaCorporation
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
President Trump Pardons Nikola Founder Trevor Milton
Read the full story on The Auto Wire Controversial Nikola Corporation founder Trevor Milton received a full pardon by President Trump recently and not everyone's happy about it. Understandably, Milton is expressing gratitude and relief, saying when he first received a call with 'Executive Offices of the President of the United States' showing on the caller ID he wasn't sure if the call was fake or real. But it was very real, and Trump himself informed the man a pardon was covered in late February how all-electric commercial truck maker Nikola has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is done as a company. That came after accusations of fraud by an investor, Milton resigning as CEO, the company settling with federal regulators for a $125 million fine, and Milton being convicted of fraud, himself receiving a $1 million fine and a four year prison sentence. Why Nikola failed as a company has been hotly contested, with the current CEO blaming 'various market and macroeconomic factors.' Interestingly enough, some media outlets have decided to leave some details of what President Trump said to the media out, making it sound like he doesn't know anything about Milton's case. We can't so for sure how much he does know, but we can say an article by CNBC snips out an important clause. The CNBC article quotes Trump saying, 'I think he (Milton) was exonerated.' Then it quotes where he says, 'And then they brought him into New York, he had a rough, rough road, and… he was exonerated. It was a big celebration.' Right after that, the article makes sure to state Milton was convicted in court in New York back in October 2022. Here's the full quote from President Trump: 'He did a business deal like in Utah, as I have it. And I think he was exonerated. And then they brought him into New York, he had a rough, rough road, and he was exonerated, it was a big celebration.' We're not going to weigh in on whether Milton committed securities fraud, but we do think it's important to note Milton had been exonerated in a Utah court, only for the case to be tried in New York, so Trump did in fact get that right. As for why the case was moved to New York, a press release put out by Trevor Milton offers a theory on that: "The 90+% conviction rate in New York is appalling and is a result of prosecutors getting whatever they want and putting innocent people in prison. I saw firsthand the tactics they use to achieve those guaranteed convictions.' Image via Nikola Corporation Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Trump Pardons Nikola Founder
Nikola Corporation founder Trevor Milton, convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison, reportedly received a pardon from President Donald Trump. Milton shared in an Instagram post that Trump called him to notify him of the full and unconditional pardon. The White House later confirmed the pardon, according to a report by Wall Street Journal. Most read on 3 Manufacturers Expand Operations in Michigan Ford Shows Off Treasure Trove of Rarely Seen Vehicles Lawsuit Targets Ford Mustang Mach-E's Unconventional Doors Boeing Receives Order for 60 737 MAX Airplanes Milton's pardon comes two weeks after Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky requested that a court order him to pay nearly $676 million in restitution to his defrauded victims. The development has also brought attention to Milton's financial ties to Trump and the Republican Party, which includes a donation of $920,000 to Trump's fundraising committee and hundreds of thousands more to various Republican committees and politicians, according to the Federal Election Commission website. A jury convicted Milton in 2022 for deceiving investors about the zero-emission 18-wheel truck maker's technology. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Milton rebranded a General Motors vehicle as a Nikola truck and provided evidence of doctored videos that hid the trucks' flaws. The jury convicted Milton on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, and a judge sentenced him to four years in prison in 2023. Last February, Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after forecasting it would run out of money this year. The company also announced in late March that it plans to voluntarily deregister with the SEC and delist from Nasdaq. Click here to subscribe to daily newsletters featuring breaking manufacturing industry news.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Here's Why Nikola Has Filed for Bankruptcy After Difficult Years
EV and FCEV truck startup Nikola Corp. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, seeking a sale of its assets after being unable to secure additional investments. At one point the truck startup had been valued at $30 billion, but it faced a series of challenges since the prosecution of its founder and CEO Trevor Milton. In recent years the startup focused on hydrogen fuel-cell truck technology, but revenues remained slim in an industry facing a slow climb toward zero-emission semis. Electric and hydrogen truck startup Nikola Corporation, which at one point had been valued at $30 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, seeking to auction off all of its assets and wind down its business in an orderly manner. Over the past few months Nikola had been searching for additional investors, shedding staff to stay afloat, and also trying to find a buyer to take over the company while continuing to build and develop ZEV Class 8 trucks. Nikola had been in talks with a potential, undisclosed buyer in late 2024, but those efforts failed to bear fruit. On the day of the bankruptcy filing Nikola had just $47 million in cash on hand, despite at one point being famously eclipsing the market cap of Ford. Like many other startups in the early production stages, it saw a quick rate of cash burn—and losses of hundreds of millions of dollars over the past several quarters. Late last summer the company had just under $200 million in cash, amid warnings that it might not be able to hold out past the first few months of 2025. "Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted our ability to operate," said Steve Girsky, President and CEO of Nikola. "In recent months, we have taken numerous actions to raise capital, reduce our liabilities, clean up our balance sheet, and preserve cash to sustain our operations." When it comes to assets it could sell, the company's equipment and tooling at its main plant in Coolidge, Arizona, is seen as the main source of cash. Aside from issues related to the launch of production, Nikola also faced a skittish and poorly developed EV semi truck market, one that has only started to gain momentum in the past two years after a long period of obscurity, as well as an almost complete lack of public truck charging infrastructure. At one point the company had shown a rendering of a planned EV and FCEV pickup truck model, dubbed Badger, but the project was shelved as the hype over BEV trucks peaked and quickly subsided. The headwinds that Nikola faced over the past few years were hardly unique: Slow demand, high costs of components and manufacturing, difficulties finding investors, the rate of cash burn approaching the production stage, and competition from established truck makers. The company also saw quick turnover in its top ranks after its former CEO and founder Trevor Milton stepped down from the post and was charged with fraud in 2021 over past claims relating to the company's trucks. The accusations and later charges against Milton saw Nikola's stock drop by a significant margin and introduced other challenges, but did not immediately doom the company. Milton was found guilty and received a four-year prison sentence in late 2023, while the company also paid a $125 million civil penalty to the SEC. In 2023, the company recalled all of its battery-electric models after a series of fires that stemmed from a coolant leak in battery packs. At the time, the company had delivered just over 200 electric trucks to customers and dealers. After Milton stepped down in 2020, the company went through several CEOs, with Girsky, a former GM executive, having taken over the helm in August 2023 from Michael Lohscheller. Nikola attempted to shift its focus to hydrogen-electric trucks recently, launching its HYLA brand in the process. However, the company faced many of the same challenges in this sphere as with EV trucks. Despite recent collapses of other ZEV truck and van startups, in some ways it is surprising that Nikola lasted this long, all the way into 2025. "With the dedication of our employees and support from our partners, Nikola has taken significant steps to move zero-emissions transportation forward, including bringing the first commercially available Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks to market in North America and developing the HYLA hydrogen refueling highway, connecting Northern California to Southern California," Girsky added in announcing the bankruptcy filing by the company. The future for electric and hydrogen semis in the US remains quite uncertain, despite some modest momentum in the sales of battery-electric delivery vans. The biggest players in the EV truck market are not startups—and not even Tesla—but established truck makers like Volvo and Daimler, both of which have launched several electric models over the past 24 months. Hyundai and Toyota also are working in this space. Will we see many electric semitrucks by 2030, representing even 10% of the Class 8 market, or will this trend take longer? Please comment below.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Another EV Company, Nikola, Goes Belly Up
Read the full story on The Auto Wire Nikola Corporation, maker of all-electric trucks, has officially filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company has indicated it's seeking to sell off assets with court authorization. In other words, it's the end of the road for the EV company, joining the ranks of many others which have failed over the only was Nikola making battery-electric commercial trucks, it was pioneering hydrogen fuel cell technology for the same market. It even created a series of hydrogen refueling stations so trucks could successfully move cargo between Northern and Southern California. But controversy struck back in 2020 right after Nikola became a publicly traded corporation. The founder, Trevor Milton, was accused by an investor of fraud. He later quit the company, but the damage was done. Milton was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $1 million back in December 2023. Nikola settled the claims of fraud, paying federal regulators $125 million back in 2021. Steve Girsky, President and CEO of Nikola, extoled the many accomplishments of the company, ultimately blaming its failure on external forces. 'Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic factors that have impacted our ability to operate,' he said in the press release announcing the bankruptcy filing. Even though Nikola has filed for bankruptcy, in the same press release the company states it's striving to keep some of its operations alive to support trucks already on the road. That's at least until the end of March 2025, after which 'one or more partners' will be needed to offer service and support to truck owners. We wouldn't feel too good about owning a Nikola truck at the moment, simply because the uncertainty surrounding future servicing and support for the vehicle is high. Maybe Tesla could come in and give those people a nice transition to one of its products that won't be bricked? These days it seems like EV companies are dropping like flies. Just last month, Canoo filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Another high-profile case was Risker, which folded up in the fall. We wouldn't be surprised if several others that have been showered with praise in the media also close up shop in the near future. Image via Nikola Corporation Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Nikola Shares Plunge 38% as Company Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Plans Asset Sale
Nikola Corporation (NKLA, Financials) shares fell 38.8% to $0.47 on Wednesday at 12:07 PM GMT-5 after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with NKLA. Under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the corporation intends to auction and liquidate its assets. Pending court clearance, Nikola, which aimed to create zero-emission trucks, would keep restricted activities including repairing current cars and preserving select HYLA fuelling operations. These events are supposed to go until the end of March, after which other activities depending on outside partners will follow. With about $47 million in cash, Nikola files for bankruptcy hoping to support continuous operations, pay for debt, and enable an asset sale. The business said that its decision to expedite the asset selling process was motivated by cash problems and the hefty bankruptcy expenses. The management of Nikola blamed macroeconomic difficulties and state of the market for their financial difficulties. The corporation could not keep running even with efforts to generate money, lower debt, and save cash. Trevor Milton started Nikola in Salt Lake City in 2014; it became public on June 4, 2020, after a merger with special purpose acquisition company VectoIQ Acquisition Corp. Not too long after, the business was under regulatory scrutiny, fraud claims surfaced, and Milton resigned as executive chairman. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
