Latest news with #TrevorMilton
TechCrunch
4 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Nikola founder Trevor Milton is fighting a subpoena from his bankrupt company's creditors
The recently-pardoned founder of Nikola, Trevor Milton, has been fighting a subpoena from the creditors of his bankrupt electric trucking company. The official committee of unsecured creditors in the bankruptcy case sent the subpoena to Milton's lawyers on April 1, according to a recent filing. Milton owed Nikola nearly $100 million before it filed for bankruptcy in February, which followed an arbitration case with the company in 2023 related to his criminal conviction that he lost. The committee says Milton still hasn't paid, and is trying to use the subpoena to determine the current state of his financial affairs. Before it went bankrupt, Nikola sued Milton in federal court in Arizona, and accused him of 'fraudulently transferring away tens of millions of dollars of his assets in order to hinder, delay, and defraud [Nikola] in [its] attempts to collect upon the Arbitration Award,' according to the committee. Milton has spent the last two months fighting the subpoena, according to the filing. The company's lawyers have told the judge they believe the material sought by the creditors is subject to a protective order in the Arizona case. The fight over the subpoena will likely come to a head during a hearing scheduled for June 9. Lawyers representing the creditors' committee and Milton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Most of Nikola's assets have already been sold off in the bankruptcy process. Lucid Motors purchased the leases on Nikola's Arizona factory and headquarters, and hired around 300 of its employees. An auction company bought Nikola's remaining fleet of hydrogen-powered trucks. That has left the arbitration award as one of the largest, and crucial, remaining assets in Nikola's estate. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, Nikola was hit with a class action shareholder lawsuit related to the misleading claims it made during the process of becoming a public company. While Nikola settled a case with the Securities and Exchange Commission over those claims, the shareholder lawsuit was still ongoing when the company tipped into bankruptcy. The plan from the outset of the bankruptcy was to use Milton's arbitration award to settle the shareholder lawsuit. But Milton 'has yet to pay a cent,' the creditor committee said in the filing. Along the way, Milton, who was appealing his four-year prison sentence, was granted a surprise pardon by President Trump. Just a few weeks later, Nikola's lawyers accused Milton of trying to derail the bankruptcy case. Meanwhile, Milton has commissioned a documentary that is set to premiere on June 10, which he promises will tell the 'true story about how the so called 'justice system' nearly destroyed an innocent man.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Documentary Premiere Announced: "Conviction or Conspiracy - The Trevor Milton Saga" to Debut on YouTube, June 10th 2025
SALT LAKE CITY, June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A groundbreaking new documentary, "Conviction or Conspiracy – The Trevor Milton Saga," will premiere globally on YouTube June 10, 2025. The film takes a deep and unflinching look at one of the most controversial legal sagas in American business history, the rise, the trial, and the powerful aftermath of Trevor Milton's story, founder of the clean-energy transportation company Nikola. Directed by acclaimed documentarian Mark Soldinger, the feature length documentary offers rare insight into high-stakes innovation, government trials, corporate power plays, media trials, and the evolving intersection of law and public opinion. With exclusive interviews, never-before-seen evidence, and access to those closest to the story, the film invites viewers to ask a question that's still hotly debated: Was this justice served or was Milton framed for a crime by those seeking power and money? Far from a retrospective, Conviction or Conspiracy re-examines the entire chain of events of the story through a wider lens by interviewing key employees that have never gone on the record. It chronicles how a groundbreaking entrepreneurial vision collided with Wall Street skepticism, legal complexities, and a digital media landscape often faster than fact. Trevor Milton was granted a full and unconditional presidential pardon by Donald J. Trump in 2025 and is finally able to speak about who was behind the effort to take him down and the monies behind it. "The time has finally come where I can speak about what happened. I'm announcing the release of my documentary and for the first time, the world will see what really happened without the propaganda of interested parties. Thanks to Donald Trump, I finally get to speak without fear of being stripped away from my family and put in prison. This is a true story about how the so called 'justice system' nearly destroyed an innocent man," said Milton. This documentary revisits the events leading to that decision, offering the public an opportunity to judge the facts for themselves without the spin of interested parties making millions off Milton's demise. The film will premiere on YouTube, making it accessible to audiences around the world for free. "Rather than selling it to a platform and letting them make millions from advertisers, I decided to release it free to the world on my YouTube channel. I didn't want the truth available only to those who pay for a subscription," said Milton. To subscribe for film premiere notifications, visit: Media Inquiries:Jeffery MannMedia Relations, 1DSmedia@ View original content: SOURCE Trevor Milton Media Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Documentary Premiere Announced: "Conviction or Conspiracy - The Trevor Milton Saga" to Debut on YouTube, June 10th 2025
SALT LAKE CITY, June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A groundbreaking new documentary, "Conviction or Conspiracy – The Trevor Milton Saga," will premiere globally on YouTube June 10, 2025. The film takes a deep and unflinching look at one of the most controversial legal sagas in American business history, the rise, the trial, and the powerful aftermath of Trevor Milton's story, founder of the clean-energy transportation company Nikola. Directed by acclaimed documentarian Mark Soldinger, the feature length documentary offers rare insight into high-stakes innovation, government trials, corporate power plays, media trials, and the evolving intersection of law and public opinion. With exclusive interviews, never-before-seen evidence, and access to those closest to the story, the film invites viewers to ask a question that's still hotly debated: Was this justice served or was Milton framed for a crime by those seeking power and money? Far from a retrospective, Conviction or Conspiracy re-examines the entire chain of events of the story through a wider lens by interviewing key employees that have never gone on the record. It chronicles how a groundbreaking entrepreneurial vision collided with Wall Street skepticism, legal complexities, and a digital media landscape often faster than fact. Trevor Milton was granted a full and unconditional presidential pardon by Donald J. Trump in 2025 and is finally able to speak about who was behind the effort to take him down and the monies behind it. "The time has finally come where I can speak about what happened. I'm announcing the release of my documentary and for the first time, the world will see what really happened without the propaganda of interested parties. Thanks to Donald Trump, I finally get to speak without fear of being stripped away from my family and put in prison. This is a true story about how the so called 'justice system' nearly destroyed an innocent man," said Milton. This documentary revisits the events leading to that decision, offering the public an opportunity to judge the facts for themselves without the spin of interested parties making millions off Milton's demise. The film will premiere on YouTube, making it accessible to audiences around the world for free. "Rather than selling it to a platform and letting them make millions from advertisers, I decided to release it free to the world on my YouTube channel. I didn't want the truth available only to those who pay for a subscription," said Milton. To subscribe for film premiere notifications, visit: Media Inquiries:Jeffery MannMedia Relations, 1DSmedia@ View original content: SOURCE Trevor Milton Media Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Car and Driver
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Hydrogen Trucks from Bankrupt Startup Nikola Come up for Auction
Nikola, a startup that built electric and hydrogen fuel-cell semi-trucks, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and now its assets are up for grabs. The auction listing from Gordon Brothers includes 103 hydrogen fuel-cell trucks and plenty of spare parts. Lucid, the startup that builds the electric Air sedan, already purchased Nikola's offices and factory in Arizona last month. After several rocky years, electric-truck startup Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. Founded in 2014, Nikola's vision for electric and hydrogen fuel-cell trucks became mired in controversy after founder Trevor Milton was found guilty of defrauding investors. (Milton was pardoned by President Trump in March.) Now, the company's assets are going up for auction, giving intrepid tinkerers the chance to scoop up 103 completed hydrogen fuel-cell trucks. The auction, being conducted by Gordon Brothers, includes a vast array of industrial equipment. But the highlight of the listing is 103 Nikola Tre FCEV semi-trucks, which Gordon Brothers lists as "fully operational." Gordon Brothers The Tre, a Class 8 truck, was first shown in 2018 with a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain. In 2019, the company revealed a version of the Tre with a pure battery-electric setup. Nikola managed to get the Tre into production, delivering the first units in 2022. A few hundred trucks, both EVs and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, were built over the next two years, although 209 units had to be recalled in late 2023 after a battery issue caused a fire at Nikola's headquarters in Phoenix. In its financial report for the third quarter of 2024, Nikola said that 78 of those trucks were back on the road. It's unclear how many Nikola trucks remain in private hands. Still, the 103 units listed in the auction represent a sizable portion of overall Nikola production and a unique opportunity to own an unusual piece of automotive history. According to Nikola's website, which is still up at the time of publishing, the Tre FCEV features a 164-kWh battery and a hydrogen fuel-cell system that provides a range of up to 500 miles. The Tre pushes out 536 continuous horsepower with an instantaneous peak of 773 hp, but the truck is limited to 70 mph. Gordon Brothers While Gordon Brothers lists these trucks as operational, we have a feeling that they likely aren't ready for heavy use. We also imagine trucks from such a troubled startup could be rife with issues, and the hydrogen fuel-cell infrastructure in the United States is incredibly limited. The listing, however, provides potential solutions to those problems, including a wide array of equipment such as batteries, completed fuel-cell stack modules, steering and brake parts, tires, and axles. There's also enough to try setting up your own refueling network, with hydrogen storage systems and refueling pumps included. We wouldn't be shocked to see these assets snapped up by another startup automaker, since some of Nikola's other properties have already been acquired by a leading EV company. In April, electric-vehicle startup Lucid bought Nikola's former headquarters in Phoenix and manufacturing facility in Coolidge, Arizona. Lucid also said it would offer jobs to over 300 former Nikola workers. Lucid has an existing factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, where it builds the Air sedan and Gravity SUV. Caleb Miller Associate News Editor Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Bloomberg
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Lawyers Are Quoting $1 Million in Fees to Get Pardons to Trump
By and Bill Allison Trevor Milton was at home in mid-March when his phone lit up. The caller ID indicated the 'Executive Office of the President of the United States' was on the line. 'I thought it was fake,' said Milton, the founder of the electric-truck maker Nikola Corp., who was convicted of fraud in 2022 after the now bankrupt company made an infamous video of a prototype vehicle seeming to move on its own power, when in fact it was just rolling down a hill. 'This has to be one of those people that hate me.'
