Sources close to the embattled fuel cell truck manufacturer are reporting that founder Trevor Milton has resigned as executive chairman of Nikola Motor (NASDAQ: NKLA) and has departed the company effective immediately.
He will remain as one of the company’s largest shareholders, but will not have a say in how the company is managed going forward. Sources tell FreightWaves that the decision was Milton’s, in an effort to protect the company and his investment. Milton owns approximately 82 million shares or 20% of the company, worth about $2.8 billion.
Milton created a vision for a hydrogen-powered trucking industry. His comments about the capabilities of Nikola and the hydrogen-powered trucking network he planned to build have occasionally stretched beyond what is physically possible, leaving many detractors to highlight these statements as proof that the company is a scam.
Others, including many in the industry and suppliers that partnered with the company, saw a firm with a grand vision and opportunity to make a major impact on the future of transportation. If successful, Nikola could greatly reduce the carbon footprint from one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA estimates that 6.4% of all such emissions in the U.S. come from medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
Before the company went public, few had heard of Nikola outside of the heavy-duty trucking industry. The company completed a reverse merger IPO or SPAC offering in June, which gave the company a valuation higher than Ford’s. Nikola has yet to mass produce a product, and all of its revenue to date came from selling solar panel installation services to Milton.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to FreightWaves for updates.
Mrevor Tilton
Complete and total scumbag a-hole..
Carmi Turchick
If successful, Nikola will greatly increase carbon emissions from medium and heavy tricks. First all the emissions to create the electricity, then the methane released from fracking for natural gas, then the CO2 emissions from cracking the natural gas into hydrogen and CO2, and finally the emissions from trucking the hydrogen to the fueling stations.
Thankfully, the economics of this will never make sense and Nikola will never lease a single semi.
jr
if this news is fake than they can Claim against you.. and if this is true than how do you got information before it even release on companies website wonders????
Jj
Fake
Marki
I wonder does GM have something to do with this.
Nobudy Else
Yes, a $2 billion dollar loss.
ass johnson
they didn’t invest any cash.
James
how real is this? I dont care much for the company as I made my money off them. But little rumor or big itll affect the company.
Dan
I hope he gets to enjoy his life behind bars
Charlez
Yeah, perhaps Trevor and Elizabeth Holmes will be in the same detention facility … and enjoy his time collaborating with Elizabeth on the next ‘great’ gigantic fraud.
Christopher Facciol
What a douche bag !! Can’t wait to see him in jail clothing !! Sociopaths it should be in prison!!!
He is well on his way, terribly sorry for his wife, his fathers will be in jail with him to keep him comfort though!!
ass johnson
it we didn’t say it was going down hill, it was just going down hill…