The Daily Dash: $1 annual salaries at Nikola

The Daily Dash is a quick look at what’s happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, we highlight Nikola executives playing the long game, TuSimple’s watermelon deliveries and more.

FreightWaves’ free virtual event, LIVE @HOME, continues on Thursday; you can listen to pioneering entrepreneurs who see opportunity on the horizon. Click here to register. For complete coverage of Wednesday’s session, click here.

Also, FreightWaves has announced it has raised $16 million to support product and commercial development of its Carbon Intelligence platform. Click here for details.

The High Five

1. Nikola Corp. CEO Mark Russell and other top executives of the startup electric truck company are playing the long game, accepting $1-a-year salaries and stock-based compensation that could bring huge payouts if the scandal-battered shares regain value. Alan Adler’s story

2. Unprecedented product, equipment and labor dislocations will persist through most, if not all, of 2021, putting all supply chain stakeholders to the test and elevating technology’s role in driving customer solutions, Shelley Simpson, the chief commercial officer of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. said during FreightWaves’ LIVE @HOME event. Mark Solomon’s keynote speaker story

3. “A conversation across the pandemic is whether there can be more job security for a broker if you strike out on your own as opposed to working for a large organization or institution.” — Truckstop.com’s Kendra Tucker during the LIVE @HOME event. John Kingston’s Fireside chat recap

4. Watermelons are the latest proof point for autonomous trucking. TuSimple’s driver-monitored Level 4 high autonomy-equipped trucks covered 900 miles from Nogales, Arizona, to Oklahoma City, delivering the fruit in just over 14 hours — 42% faster than a typical run. Alan Adler’s report

5. Stakeholders debated at a congressional hearing the extent to which the government should be involved in protecting the workforce against potential negative consequences of vehicle automation. One concern drivers have raised is their eroding privacy as autonomous systems make increasing use of in-cab video monitoring. John Gallagher in Washington