Nikola founder and chief showman, Trevor Milton went on trial Monday on fraud charges. This is the company that promised heavy duty trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells and electricity. Nikola was long on promotion and showcased a video of a prototype truck barreling down a freeway.
The company also claimed it had leading edge technology to produce hydrogen at filling stations that it would deploy across the USA to allow its trucks to refuel with hydrogen. It later turned out that the truck in the video was entirely powered by gravity and was just rolling down a hill. And the hydrogen filling stations were no more than sketches on the back of an envelope.
At one point Milton and his video had boosted Nichola share price to over $65 giving it a market cap greater than most car companies. Once the fake video news became public the stock was heavily shorted and now trades around five bucks.
All the evidence we have seen suggests that Trevor Milton is most likely guilty of every fraud charge levelled at him. We penned a piece last August showcasing the video as 100% fake. See Nikola and Fraud
The trial commenced Monday in Manhattan we await the outcome.