Nikola Corporation

Nikola Corporation
Formerly
Nikola Motor Company (2014–2020) (now name of a subsidiary of Nikola Corporation)
Public
Traded asNASDAQNKLA
IndustryAutomotive
Founded2014; 6 years ago (2014)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
FounderTrevor Milton
Headquarters,
U.S.
Key people
Stephen Girsky, Chairman
Mark Russell, CEO
ProductsNikola One, Nikola Two, Nikola Tre, Nikola Badger
OwnerTrevor Milton (20%)
SubsidiariesNikola Motor Company
Nikola Powersports
Nikola Energy Company
Websitenikolamotor.com

Nikola Corporation is an American company that has announced a number of concept zero-emissions vehicles since 2016 and has indicated plans to produce some of them in the future. The company is based in Phoenix, Arizona, where its research and development facility is located.[1] The company is named after Nikola Tesla but is not related to the inventor.[2]

As of September 2020, the company is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice over securities fraud allegations.[3][4][5]

History

2014–2019

Nikola was founded by Trevor Milton[6] in 2014[7] in Salt Lake City, Utah.[8][9]

As of 2016, the first 5,000 Nikola One hydrogen-powered trucks were slated to be built by Fitzgerald in Byrdstown, Tennessee, which produces "gliders", which are truck vehicle platforms without engines.[10] In March 2019, Nikola acquired a 389-acre parcel in Coolidge, Arizona, for US$23 million, with future state and local tax breaks. Nikola said in 2019 that they expected truck factory construction to start in 2020, truck construction in 2021, and the fabrication of 35–50,000 trucks per year by 2023.[11]

In February 2019, Mark Russell Was hired as company president. Russell had most recently been President and CEO of Nikola Corporation investor Worthington Industries. [12]

In April 2019, Nikola held the Nikola World event in Scottsdale, Arizona. The two-day midweek event included a public demo day to show off the Nikola Two truck and the Nikola NZT UTV.[13][14][15]

2020

In March 2020, Nikola announced its plans to merge with VectoIQ Acquisition Corporation (ticker VTIQ),[16][17] a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company run by former General Motors Co. executive Steve Girsky. This resulted in the combined company being listed on the NASDAQ exchange with the NKLA ticker symbol.[18] As part of the merger, founder and CEO Trevor Milton had his title changed from CEO to Executive Chairman and Nikola President Mark Russell became President and CEO. [19] Nikola's stock began trading on June 4, 2020, a day after the merger was completed. By June 9, the shares had more than doubled since they began trading, as investors continued to bet on the growth potential of electric transportation. Nikola executive chairman Trevor Milton tweeted in early June that the company would begin taking reservations for the pickup truck, the Badger, on June 29.[20][needs update]

The company was valued at around $13 billion in early August 2020, compared to its revenue in the first six months of 2020 of $80,000 ($36,000 of which was attributed to installation of solar facilities for CEO Milton).[21]

On September 8, 2020 Nikola and General Motors announced a partnership, by which GM would acquire an 11% stake in Nikola (valued at approximately $2 billion at the time of the announcement). GM would also earn the right to nominate one member to Nikola's board. In return, GM has agreed to use its manufacturing facilities to begin production of the Badger, as well as supply fuel cells and batteries to Nikola globally.[22] Nikola stock jumped by 50% after the announcement.[23]

On September 20, 2020, Milton resigned as Executive Chairman[24] following fraud allegations made in a report released by Hindenburg Research,[25][26] while allegedly maintaining his stake in the company. News of the short researcher's allegations caused the share price of Nikola Corp to drop by 20%.[27][28] Following the resignation, Steve Girsky became Chairman of the Board.[29] Nikola then "issued copyright-takedown notices targeting critics on YouTube who [citing fair use] used clips of the promotional video in which a Nikola [One] was seen rolling down a hill" without a working drive train.[30] The Drive called Nikola's action an "abuse of YouTube's copyright takedown system".[31]

Vehicles

Nikola has publicly announced a number of zero-emissions vehicle design concepts since 2014 and unveiled a few concept vehicles that the company aims to develop for public sale.

Nikola NZT

In 2016, a prototype concept, the Nikola NZT, formerly[when?] referred to as the Nikola Zero,[32] was unveiled as a utility task vehicle (UTV) with 72 or 107 kWh battery.[33][10][34] The concept was stated to have 555 hp (414 kW) total, provided by a motor at each wheel, weigh 3,500 lb (1,600 kg), and use the same 14.5 in (370 mm) clearance suspension as the Ford Raptor.[35] Sometime before the end of 2016,[when?] it was spun-off into a powersports product, in the Nikola Powersports division.[36][needs update]

Nikola had at least one drivable prototype of the NZT in 2017 when it took a journalist for a ride-along in a Utah desert to demonstrate the vehicle's capabilities.[35] That was an open-cabin version, lacking doors or a windshield. Nikola advertises a similar vehicle as the "Nikola Reckless".[15] During Nikola World in April 2019, Nikola presented an NZT that was outwardly similar to the original one, except it had doors (but still lacked a roof and a windshield). Nikola says it offered rides in this vehicle to the attendees during the event, and published a video claiming to show it.[37]

There was also a different, closed-cabin variant, with a windshield and windows, a prototype or a mock-up of which was shown (not driven) during the event; according to a former employee, that design was deemed non-manufacturable, and needed a "massive redesign" which was outsourced to Stellar Strategy LLC, a company staffed with former executives of Polaris.[38]

Nikola One

In 2016, the company unveiled a high-level design of a hydrogen-fueled electric Class 8 truck called the Nikola One, aimed then to be in production in 2020. The Nikola One design includes a 320 kWh EV battery supplying 6 traction electric motors—one for each wheel—with a combined software-limited 1,000 hp (750 kW) and 2,000 lb⋅ft (2,700 N⋅m) of torque[39] – nearly 86,000 lb⋅ft (117,000 N⋅m) after gear reduction – inspired by electric locomotives.[40] This is sufficient for keeping a speed of 65 mph (105 km/h) with a full load of 80,000 pounds (36 tonnes) on a 6% grade.[34] The energy source is 300 kW[10] hydrogen fuel cells[41][42][43] consuming 4.6 kg (10 lb) H2 per 100 km (62 mi) from tanks with 100 kg (220 lb) of hydrogen, giving a range of 1,200 mi (1,900 km). Consumption is equivalent to 15.4 mpg of diesel.[34] The truck has regenerative brakes to supplement the traditional disc brakes, decreasing stopping distance and fuel usage.[40] The hydrogen version was unveiled in December 2016 and was expected to be available by 2019.[10][39][44] The company said[when?] that in some markets, compressed natural gas may be used to power an on-board gas turbine generator rather than hydrogen fuel cells.[41]

In May 2018, Nikola Motor Company filed a lawsuit against Tesla, Inc. seeking US$2 billion in damages alleging that the Tesla Semi infringed on six[45] patents that Nikola has been granted on the design of the Nikola One. Tesla responded that the lawsuit is without merit.[46] In September 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board denied Tesla's request to invalidate Nikola's side-door patent.[47][45] As of September 2020, the lawsuit is still ongoing.[48]

In May 2018, Anheuser-Busch placed a provisional purchase order for up to 800 leases of the hydrogen-powered truck versions, and Nikola claimed then that the trucks would start being delivered in 2020. By 2019, total pre-orders for truck leases encompassing all Class 8 truck models were claimed at $14B USD.[49] [50]

Nikola Two

Nikola Two is a semi-tractor truck visually similar to the Nikola One. Unlike the Nikola One, a prototype driving under its own power was demonstrated.[15][51]

Nikola Tre

In November 2019, the company unveiled the Nikola Tre electric truck concept, a rebadged version of the Iveco S-Way[52] that would be aimed at the European market. The Tre will also be targeted for the Australian and Asian markets.[53] Nikola says the Tre will have 500 to 1,000 horsepower and a range of 500 to 1,200 kilometers (310 to 745 miles).[54] CEO Trevor Milton stated that production is set to begin at the same time as the US truck versions, which is 2022–2023.[55]

Despite Trevor Milton's claims in July 2020 that there were 5 trucks "coming off the assembly line right now" in Germany, the assembly line itself was not finished as of September 2020. There were prototypes of the Nikola Tre being built in Germany by hand, in a workshop, not on an assembly line.[38]

Nikola Reckless

The Nikola Reckless is a concept vehicle projected to be a military grade fully-electric tactical off-highway vehicle. A prototype of the vehicle was displayed in the International Special Operations Forces Industry Exhibition Conference in May 2018.[56]

The vehicle's chassis will be 4×4 although it can switch to two-wheel drive. It will weigh 1,043 kg and will be able to carry up to 635kg. Also, the vehicle will have a 12.7mm machine gun.[56]

Fraud allegations

Hindenburg Report

On September 10, 2020, short seller firm Hindenburg Research released a report[57] accusing Nikola of being "an intricate fraud" perpetrated largely by Milton. Further verification by Financial Times confirmed the report's claim regarding a showcased Nikola One rolling down a slope with no onboard propulsion and instead by using the force of gravity. The stock fell by 10% that day while General Motors, who had made an agreement days earlier, fell by 4%. By September 12, Nikola stock had fallen by 36%.[58][59][60]

Nikola called these claims “false and misleading” and has threatened legal action against Hindenburg.[61] Notably, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has shown interest in the report.[62] In the past, Milton has alleged that those who are short selling Nikola stocks are fans of rival company Tesla and are "anti-Nikola or paid attack accounts".[63] In response to the Hindenburg report, Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, said her company conducted appropriate diligence before its deal with Nikola.[64] Reports on September 14 stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission has started a probe into the fraud allegations[3][4] and on September 15, the Department of Justice began an investigation into Nikola as well.[5]

Following the allegations, BP has backed away from a potential partnership to develop hydrogen refueling stations for Nikola's EV Trucks; Nikola's stock price fell by more than 25% intraday after BP's statement.[65] The partnership was cited as a critical component in Nikola's business plan for its electric vehicle trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Nikola had planned to announce the partnership days after the GM Partnership.[66][67]

Resignation of founder

On September 21, 2020, Trevor Milton announced his resignation.[68] Nikola shares fell by another 35% following his resignation. Stephen Girsky, former vice-chairman of General Motors and Nikola board member, replaced Milton as chairman in a non-executive capacity.[69][70]

Gallery

See also

References

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