‘Nikola’ the Arizona-based company that wants to pioneer hydrogen-based EV trucks is going through the most turbulent times in its history. Considering that the firm hasn’t established itself in the market yet, and it hasn’t proven that the planned business model can work in reality, experiencing such turmoil so early could completely derail it.
First came the accusations of fraud against Nikola from one of its own investors, Hindenburg Research. The investor maintains that they were tricked into thinking that Nikola’s trucks were self-driven after they were shown a video that was actually filmed while the truck was rolling down a big hill.
Another reason backing the fraud allegations targets the founder and CEO of the company, Trevor Milton. The man allegedly lied to the investors about the firm possessing proprietary technology that opens up amazing prospects for partnerships with other automakers.
This resulted in the launching of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission and also an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Trevor Milton decided to resign immediately in order to distance himself from the Nikola project while preparing his defense. But this wasn’t the end of trouble for neither Nikola nor Milton.
Tesla has entered the game by submitting a lawsuit against Nikola for patent infringement. The details that surfaced from this revealed that Nikola didn’t have any designs of their own, but they instead bought designs from Rimac, a Croatian EV supercar maker. That was the unveiling of just one of the many lies that Milton was allegedly spreading about Nikola’s technology, and sent the shares of the firm to a downward spiral.
And as if all of this wasn’t enough, two women now accuse Trevor Milton of sexual assault. The first one, Milton’s work assistant, was allegedly attacked by him when she was 15 years old. The second accusation comes from Milton’s first cousin, Aubrey Smith, who was also 15 at the time of the alleged attack.
