Nikola Corp. founder and Executive Chairman Trevor Milton is stepping down from the electric truck company effective immediately. This comes in the wake of a report from a noted short-selling accusing the company of fraud. Milton is succeeded by Stephen Girsky, a former General Motors executive who was already on the company’s board.
Nikola company stock fell as far as 30% in pre-market trading, currently trading around $25 a share. Over the last few months, the stock experienced wild trading with at one time the stock hitting $79 a share.
“The focus should be on the company and its world-changing mission, not me. I intend to defend myself against false accusations leveled against me by outside detractors,” Milton said in a statement posted on Twitter.
This month, Hindenburg Research, a short seller, published a report alleging Nikola is misleading investors. Nikola refutes the claims.
“These allegations by the short seller are false and misleading and designed to manipulate the market to profit from a manufactured decline in Nikola’s stock price,” Nikola said, following Hindenburg Research’s report.
This report came on the heels of a significant deal for Nikola. The young automaker had just signed an agreement with General Motors that gave GM 11% ownership in the upstart in exchange for technology and assistance getting Nikola’s first model to market.
Electric trucks, both consumer and commercial versions, are quickly becoming a battleground for automakers. The market is ripe for innovation, and incumbent automakers are looking for partners to kickstart operations. Ford, the leader in consumer trucks, sided with Michigan-based Rivian, which is helping develop electric vehicles for Ford. General Motors’ recent partnership with Nikola seemed smart at the time of its announcement. Still, now, after the Hindenburg Report, the viability of the deal is in question, and with that, the future of GM’s electric pickup.
