Transports
Hydrogen trucks: the reasons for the sensational resignation of Nikola’s CEO
The hydrogen truckmaker’s breakthrough was too good, too fast. In a damning report, a hedge fund mentions “complex fraud” and “sea of lies”. Under fire from critics, Nikola CEO Trevor Milton announced his resignation on Monday.
It is perhaps the most beautiful scam of the year. Is hydrogen truck maker Nikola a bogus value? The American start-up is accused of fraud. A regulatory investigation was initiated. Before the stock market authorities give their conclusion, the founder and CEO of Nikola Trevor Milton, 38, preferred to take the lead by resigning. Nikola, which employs 400 people near Phoenix (Arizona) was created in 2015. The idea of marketing hydrogen trucks quickly attracted investors. For heavy transport – buses, garbage dumpsters, trains, boats and even planes – the molecule has great advantages over electric. A hydrogen truck can be recharged in just 15 minutes and has a range of over 1,000 kilometers.
Nikola skilfully rides the wave. Trevor Milton’s hyper-aggressive Instagram communication does the rest. The company, which plans to develop 700 hydrogen stations in the United States and 70 in Europe over the next ten years, is joining forces with the big names in the sector: the American General Motors for fuel cells, the German Bosch for the group. powerplant, the Norwegian NEL for electrolysers. Last November, Nikola received a mega order for 800 hydrogen trucks from brewer Anheuser-Busch. On June 4, the company listed on the Nasdaq. Its capitalization quickly reached 30 billion dollars before falling back to 13 billion. A stratospheric amount when we know that Nikola has never made a hydrogen truck. The first model is not expected before 2023. But the start-up continues on its way. On September 8, it entered into a partnership with General Motors, which took 11% of the capital.
