Nikola goes from top to flop in a month. After being accused of lying to investors, and GM reassessing their deal, the company now delays its largest event to date.
Nikola Motors has decided to delay its huge Nikola World 2020 event, where it was expected to release its new electric Badger pickup truck, a potential competitor to Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Electric. The carmaker first set December 3-5 as the date for the event, but now delayed it indefinitely.
This comes as a significant setback, especially since Nikola had just started a collaboration with General Motors in September. As per the agreement, Nikola would get access to the company’s electric and hydrogen vehicle tech to develop the Badger. In return, GM would have gained an 11% stake in the company.
However, in light of recent events, General Motors is reevaluating its options. That came after short-seller firm Hindenburg Research accused Nikola of making false statements to attract investors.
The founder and CEO, Trevor Milton, later left the company after facing sexual assault accusations from two women.
Meanwhile, the two car manufacturers should’ve closed the deal on September 20. However, now that General Motors is taking a step back, it remains unclear if it will go through at all. A clause in the agreement could allow either of the companies to back out if the deal is not concluded by December 3.
Read also:
• GM to Build a Hydrogen-Electric Pickup after Buying $2B Stake in Nikola
• GM Stock Rises after Nikola Motors Partnership Announced
Funnily enough, Nikola Motors mentioned COVID-19 as the reason to postpone the event. The carmaker obviously deserves the benefit of the doubt, at least until everything comes to light, but based on the information we have now, it doesn’t look good.
“Due to COVID-19 audience size restrictions at Arizona’s major venues, we have made the decision to reschedule an in-person Nikola World until we can bring the Nikola community together safely,” the company stated to The Detroit News. “We will continue to provide progress updates across our entire product portfolio.”
In the press release, the manufacturer also talked about its battery-electric Tre semi-truck. Namely, they confirmed that the first five prototypes would be ‘substantially completed’ in the upcoming few weeks at Ulm, Germany, a joint venture facility.
With that being said, Trevor Milton had already claimed in July 2020 that trucks were near completion.
As of now, no future dates for Nikola World 2020 were disclosed, but I think it’s safe to assume that it will now be called Nikola Wolrd 2021 — if it even ever happens.
The situation sure is unfortunate. Analysts and electric vehicle fans were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Nikola cars on US soil, but now, the future of Nikola and GM never looked so bleak.
