Nikola founder Trevor Milton steps down after allegations of fraud

Trevor Milton, founder of electric truck company Nikola

Trevor Milton, the founder of electric truck start-up Nikola, has resigned as executive chairman following accusations that his company is an "intricate fraud".

He will be replaced by board member Stephen Girsky, who is a former vice-chairman of General Motors and helped lead the carmaker out of bankruptcy.

“Nikola is truly in my blood and always will be, and the focus should be on the company and its world-changing mission, not me,” Mr Milton said. “So I made the difficult decision to approach the board and step aside.”

Milton’s resignation comes less than two weeks after a short seller attack by Hindenberg Research that cast doubt on claims by Nikola about its hydrogen powered trucks.

Hindenburg accused Nikola of deceiving investors about its business prospects — claims that are now the subject of investigations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and, reportedly, the Department of Justice.

Nikola had rejected most of the claims in the Hindenburg report, vut it did not deny that it staged a 2017 video of one of its prototypes apparently in action.

According to Hindenburg, "Nikola had the truck towed to the top of a hill on a remote stretch of road and simply filmed it rolling down the hill."

Nikola responded that it had "never stated its truck was driving under its own propulsion in the video" but had simply said that it had been "in motion."

I will be cheering from the sidelines with you. Your greatest fan. pic.twitter.com/IaYfZedYhK

— Trevor Milton (@nikolatrevor) September 21, 2020

Mr Milton said he was prepared to defend himself against "false allegations leveled at me by outside detractors". 

Nikola shares have lost a third of their value in the past week, although the trucking start-up is still worth $13bn despite having never sold a truck. Earlier this month, General Motors took a $2bn stake in the company.

The Phoenix-based was founded in 2014 as a rival to Tesla. The company’s products include fully electric trucks and hydrogen cell powered semis.