In a case filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, Nikola admitted seven ‘inaccurate’ statements that Milton, who left the company in September, allegedly made between July 2016 and July 2020 about the company’s progress in developing electric and hydrogen-powered trucks. It also listed two other statements attributed to the company during the time Milton was executive chairman.
The statements listed in the submission were all mentioned among allegations made in a short-selling report by Hindenburg Research in September. Nikola acknowledged in the documentation that the said statements were “completely or partially inaccurate when made.”
Nikola and Milton have denied Hindenburg’s allegations in the past. And during Thursday’s filing, the company said it had been found that some of the allegations made by Hindbenburg were inaccurate through an independent investigation conducted by the company.
Milton remains the largest shareholder in the company, with more than 20% of its shares, despite his departure and the federal investigation into his alleged false statements.
Lawyers representing Milton in some of the legal proceedings surrounding the company did not respond to a request for comment on the filing.
The statements listed as inaccurate include a 2016 statement that Nikola designed a truck without emissions and a 2020 statement that he had five trucks ready to get off the assembly line. Milton also said in late 2019 and again mid-2020 that Nikola could produce more than 1,000 kilograms of hydrogen at the company’s demonstration stations and that it had reduced hydrogen costs to below $ 3 per kilogram.
The submission of Nikola also revealed that the costs associated with regulatory and legal matters rose to $ 24.7 million in 2020, up from $ 19.5 million in the fourth quarter. The company also set aside $ 8.1 million for Milton’s legal costs under his contract with him, even though he left the company on September 20, the day after he was served on the federal lawsuit. It has so far paid $ 1.5 million of that.
Late Thursday, the company reported a loss of $ 147.1 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $ 26.3 million in the same period last year. Nikola lost $ 384.3 million for the year, four times the loss it achieved in 2019.
The company did say that it remains on track to deliver its first semi, the Nikola Tre, to customers before the end of this year. But during a conference on Thursday, the number of vehicles he expects to deliver in 2021 will be revised to about 100. With a price tag of about $ 300,000 per truck, that will bring Nikola a revenue of about $ 30 million. To date, it has generated virtually no sales revenue.
Nikola saw the light of day in June 2020 and its share quickly rose higher and doubled in one day, shortly after it started trading. In August, the company announced a deal with a major garbage company for up to 5,000 electric garbage trucks that it had yet to design. In September, a few days before the short seller made the allegations about the company’s claims, Nikola announced a deal General Motors (GM) an 11% stake in Nikola and let the two car manufacturers work together on an electric pickup.
But the stock collapsed following the allegations and has never recovered. It traded at less than half its value on Friday before the allegations became known. The transaction for the garbage truck was abandoned and GM also withdrew its transaction.
The company said it will now focus on heavy trucks and hydrogen fuel stations.
“In the fourth quarter of 2020, Nikola made the necessary changes to refocus and redesign the company,” CEO Mark Russell said Thursday when he announced the company’s results.
.Source
Related
