Trevor Milton, the former CEO of Nikola, has been found guilty of defrauding investors with several misrepresentation of facts and outright lies.
Nikola, prides itself as an electric and hydrogen vehicle maker. However, at the time that Milton, who was also its founder, was already accepting investments, the company had not gone really far in achieving its visions.
So, how did he get investors to put their money in a company that was still basically an idea? He used the oldest trick in the book; Milton practically sold a dead horse.
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According to details from the case, as reported by The Verge, he staged a video where one of its trucks appeared to be driving on its own, when in reality, it had been rolling down a hill. He also lied about how far they had gone in development as well as where the vehicles’ batteries come from.
Milton stepped down in 2020 and the company has made impressive strides as of 2022, including shipping vehicles to clients. His lawyer said that they would appeal the verdict which found him guilty of three counts of fraud.
Nikola appears to be a bystander in this case as it is not the defendant. In a statement, it expressed its desire to close that chapter of its history and move on with its business. Although, it had to pay $125 million fine to settle charges from investors and lost one of its biggest backers, GM.
Trevor Milton has not implicated any other person and a source said that the company’s chief engineer had advised him to postpone the initial launch event but he refused.
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