[ad_1]
In a Thursday night filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nikola acknowledged 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 trucks. He also listed two other statements attributed to the company during Milton’s time as executive chairman.
The statements listed on the record had all been mentioned among the allegations made in a September short sale report by Hindenburg Research. Nikola admitted in the file that the statements listed “were inaccurate in whole or in part, when made”.
Nikola and Milton in the past had denied Hindenburg’s claims. And in Thursday’s filing, the company said some of the allegations made by Hindbenburg were found to be inaccurate by an independent investigation commissioned 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 misrepresentation.
Lawyers representing Milton in some of the lawsuits surrounding the company did not respond to a request for comment on the filing.
Statements classified as inaccurate include a 2016 claim that Nikola had already designed a zero-emission truck and a 2020 statement that five trucks were ready to roll off the assembly line. Milton also said in late 2019 and again in mid-2020 that Nikola “could produce” over 1,000 kilograms of hydrogen at the company’s demonstration stations and lowered the cost of hydrogen “below” $ 3 per kilogram.
Nikola’s case also revealed that its costs associated with regulatory and legal matters climbed to $ 24.7 million in 2020, including $ 19.5 million in the fourth quarter. The company also set aside $ 8.1 million for Milton’s legal fees as part of his contract with him, even though he left the company on September 20, the day after the federal summons was served. . So far he has paid $ 1.5 million for it.
Late Thursday, the company reported a loss of $ 147.1 million in the fourth quarter, up from a loss of $ 26.3 million in the same period the year before. For the year, Nikola lost $ 384.3 million, four times the loss recorded in 2019.
The company said it remains on track to deliver its first semi-trailer, the Nikola Tre, to customers before the end of this year. But in a conference call Thursday, he revised the number of vehicles he plans to deliver in 2021 to just around 100. With a price tag of around $ 300,000 per truck, that would give Nikola a turnover. of about $ 30 million. To date, it has collected virtually no turnover.
Nikola went public in June 2020 and its stock quickly skyrocketed, doubling in value within a day shortly after going public. In August, the company announced an agreement with a major garbage disposal company for up to 5,000 electric garbage trucks that it had not yet designed. In September, just days before the short seller made the allegations regarding the company’s claims, Nikola announced a deal that would have given General Motors (GM) an 11% stake in Nikola and get the two automakers to cooperate on an electric van.
But the stock collapsed as a result of the allegations and never recovered. It was trading at less than half its value on Friday before the allegations were made public. The deal for the garbage truck was scrapped and GM also withdrew from its deal.
The company said it will now focus on heavy trucks and hydrogen refueling stations.
“In the fourth quarter of 2020, Nikola made the necessary changes to refocus and realign the company,” CEO Mark Russell said when announcing the company’s results on Thursday.
[ad_2]
Source link
