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In short: friend. Explaining in more detail, a company called Nikola is already relatively new, but now absolutely legitimate in terms of electric driving, and it is perhaps no exaggeration to say that it is stumbling upon the benchmark Tesla Motor Company, as the genius inventor, chose the first name. Nikola Tesla, the classic incarnation of the American dream.
When the company was formed, it promised nothing less than the inexpensive and widespread deployment of hydrogen propulsion in transportation, putting it in direct competition with Tesla’s electric vehicles, primarily the Semi trailer. Nikola wanted to go safely in all cases, and in 2018 he even sued Tesla, claiming no less than $ 2 billion, citing alleged Tesla Semi patent rights.
In 2016, the company unveiled its flagship project, a tractor called the Nikola One, which it planned to produce this year. The vehicle promised fantastic parameters, including six (!) Electric motors, one for each wheel powered by hydrogen cells, a thousand horsepower and a range of 1,900 km.
This sounded great, and many reputable companies and investors bought it all. Perhaps its most prominent supporter was General Motors, whose role in the auto industry needs little explanation, nor does its legitimacy. GM bought a stake in the company, for which a board member could also delegate. Furthermore, Nikola has even collected orders from another company, which is also huge and legitimate. Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser and several other major American brewers have ordered no fewer than 800 Nikola trucks.
The Budweiser maker still uses the BYD brand, that is, Chinese electric trucks, and with Nikola’s help, the company has promised a 25 percent reduction in emissions. Nikola then bought land in Arizona last year, where he fought for tax breaks by promising to build a factory and a multitude of jobs.
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Gallery: Nikola One Electric TruckPhoto from nikolamotor.com
Investors loved this seemingly attractive package, causing the company’s stock to skyrocket. Nikola’s market value reached $ 13 billion last month, all with an income of just $ 80,000, plus most of the income came from the owner who ordered solar panels from his own company. Also, Nikola’s value approached Ford’s market price at one point, without, of course, producing a single car. This contradiction was also mentioned by the Financial Times, but nobody seemed to care.
Nikola started down the slope
Shareholders therefore rubbed their hands, believing that the wealth was still behind. Now, however, they seem to have gotten bad: a few days ago, an investment advisory firm, Hindenburg Research, sounded the alarm and, referring to SMS messages from a Nikola employee, claimed that Nikola One was far away. from being put into production, in fact, they don’t even work on it. What’s even more incredible is that the employee announced that in the presentation after the big announcement
the prototype, declared operational, was rolled down the hill, giving the impression that it was moving on its own.
A YouTube video about all of this was also released, titled the extremely eloquent “On the Move.” General Motors representatives were also asked about the news, who in the first round said succinctly only that they still believe in Nikola. Nor was Anheuser-Busch much more eloquent: “We can cancel the order at any time,” the company said of the extremely embarrassing matter.
Nikola’s owner at first denied everything and promised a detailed and complete rebuttal. However, this has not happened so far, in his next communication Trevor Milton has only said that he has hired a lawyer. So far, it looks like you will need it too.
Isaac is more than Nikola
This week, in the birth certificate of our article, the matter took a new turn.
Nikola’s representatives acknowledged that their proclaimed prototype was in fact rolling down a slope, so it was not the promised hydrogen-based engine but gravity that was driving it. Based on that, of course, they could even have been called Newton.
To give Elon Musk a good night’s sleep in the future, what’s more, he can open a Budweiser, Americans’ favorite beer will presumably keep arriving in thirsty Chinese trucks. And the perfect irony of fate is that the balloon surrounding the company that promised the hydrogen engine was blown up by a company called Hindenburg, since the hydrogen-filled aircraft that exploded in 1937 was also called the Hindenburg.
(Cover image: nikolamotor.com)
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