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On Monday morning, it became clear that founder Trevor Milton had ended as Nikola’s chairman after a very turbulent few weeks for the company.
Nikola manufactures electric vehicles for the transportation industry.
“Nikola is in my blood, and always will be. The focus should be on the company and what we are working to achieve. Therefore, I made the difficult decision to voluntarily resign. After I founded Nikola and helped him become in a company that will change the transportation industry. […] It has been a great honor, ”said a statement from Milton.
Stephen Girsky has been appointed by Nikola’s board to take over from Milton. He has been a vice president of General Motors and has also served on Nikola’s board.
In pre-trade on Wall Street, Nikola’s stock fell about 25 percent on Monday morning Norwegian time. Wall Street opens at 3.30 p.m. Norwegian time.
As is well known, the Norwegian hydrogen company Nel owns just over a million shares in Nikola, with which it also has a partnership agreement.
Fraud accusations
There has been a storm around Nikola in recent weeks, after Hindenburg Research published a report two weeks ago claiming that Nikola is a scam and that company management has exaggerated descriptions of its test trucks, to get it to investors join. .
Founder Milton was quick to dismiss the allegations and took to Twitter multiple times where he responded to the allegations.
On Monday of last week, the company provided a detailed response to the report, and Milton asked the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to follow up on the allegations, as Nikola believes they are false and an attempt to manipulate. the company’s stock price so Hindenburg can make money short. the position they occupy in the company.
On Monday, Milton wrote in a message on Twitter that he is grateful for the support he has received in recent weeks.
“The company is in fantastic hands and the management is well equipped to take Nikola into the future […]. I asked the board to let me go. The focus should be on the company and not on me. I will defend myself against false accusations made by opponents, ”he writes in a message, which is also published on the photo-sharing service Instagram.
Enjoy the price increase
As mentioned, the Norwegian hydrogen company Nel and Nikola have a partnership agreement. Nel also owns just over a million shares of the company. Nel enjoyed the position in the second quarter.
However, Nikola’s share had fallen dramatically from the beginning of the summer until the time of the second-quarter report, and has fallen a further 12 percent since the end of August.
Leif Eriksrød leads the capital team at Alfred Berg. Through the Gamba fund, Alfred Berg owns more than ten million shares in Nel. This corresponds to a 0.7 percent ownership interest.
Eriksrød believes that the resignation of Nikola’s chief executive could give Nel’s stock some initial turmoil.
– There will probably be some turbulence at first, but in the long run I don’t think I have much to say, he says.
Throughout the year, Alfred Berg gradually sold off to Nel. Shareholder lists show that at the beginning of the year they had just under 35 million shares. During the same period, Nel’s share price has increased. So far this year, it has increased by more than 100 percent.
– In the first place, we have sold ourselves because the price has risen so sharply. We still own several stocks and we still want exposure to this market.
Stock market rally
Nikola, which will produce emission-free vehicles, is based in the US state of Arizona and can be seen as a competitor to Tesla.
Nikola’s “Badger” pickup is seen as a direct competitor to Tesla’s “Cybertruck.”
In March this year, the company merged with VectoIQ, in a so-called “special purpose acquisition company” (SPAC), which led to Nikola being listed on the Nasdaq index in early June.
This means that an “empty” company carries out a capital raising (s) with the intention of acquiring a private company.
The price was followed by a big rally in the stock market, where the stock was up about 100 percent in a few days. However, since the preliminary high of $ 79 in early June, the stock has fallen nearly 60 percent. On Friday of last week, the stock closed at a closing price of $ 34.19.
In early September, it became clear that General Motors had secured an 11 percent stake in Nikola, in connection with a deal that CNBC said was worth $ 2 billion. GM CEO Mary Barra stated last week that the company had performed “due diligence” on the deal.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content can only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.
