A company once hailed as a Tesla challenger filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday and plans to wind down operations.
Nikola — infamously caught rolling a truck down a hill in a promotional video — is the latest EV startup to collapse. Sluggish demand, huge costs and investors running for the hills are to blame.
Fisker, Proterra and Lordstown Motors — other EV startups that went public during the pandemic, promising to revolutionize the sector — have also filed for bankruptcy in recent years.
Even Tesla, the industry’s leader, reported its first annual sales decline in 2024. High borrowing costs for potential customers and an aging lineup hit demand, despite offers and incentives.
Nikola’s Chapter 11 filing ends a challenging journey, which included several leadership changes, plummeting share values and allegations of fraud.
In 2020, the company went public before even producing a vehicle for the market. At one point, Nikola’s worth hit $30 billion and made it more valuable than Ford.
Its rise was fueled by bold promises from founder Trevor Milton, who was later convicted of securities fraud in 2022 for misleading investors about the company’s zero-emissions technology.
After it filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, the stock fell 40 percent — valuing the company at less than $50 million.