Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) has proved why it is a penny stock that trades at only $1.43. It sold a paltry 66 trucks in the last quarter. It produced only 33. This means the question of whether Nikola can survive gets raised again.
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As it announced sales, it also disclosed that the California Transportation Commission (CTC) awarded “Nikola and sponsor California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), a $41.9 million grant under the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) to build six heavy-duty hydrogen refueling stations across Southern Calif.” That is hardly enough money to keep Nikola in business. (These are the 13 biggest electric vehicle business failures in American history.)
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Nikola will not announce earnings until August 4. However, where the stock trades is a tip-off to what investors expect. Shares are off 72% this year.
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The new quarter may look like the last one. The company had $11 million in sales and a loss of $169 million. There was not a thread of evidence that there is demand for Nikola trucks, or that it can afford to build them.
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Nikola is one of a small group of tiny electric vehicle companies that has to compete with Tesla (which plans to launch a large truck) and the world’s other huge car manufacturers who want part of the EV industry. Given its new sales figures, Nikola may not last more than a year or two.
Nikola Sells Almost No Trucks
© Wikimedia Commons/Raquel Baranow
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