The last thing EV truck maker Nikola needed was truck fires. Five burned near its headquarters. Management said the reason was sabotage. The company stated: “Foul play is suspected as a vehicle was seen in the area of the affected trucks just prior to the incident and an investigation is under way.” Battered and in trouble, the company cannot handle much more bad news, regardless of the source.
Nikola’s stock traded at $19 two years ago. Recently, it dropped to $1.30 and briefly was below $1.
In the most recent quarter, Nikola had only $11 million in revenue. It lost $169 million. It lost $153 million in the same quarter a year ago. CEO Michael Lohscheller said: “Nikola had a very solid quarter, building sales momentum with Class 8 battery electric truck deliveries to customers, and orders for 140 hydrogen fuel cell trucks from customers.” That is perilously close to zero.
Recently, Nikola moved out of Europe. It cut 270 jobs at about the same time. That means it has less than 900 people still employed.
Nikola is one of the new generations of alternative fuel charge vehicle companies that won’t make it. The list also includes Rivian and Lucid. They have brands the public barely knows. At the same time, nearly everyone has heard of Tesla, Ford, and Chevy. It takes years to develop a powerful brand and a short time for one to die. (These are the car brands with the best and worst dealership experience.)
The truck fires were not Nikola’s fault, but they drove another set of negative headlines. Nikola can’t afford any more of those.
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