Photo: Nikola
Trevor Milton’s fraud trial continues with shocking revelations about how the former Nikola CEO misled investors by exaggerating the company’s progress. In the case of the Badger pickup, it was revealed that the pickup had no Nikola parts in it, everything being externally sourced.
As Milton’s trial progresses, we find new information about the Badger pickup truck, which was supposed to blow the Ford F-150 out of the water. Two years ago, Nikola and General Motors signed a $2 billion deal that would give GM an 11% stake in the startup. The deal also involved GM supplying the Ultium cells and drivetrain to Nikola and assembling the Badger pickup.
The GM deal boosted Nikola’s shares and allowed Trevor Milton to push ahead with taking $5,000 deposits for the Badger. During an interview in September 2020, Milton stated that Badger would mostly feature Nikola bespoke parts. But this was entirely not true, according to Scott Damman, whom GM sent to work with Nikola at the time.
“There were no components coming from Nikola,” Scott Damman, a senior manager at GM working on software, told the jury in Milton’s criminal fraud trial Thursday. “They owned the creative design, what the vehicle looked like and felt like, but all of the parts were to come from General Motors,” added Damman, cited by Automotive News.
The Nikola Badger was supposed to be unveiled later in the year, but the event was canceled. The Hindenburg report exploded on September 10, 2020, tearing everything to the ground. General Motors immediately withdrew support, which left Nikola empty-handed. Nevertheless, Trevor Milton had a backup plan with the Badger in case the unveil would’ve proceeded without GM.
According to former Nikola employee Brendan Babiarz, who also testified in Milton’s fraud case, a Badger prototype was put together using Ford F-150 Raptor parts and a chopped-up Nikola Powersports vehicle. Certainly, the Badger was nothing more than vaporware, and Milton Trevor has a lot to answer for.
The GM deal boosted Nikola’s shares and allowed Trevor Milton to push ahead with taking $5,000 deposits for the Badger. During an interview in September 2020, Milton stated that Badger would mostly feature Nikola bespoke parts. But this was entirely not true, according to Scott Damman, whom GM sent to work with Nikola at the time.
“There were no components coming from Nikola,” Scott Damman, a senior manager at GM working on software, told the jury in Milton’s criminal fraud trial Thursday. “They owned the creative design, what the vehicle looked like and felt like, but all of the parts were to come from General Motors,” added Damman, cited by Automotive News.
The Nikola Badger was supposed to be unveiled later in the year, but the event was canceled. The Hindenburg report exploded on September 10, 2020, tearing everything to the ground. General Motors immediately withdrew support, which left Nikola empty-handed. Nevertheless, Trevor Milton had a backup plan with the Badger in case the unveil would’ve proceeded without GM.
According to former Nikola employee Brendan Babiarz, who also testified in Milton’s fraud case, a Badger prototype was put together using Ford F-150 Raptor parts and a chopped-up Nikola Powersports vehicle. Certainly, the Badger was nothing more than vaporware, and Milton Trevor has a lot to answer for.
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