Electric vehicle startup Nikola Corp. will pay $125 million to settle a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, bringing an apparent end to one of the most notorious cases of investor fraud associated with the go-go-go market for SPACs, Fortune reports.
The truck-maker, which was founded by American entrepreneur Trevor Milton, went public via a SPAC reverse merger, in June 2020 (with VectorIQ Acquisition). Shares in the company took off that summer, riding investor enthusiasm for all things EV. Investors pushed the value at one point to above $34 billion—a market cap greater than Ford and Stellantis—even though it had never made an automobile for sale.
A few months later, the activist short seller Hindenburg Research dropped a bombshell on the markets, revealing the company’s prototype hydrogen-powered Nikola One fuel-cell semi had been rigged for a presentation, making it look like it was driving, but it was really just rolling quickly downhill with the help of gravity. Following the revelation, Nikola shares bombed lower, and never recovered. Read more.
